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His Arrival Story
On the morning of the 27th I woke up and did a few things around the house (vacuumed, laundry, etc). I had been feeling some pre-labor signs over the last couple of days but I heard they could start days and even weeks early. I decided I needed to be ready at any minute. I went and got a massage at 10:45am and told the masseuse she was free to work on any pressure points that might induce labor. During the massage, I actually started feeling more intense cramps which I now know were contractions.
I grabbed lunch for Shane and I on the way home and started feeling them more regularly while we were eating. I moved over to the couch to watch some college football and they started to be more regular (about 7-10 minutes apart). I called the doctor and they told me to wait until they were about 5 minutes apart and lasted atleast an hour. The pain was focused on my lower back so it was hard to get comfortable. After a couple more hours, the pain was worse and I could tell they were closer together. Around 5pm we decided to head to the hospital.
I got checked in and they told me I was not dilated yet. They told me if I did not dilate in the next 2 hours they would have to send me home. At this point the pain in my lower back was so intense, I knew I would not make it if they sent me home. Shane could tell it had gotten worse and was trying to do everything he could to keep me at the hospital. Two hours had passed and I still was not dilated. A new nurse came in during the shift change and talked the doctor into admitting me. (Side note: it was the weekend so I was dealing with the on-call doctor, not my regular doctor that I have been seeing all this time). She finally loaded me up with some pain meds to take the edge off the contractions. The medication made me pretty drowsy so the rest of the night was a blur.
They regularly checked me over the next couple of hours and I finally started to dilate. About 9pm I was 4cm so I got my epidural. One word: AMAZING! I was still pretty drowsy from the other medication so I was in and out of sleep the rest of the night. Around 5am I was stuck at 6cm so they gave me pitocin to help dilate me even more. I continued to stay at 6cm so they moved me into different positions in an effort to get gravity to help him drop. Thankfully it worked and I was at 9cm around 7am. Another nurse came in and we started to push at 8am. About 9:15am she called the doctor in and said I was ready to deliver.
After a few attempts pushing with the doctor, we realized he would not make it past my pubic bone so she decided to use a vacuum to get him out since his heart rate had just started to drop. After one final push, Grayson made his arrival! Shane was hoping to cut the cord, but Grayson had made a bowel movement during delivery and they needed to get him cleaned up right away to make sure he did not ingest anything.
Shane watched as they cleaned him up while the doctor finished working on me. After about 20 minutes, he was finally ready to see me so they placed him on my chest. I fell in love immediately. It is amazing how quickly you create this bond. He was perfect in every way!
Funny Story: Shane told me this after we had been moved to our postpartum room, but during the hour and a half of pushing, his back started to tighten up and bother him. He had been standing next to me helping me push. He told me he almost said, "Man, my back is really bothering me." but refrained after seeing what I had been/was going through. I told him that was a wise decision! :)
Life Since His Arrival
Our lives have officially been changed forever and we would not have it any other way. Shane and I feel so blessed and lucky to have Grayson as our son. Shane has done an amazing job as a father the last few days. Not only did he take good care of me at the hospital, but he has done really great with Grayson. I knew he would be a great father one day, but finally seeing him in that role, really touches my heart and makes me love him even more.
Ever since we knew the due date, we had always hoped he would be born on October 28. That was my dear late Aunt Donna's birthday. She lost her battle with breast cancer exactly 12 years ago this month. God works in mysterious ways and brought this little miracle to us on a day that has so much meaning to my family.
We are slowly settling in to our life at home as a family of 3. Our other boys (Aspen, Buckley and Riley) seem to be adjusting as well. They know we have a new addition and have started to show some interest.
I'll close with some photos from the last couple of days. Stay tuned....the fun as just begun for us!!
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