Let me just start by saying I had NO idea what bringing a new life into the world would be like. I thought I did… I felt like I was fairly prepared… boy was I wrong. The last two months have been a whirlwind of emotions… happiness, sadness, excitement, fear, numbness, and many others. I know I have been SUPER behind on blogging… but I just haven’t been able to make myself. I think I am ready now!
The Birth Story:
When I woke up on Thursday, July 17 at 5:30 a.m. I told Isaac I didn’t feel right. I was having stronger contractions than the Braxton Hicks contractions I had throughout my pregnancy. I went to work, and somehow made it through the day. It was rough… and I let them know I wasn’t feeling “right.” Of course, I was still 3 weeks away from my due date.. so no one was thinking I could possibly be having a baby now! When I left work, I said “See ya tomorrow, unless I have a baby tonight!” I think I knew somehow but was in denial…
My mom, and her three girlfriends, Chelle, Shawna, & Lisa were leaving for a relaxing girls weekend in Eagle Nest. They kept asking if they should stay – but like I said, none of us thought I was really going to have a baby now, three weeks early! So, they left and headed that way. She text me when they got there and said “Let the party begin – no baby tonight please!” with a picture of them and their wine glasses! About 10:45 I took a bath and was going to get ready for bed. Isaac was watching TV and when I got out of the bath tub, around 11, I went into our room to get dressed. I felt something funny and looked down at the floor. I hadn’t voluntarily peed! So what the heck was that on the floor below me? I hollered at Isaac and he said he knew from the tone of my voice something was going on. I called my mom and told her “I know this isn’t what you want to hear right now, but I think my water just broke!” I wasn’t sure though… it wasn’t a huge gush like I had imagined so I was skeptical. My mom had planned c-sections with my brother and I, so she had no idea how to help me know. I called Isaac’s sister because she has six kids and is a pro at this stuff… I’ll save you the gory details, but we determined that it was most likely my water and we should probably head to Liberal. We started loading up our stuff. I had our bags packed, but there were some additional things we needed, like our pillows, the car seat, etc. Isaac clearly didn’t think it was really happening, because he didn’t grab the things we needed. We did make it to Liberal with the car seat in the car, but no pillows… About half way there I think he realized we were actually going to come home with a baby! As we were leaving, we called my dad (who had already talked to my mom) and told him we were headed to have a baby. I told him I would call him once we got there and knew for sure… but that was silly – of course he was going to come now! My mom and the girls loaded their stuff back in the car and started towards Liberal too.
Much to Isaac’s disappointment, it was a really calm drive to Liberal for he and I. I wasn’t really in pain, and it was a beautiful, misty night. We took our time getting inside and then got checked in and hooked up to the monitors. My water had broken, and I was having contractions… however, they weren’t regular or growing stronger. The nurse talked to Dr. Knudsen and he said if I hadn’t progressed by 5:30 the next morning I was to get up and shower and then they would start Pitocin. Isaac, my dad, and I tried to get some sleep before the morning…. I believe Isaac was the only one who had any success.
I didn’t progress on my own, so we followed his plan. My mom and the girls had gotten to the hospital by then, and were so excited!!
The contractions got stronger and stronger so I went ahead and got the epidural. The anesthesiologist Dr. Knudsen wanted me to have was in surgery, so he wasn’t able to come do it, so another one came. It wasn’t as bad I as had worked myself up thinking it was going to be, but it definitely made me feel sick for a bit. It kicked in for a while an I slept for a bit. Then, I woke up in pain when I was dilated to an 8 and felt like I had to push. I couldn’t keep from it. But I wasn’t dilated far enough yet. Another anesthesiologist came in and tried to give me a boost of epidural, but it didn’t do anything for me. This is where it all gets fuzzy for me. I was in my own zone – just trying to work and breathe through the pain.
I had never really decided who I wanted in the room with me during labor and delivery. Of course Isaac would be there with me and most likely my mom and dad. My dad has always been my strength in tough situations similar to this, so I definitely wanted him there! Well, it turns out that as long as everyone stayed out of the way, I could have as many people as I wanted in the room… so there were several of them! Isaac, my parents, meme, grandma Dain, and a few other stragglers off and on. I pushed for 2 hours, and a little before Barrett was actually born, my grandma Dain stood up and said “I just can’t push anymore!” She had been “helping” me by pushing when I did… and wore herself out! So funny… but not to me at the time! 😉
I was told later that during this time my family talked about a time when I was little that I went to cheerleading camp. Each day one camper was chosen to receive the “spirit stick.” I didn’t get one the first day and was not happy about it. I told my mom that I would get one the next day. So, they were encouraging me throughout my labor telling me they would give me a spirit stick when it was all over! Silly people!
My nurses were great! I couldn’t have asked for better. They were so helpful, encouraging, and passionate about what they do! Finally after about 2 hours of pushing, the doctor told me he could see the head. In my “looney” state of mind, I apparently said “well, reach in and grab him!” So funny!
Barrett James Lively was born at 1:53 p.m. on July 18th, 2014. He weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long.
Let me just say… I was feeling rough after all that… can you tell?
I had a difficult delivery. I honestly don’t think I ever actually thought I would deliver naturally. My mom had c-sections, several cousins have had c-sections, I think I always just thought I would too! But, nope! I did it… but it’s still weird for me to think about.
I had to have surgery following my delivery. It was rough on Barrett too. Poor little baby was all banged up. His collar bone was injured… not broken – because baby bones aren’t brittle enough to break very easily… but, it was painful for him. 🙁 His forearm and eye were bruised. Because Dr. K had to use suction to get Barrett out, he also had a large amount of blood pooled in the back of his head. He had to stay in the Liberal hospital’s version of a NICU for quite a while.
When I came back from surgery, and finally woke up enough to function, I was able to walk down to the nursery and look at our baby boy through the window. I realized I didn’t even know if my son had ten fingers and ten toes! But, my mom quickly assured me that she had checked it all out and he did indeed!
It is so crazy how quickly things changed. I checked into the hospital a mere 20ish hours before and now I was a mother.