Our family of four...and the labor story

We are all home from the hospital now and so grateful to be a family of four.  We adore our two boys! Here is the lengthy, journal-version of the labor story if you care to read it.

It was Monday, July 2, 2012 and I was pacing around the family room from 2-5 am with very painful contractions. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I woke up Sean. I told him this had to be "it" and we needed to get to the hospital. He called his mom to come be with our sleeping Grant and we raced off to Banner Gateway Hospital. The car ride was uncomfortable to say the least. At least there was no traffic so we got there quickly.

 We parked the car and as we walked into the hospital, Sean said a quick prayer for me and for the baby--that all would be well.  I entered OB triage about 5:10am and had one horrible contraction right in front of the nurse's station. I think that got everyone's attention and multiple nurses came in to get the ball rolling. They put me on the monitors and checked me:  I was 5cm, 100% effaced, and had a bulging bag of water. The contractions were now every 2-3 minutes and were extremely painful. The nurses called the doc. He admitted me immediately. Another nurse came in, started my IV (which didn't hurt at all compared to the contractions), and had me sign the consent to receive an epidural. I was wheeled down the hall into labor and delivery and got my new nurse, Leslie. She was very supportive and helped me breathe through the contractions and stay in control. Anesthesia was notified and arrived in my new room around 5:40 am. It was a young guy, a nurse anesthetist, and I was a little nervous about his level of expertise. I needed relief though and I wasn't going to complain about who did my epidural. The positioning for the epidural placement was very uncomfortable, especially on top of the contractions. The "shakes" also set in at this point and I tried so hard to be perfectly still. The epidural went in great. It was virtually pain free and I started feeling relief within about 10 minutes. By 6:10 am I was comfortable but could still move my legs and shift in bed. That's exactly what I wanted.

 My blood pressure dropped a few times due to the epidural which is common. Preston's heartbeat stayed perfect the whole time though which is such a blessing. My heartbeat, on the other hand, was compensating for the blood pressure changes and so it sped up considerably. This had the anesthetists concerned so 2 more of them came into my room at this point. They listened to my heart, wondering if it were some type of arrhythmia. It wasn't. It was just fast. After some ephedrine, the blood pressure and heart rate stabilized.

 I decided to rest my eyes (although there is no way I could sleep at this point) since I hadn't got much sleep the last two nights. Sean went to get some breakfast at the cafeteria. Doc was already at the hospital rounding on his post-partum patients. He came into the room to see us around 7:00 am. He broke my water at that time and said I was 7cm dilated. Things were moving much quicker this time around. He said he wanted to deliver me before going into his office to see patients. I thought things wouldn't happen that quickly but they did. We just relaxed for another 45 minutes and talked and wondered what Preston would look like. Doc came back in around 7:30 am to check me. I was 8 cm dilated and Preston was facing up, instead of the preferred down. He manually turned him to facilitate an easier delivery. Preston tolerated it fine. At 7:50 am the doctor checked me and I was completely dilated. The room filled up with a few more nurses, the doctor got gowned up and set up, and it was time.

 I started pushing at 7:58 am. In between contractions the nurses told me that Preston had a lot of hair. Everyone was very supportive of me. The doctor kept telling me I was pushing well. Sean held my left leg and my second nurse, Ann, held my right leg. 14 minutes later, at 8:12 am our handsome son Preston Keith Oborn was born. It was a beautiful moment. I felt a huge relief of pressure as I saw my son for the first time. I started crying because I was so happy he was born. He has a full head of light brown, almost blonde hair. He has great cheeks and lips, just like Grant had at birth. They look a lot alike.

 Preston cried a little, not much. He was pretty calm as they laid him on my chest. I held onto his little slippery body as Sean took the scissors from the doctor and cut the umbilical cord. I helped dry off Preston and gazed into his eyes for the first time. The nurses assessed him, and he was perfect. His apgar scores were 9 and 9. A few minutes later they brought Preston to the warmer to clean him off, weigh him, and give him some supplemental oxygen since he was grunting. He weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 inches long. He is absolutely perfect.

The labor could not have been better. I loved the entire delivery experience. It's such an amazing climax to the long, 9 months of pregnancy. What a thrill to meet your child whom you've felt move for so long.

We are all recovering and adjusting well. Unfortunately, Preston had to be re-admitted to the children's hospital for severely high bilirubin levels. He had blood work, IV fluids, and double phototherapy. (The exact same thing happened with Grant.) That was a long 2 days in the hospital but we are home now and we are continuing his phototherapy here. Hopefully his levels will drop soon.