Well, I think it's pretty obvious that little Eric has arrived! It was a very unexpected arrival, but a wonderful experience to say the least! He arrived a month early, but thankfully our little man came into this world perfectly healthy!
Around 34 weeks my doctor decided that baby was measuring on the smaller side after the fundal height measured behind and the ultrasounds showed the same thing. They set me up to do weekly biophysical profiles and non-stress tests to watch the baby. They determined I had a condition called IUGR and the baby needed to be monitored closely to make sure he wasn't under any stress. He was measuring around 4.5 pounds per the ultrasounds. All those tests came back well and they wanted me to have a level 2 ultrasound.
I had my regular OB appointment on April 12th. She decided to check me since I had been having some symptoms of possible impending labor. I wasn't even dilated to a 1 yet and the baby's head was still able to be pushed out of my pelvis. I did have a couple really low contractions while in the office that I hadn't experienced before, but those were the only two I had. So, we scheduled my next weekly appointment and I was scheduled to have a level 2 ultrasound a couple days later to look at my placenta's blood flow.
After my appointment, I headed to work and got there around 5:00p.m. I worked in the dorm for a couple hours with the boys like usual, then went to the office to update some files on my one-on-ones since I knew I would be leaving soon for maternity leave. While I was in the office, I started having the low, painful contractions again and they were coming pretty often. I got a little nervous and asked my coworker to go get my supervisor. She came to the office and I told her what was going on and that I really thought I needed to go home. She wasn't very happy that I was leaving, but she let me go. I was considering having my mom come pick me up to take me to the hospital. I decided that I could make it home, so I just drove myself and let her know what was going on. I also called Ryan at work to let him know I was going to my sister's house to time my contractions. I got there around 8pm and started timing. The contractions were coming every ten minutes, but they weren't painful. Ryan called around 10pm to let me know he was coming home from work early, so I left for home.
Once I got home, we decided to work on organizing the baby's room and getting the house in order. Ryan made a ton of headway in the extra room and I helped as much as I could with my huge belly! I started having some pains, so I went to sit down for a while. Once that tapered off, I started cleaning out the medicine cabinet. Can you say nesting? (: I was putting things back in the cabinet around 2am, when I felt a "bubbly" sensation. I wasn't sure if I had just wet my pants or if my water had broken. I kept telling myself it couldn't be my water because I was only 36 weeks pregnant. I went to the bathroom and it stopped, so that led me to believe I really had just wet myself. I got up and walked across the house and it happened again in the kitchen. That's when I knew it was definitely my water. I opened the garage door and told Ryan my water had broke. His response? "Right now?" Yep.... my thoughts too! So I changed my clothes and gathered my hospital bags. I called my mom and asked her if she thought that was my water and she agreed it was and she told me to call the hospital. I called and they also agreed it was my water and told me to go ahead and come in. I made calls to my sister, grandma, and dad then to let them know we were heading to the hospital. I sat on the front porch for another 20 minutes thinking to myself, "I'm not ready for this.....". Looks like I didn't have a choice in that matter anymore! (:
So, around 2:45am, we got the bags ready and the dog put in the kennel, then headed for the hospital. We got admitted to the hospital at 3am. They did a litmus test to confirm if my water had really broke, which it had. The first nurse prepared us for every possible thing that could go wrong with a baby born that early. My heart sank when she mentioned him possibly having to be lifeflighted if he wasn't breathing on his own. She also told us that little boys typically don't do as well that early as little girls do. I have to say she scared me to death, but I knew it was her job to prepare us for the worst. I got hooked up to the monitors and then we waited..... and waited... and waited.... They checked my cervix and I still wasn't dilated to a 1 yet. So we rested while we could, but neither of us could sleep.
Around 9am, they moved us to a labor & delivery room and started the pitocin. I had to get the pitocin because my contractions never got stronger or became regular. Again we waited. My family started showing up around 10am and Steph got there around 11am. I was pretty comfortable still and my contractions were beginning to get more regular. I got my first round of fentanyl at that point and that made my back feel a lot better. The nurse asked if I wanted the epidural then, but I told her no because I didn't want it to slow down my labor. They continued monitoring the baby and me and everything looked good. Around 1pm, they decided to up my pitocin again because I still wasn't progressing and my water had been broken for almost 12 hours at that point. I decided to get a second round of fentanyl about 12:30pm. Once again the nurse offered the epidural, but I told her I still wasn't ready for it.
My contractions began to get more painful after that and they checked me again at 3pm. I had finally dilated to a 4 at that point. The contractions started coming every minute and a half and they hurt horribly. It felt like I couldn't get a break. I got one more round of fentanyl at that point, but it wasn't as effective anymore. I got up to use the restroom and walking seemed to help a bit. I got on the birthing ball for a bit with Ryan's assistance. I stayed on there for a while, but I was too uncomfortable so I sat on the side of the bed. That seemed to help more than anything. I finally asked for the epidural at that point, my body was going a bit crazy with the strong contractions. My mom was trying to help me prepare for each contraction and let me know when they were coming. Ryan, mom, and Beth each took turns holding my hand and helping me breathe through them. I think that helped me to keep my mind clear.
They told me the anesthesiologist would be there in about 15 minutes, but they were wrong! It took him 45 minutes to get there for some reason and whatever that reason was I wasn't too happy about it. I got a bit irritated because my contractions were coming every minute and I was beyond exhausted. I had already been awake for over 24 hours and my pain tolerance was going down the drain. I actually asked Stephanie to go to the nurse's desk to find out where the heck the anesthesiologist was. He finally came in and everyone left the room. I leaned against Ryan's chest and he got it inserted fairly quickly. It didn't bother me at all, in fact I hardly noticed it because I was having contractions the whole time. Once it kicked in I was in heaven!
Ryan kept asking me if I could feel anything because he could see my contractions on the monitor and I guess they were really big. I just smiled and told him, "nope"! So we just visited with family then. My dad, grandma, mom, sister, niece, and Stephanie were all in the room with us. At 3:45pm, my midwife checked me again and I was dilated to 9.5, fully effaced, and +2 station! Success!! I couldn't believe I had gone from a 4 to a 9.5 in just over an hour. It felt like the room transformed at that point. Nurses were rushing in and out, carts were coming in, and everything was being set up for the delivery finally! Steph called for my sister to come back in and I hugged and kissed my dad and grandma before they left the room. It was finally go time! They lowered my pitocin at that point and we were ready to push.
Ryan and my mom held my legs while I pushed and Stephanie held my oxygen mask for me. My midwife wanted to make sure the baby was still getting plenty of oxygen through my blood. Beth stood next to the bed and talked me through the pushes. They lowered the mirror from the ceiling so I was able to watch everything. There were some not so pretty parts I wish I hadn't witnessed, but I guess that's all just part of the experience! I can say it is a challenge to push correctly when you can't feel the lower half of your body all the way, but I figured out pretty quickly how to do it. I was able to feel the pressure enough to know when my contractions were coming and I could push. Then my contractions slowed down at that point and became irregular again. They turned the pitocin back on and we were right back in business. I guess baby's heart rate dropped a few times during my contractions, but I wasn't aware of this at the time. They kept me moving though and I could see Eric's tiny little head starting to crown. It felt like it stayed there for an eternity! So I just kept pushing, pushing, and pushing!
I have to mention that during this time my sister, who was almost 33 weeks pregnant, began having contractions! She had been holding her breath when I was pushing and she had to lie down in the delivery room! Poor thing almost put herself into labor just to be there while her nephew was being born. Thankfully, she was able to stay in the room with us, but just rested while I kept pushing. I was just thankful to have her in there with me.
Finally, with one last push, little Eric Ryan entered the world at 4:34pm. All 4lbs 10oz of him! He started crying and I immediately began sobbing with joy. They laid him on my chest and all was right in the world. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life! I watched Ryan cut the cord and I kissed my son for the first time. I held on to my husband for dear life and cried out of happiness while they took Eric to clean him up. I kissed Ryan and thought he was the most amazing husband I could possibly ever ask for. We had made a beautiful baby boy together and he was finally here with us! We were a family!
They tested his blood sugar at it was right at a 50, the cutoff limit. They were very worried about him since he was so early. To everyone's surprise, he was doing just fine! I was able to do skin to skin immediately and that was amazing! I just laid there with my tiny little son on my chest and I was in awe. Ryan stood by my side the whole time just admiring our brand new baby boy. We had just carried the Moudy name! My dad and grandma came back in right away and everyone cried. Eric was the most perfect little person I had ever seen. I didn't let him out of my sight for the rest of the day. I was finally a mommy and my life was changed forever!
And that is the story of my little Boogie Bean's arrival. Very unexpected, very early, but perfect in the end! Now we have a lifetime of memories to make with our precious baby boy! There are so many more stories to come, but for now I'm signing off!
