Mommy's Little Man: The Birth of Avan (what I posted on BBC)

So this is my labor and delivery story. Feel free to skim or not read all of it. As it is very long!
So, at 6pm Thursday I called L&D like I was told and they said to be there at 7pm as planned for induction. Well, we arrived a little late because we decided to stop at Chick-Fil-A to eat some dinner...didn't know when my next meal would be. Once we got there they hooked me to monitors and put the cervadil in place. I started having cx pretty quickly, about 6 minutes apart. BTW I was about a fingertip dialated to start with and barely thinned out. So the midwife (Mrs. T) said that is was going to be a long process for me. Later in the night I learned there was another woman there next to me who was going through the same thing, only arrived the day prior, wednesday. Nice to know I was not the only one in the same boat. They gave me something to help me sleep in hopes I could get some good rest. Right, I didn't sleep, not when you are all hooked up with iv's and monitors and the bp thing beeping every 15mins because of high bp! Nick did though, he snored all night long! The next morning a new doctor was on (Dr F), she came in and removed the cervadil and then started pitocin. Still no change in my cervix and she suggested that we try this balloon thing. Bascially, a foley cath shoved up in my cervix and filled with water to push my cervix to dialate to at least 4cms. Well, she was UNSUCCESSFUL with that. OUCH!! So, they just continued to up pitocin. I can tell you I was in PAIN. They hurt badly and I wasn't progressing. It was so disappointing. Also, because of the Pre E the damn bp cuff kept beeping off! In the afternoon the Anesthesiologist came in to talk to me about my epi and back issues and allergies. So, he said he would be back whenever I wanted, doesn't have to be at 3cm or anything. Just whenever I needed it. My doc came and checked me, still no change....but she did offer some stadol. So I had that and tried to rest, keeping my bp somewhat lowered. Around 6pm I learned that they would probably shut off the pitocin and let me sleep that night and restart in the AM. I freaked!!!! I did not plan to be in labor for days on end. I didn't know that was what they did. I disliked the doc suggesting that...by this point another midwife "tried" the balloon thing AGAIN and also stripped membranes, OUCH!!!!!! Hurt so bad I was in tears. So, I was pretty upset. Then the nightshift came on....the nurse was RUDE! Explained that htis is how it goes and "labor is going to be painful." Really no kidding lady! She also kept telling me about how my baby could be only 35 weeks and will be preemie. Um NO read my chart, due date has not changed once. Plus I was diagnosed for 2 complications!!! So annoying, well after bumping heads for a few hours, I ended up with a new nurse, looks like she got tired of me! The new nurse was great, she helped me to breathe through cx and relax some. Also, the midwfe decided that they would stop the pit and let me eat and get up and walk around. Thinking this would help my frame of mind. It DID!! I felt so much better and my blood sugars were a lot better. I enjoyed a yummy dinner of Chicken Nuggets and fries! Oh and I also had a regular soda! It really sucked being 30+ hours in bed, strapped because of fetal monitoring and IV stuff. So, it changed my mood. Again they gave me something for sleep and I tried to rest. Nope, no such luck! The next AM I was dreading, knowing there would be no change because I had no cx. Well boy Saturday was AWESOME! When the day shift midwife (Mrs N)came in to meet me she said, "we are having this baby today!" She checked me, nope no change, then she would do the balloon thing and start the pit again. Finally somebody was successful with that thing! She also said I could get my epi! It was either the epi to help with my bp or the magnesium for the high bp! Praise the Lord! YES! So at 8amish I got my epi. This sucked! The balloon caused so many CX and tons of pain! BUt it made me dialate quickly. At about noon my midwife came in to see if the balloon was ready to come out, meaning I would be at 4cm! Sure enough, I was at 4cm and they broke my water. By 2pm the nurse told me she thought I was complete, just a hunch of hers. She went and got the midwife so that she could check. I was having some pressure and a little uncomfortable. I honestly did not believe I was complete, only because I had been disappointed so many other times. I was about 9 and half cms dialated! WOOHOOO! So, I only had a little bit more time to wait to see my baby boy. Nick and I started getting very anxious; we couldn't believe this was going to happen soon! So the nurse and midwife left and said they would be back very soon, to call if I felt pressure. So, about 20mins or so go by and I started feeling different. I told Nick to go get the midwife and nurse....his response was of course, they will be back....and I then say, NO go get them! He went out and got them, the midwife started running for our room! Sure enough, I was ready to push!!! Once I started pushing it went very quickly. The midwife was awesome! I only pushed for about an hour! I did have some moments where I had to pause because of getting sick, but the anthes. came and got me some antinausua stuff to help battle that! Once Avan crowned and his head was out, the midwife asked if Nick wanted to deliver his shoulders and put him on my chest. A wonderful story to share between father and son for years to come! Nick was surprised and shocked (plus he is normaly squemish) He was the one to deliver our son onto my chest! So, within an hour of pushing, Avan Keith was born, at 3:17pm. He weighed in at 7lbs and 1oz and was 20inches long. They let him lay on me for about 5 mins or so and then took him to the warmer. Avan only gave out one scream, and then was quiet. He is a very good self soother, we are learning. Avan didn't cry, they tried to do things, even the vitamin K shot didn't make him upset. They checked and rechecked his lungs, they sounded awesome! He just didn't want to cry. So after a few bad days we were blessed with a wonderful delivery! It was a lot better then what I Had imagined the days prior.

Now that the delivery story is over, I would like to share with you are bumps in the road. Because I had the GD, Avan had to have 4 total blood sugars. The first right after birth, and then 3 ones right before he eats. He had to stay above 40. If any of them were under then he would be stuck more. He had to have 3 good ones in a row to be cleared. Well, his sugars were below 40. So, the first night was rough. I had to get his blood sugar once he was going to eat. Next I bfed him. Then a half hour after eating we checked his blood sugar again. If it was still low I had to supplement with self expressed colustrumn and then with formula(my worst nightmare). Luckily, the doc (Dr L) that was on nightshift, rocked!!! she knew how disappointed I had been about having to supplement. She had us fee him the formula through a syringe and also another device that was like a straw that he sucked on next to my finger at the same time. This way he didn't get used to any other way other then nursing. Of course once the formula was given it would be time to start the whole process over again!!!! I had to wake him every 2 hours to eat and it took just as long to get him fed. We were both exhasuted and he didn't want to eat, he wasn't hungry. Either way it was only the first night that happened. He finally had great blood sugars and only required the formula 3 times. So, glad that he didn't have to be put on an IV or anything. There had been discussion of this. So, now I can eat whatever I want and Avan can be exclusively breastfed!

Time for some pictures!