Born: September 2, 2007
12:01 pm
7lbs 10oz
20 1/4 inches long
Here is the story of Garrett's birth.
Friday the 31st I went to my 38 week doctor appointment where I was informed that I was dilated to 3 centimeters and 75% effaced and my bag of waters was bulging Dr. Deffenbaugh told me she thought she'd definitely see me in labor and delivery before my next appointment the following Friday. Exciting to think but I still was a little hesitant to get my hopes up. Doc thought that if my contractions stayed for the next couple hours I might even end up there that night. I really didn't want to deliver that day as it was Alexa's birthday and she had been adamant about NOT wanting to share her birthday. I considered canceling the BBQ we had scheduled to host at our home the next day, but Mike wasn't convinced...he pointed out my due date was still two weeks away and I wasn't in labor yet. I had been contracting off and on all night and decided the next morning that although I really wasn't in the mood to deal with the BBQ, it was for Alexa and I didn't want to let her down, plus it would give me something else to focus on as I wsa feeling like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. We rolled out of bed and went to Wal-Mart and bought all the groceries and supplies for the party. Then I came home and vacuumed, cleaned like a mad woman, moved a couch (bad, I know!) and worked my butt off til 1:00 when I got in the shower to get ready to entertain guests to arrive at 2 pm.
That's when I started feeling them. The contractions were starting to form a pattern and I noticed they were starting to hurt more. I entertained the thought for a moment that MAYBE labor was starting, but we all know how that goes...everyone thinks it's starting, gets their hopes up then nope. Well the contractions strengthened over the next few hours at the party. They were starting to come about four minutes apart by 4:00 pm. I decided to go ahead and call the doc who told me to head over to the hospital since this was my 3rd baby they thought it might go fast. I get to L & D, get all hooked up and they check me. Still only 3 cm, actually she said it was a "stretch to a 3" and not any more effaced than the day before. They had me get up and walk for 45 minutes, checked me again and I had made just the tiniest bit of progress but nothing substantial. They told me they were pretty certain that I would be back tonight and that this was early labor, to go home and get some rest. I was so let down...I didn't want to go home, I wanted to have a baby NOW.
So Mike went home to sleep and I headed to the mall to walk this baby out of me and pick up some last minute stuff like a nursing bra. I headed home two hours later and sat and watched a movie and to my despair my contractions seemed to slow down and almost disappear. I started to get really upset and stomped off to bed, saying the nurses were lying to me about being in labor, they just wanted to make me feel better and that this baby wasn't coming for another two weeks, I just knew it! I would have one good strong contraction every hour that woke me up from midnight till about 2:30 am. Mike came up to bed at 3:00. All of a sudden I had one really hard contraction and I started to feel something wet... I jumped out of bed and water was streaming down my legs. I was confused for a minute trying to figure out if it was my water breaking or not. It kept coming, so I was so HAPPY and relieved that NOW it was time to definitely go to the hospital that now I was DEFINITELY in labor. It was TIME!!!
When we got to L & D I was 3 to 4 cm and 80% effaced. It was 3:30 am. I labored until 7:00 am and decided to go ahead and get the epidural as they were starting to get pretty uncomfortable. When they checked me they kept saying something didn't feel "right", that where they were supposed to feel his head, it felt "squishy." One nurse said it felt like eyes! That freaked me out as I could imagine these women were poking my little guy in his eye! They brought in the ultrasound machine to check the position of his head. He apparently was facing the correct way and was head first, but his head was not engaged and he was trying to come out face first! Whispers of c-section started to fly. They decided to give me pitocin to increase the contractions to see if it would push him down further and to see if he would move his head. I got the epidural at that point, I was at 5 cm when I got it. Sweet sweet relief. I never thought I'd be one of those moms who fell asleep during labor, but yep I was OUT like a light, especially after I got a dose of benadryl b/c the epidural made me itch. Daddy takes another opportunity to nap, which he pretty much had been doing since 6:30 am anyway. When they came in at 10:30 am to check me they said I was at a 7 and they broke the rest of my water. By 11:30 I was at a 10 and his head was where it was supposed to be..thank god as I REALLY didn't want a c-section. This is my last child and I wanted to be able to deliver him vaginally. Started pushing at 11:30 and at 12:01 he made his way into the world with hardly any noise at all. Daddy cut the cord and they laid him right onto my chest, something I'd not had done with my other two. I instantly started to cry, even though he was the third baby, it felt just as emotional as the first one. I still want to cry when I look at him. I'm overwhelmed with love for this tiny little one.
We spent two days in the hospital and came home on Wednesday Sept 4. Adjusting to having a newborn has been so much easier than I anticipated. He's a great baby, we hardly hear a peep out of him. We just can't stop staring at him, he's so sweet and wonderful and a symbol of everything in this world that is good. Daddy is VERY VERY proud and so is mommy. Big brother and sister seem to be adjusting well, the dog however seems to be a bit confused but is coming around. He is protective of the baby we've noticed, he gets upset when the baby cries and if someone comes to visit he positions himself between visitor and baby.
We are so proud to introduce our new son to the world...we know you will all love him like we do!
