Carter's Birth Story

August 22 came and like most 39 weeks and 5 day pregnant mamas, I felt just about done. I kept telling myself that I was still NOT at my due date and to be patient. I really hadn't been patient though. Starting at 39 weeks, I drank my pregnancy tea, aired up my exercise ball which became my chair for the next week, rubbed, bathed, and even took a veggie cap filled with Clary Sage essential oil, and went to spin class twice that week. My spin instructor did give me a little hope and told me she thought it would be the next couple of days because I looked different than even the day before. Well she was right.

That morning, I went on my 2 mile walk on the beach by our house. It was early (like 6am) and so there wasn't very many people out yet. I was telling God my frustrations and how ill I felt, but at the end I just let Him remind me that He knew exactly when Carter would be here and it would be perfect. I told Him that it was His will, not mine and that I was in complete peace with that. 

I didn't do much that day but I had a craving for Benihannas (we went the Friday before), and when Nick got home I told him and we decided to go again since it might be our last nice dinner out for a while. He had gotten home pretty early that day so he spent the rest of the day watching TV and relaxing. It was so hot in San Diego and we have a window unit in our room, so that's where I spent the rest of the day. I think I even took the exercise ball to our room so I could watch TV and bounce. I finally laid down before it was time to get ready for dinner and I felt like I had weird gas. I had been cramping a little for about 2 weeks so I wasn't worried about it. I wasn't hurting and there was nothing to time.  I went to the front to see what Nick was doing (he was on the phone with his grandfather), and  all of the sudden I had this weird feeling. I ran to the bathroom and there went my water. It was the most exciting feeling in the world. I yelled," Nick…I think my water just broke! Dont tell your grandfather!!!!" ( I didn't want anyone to know until we were sure just so they wouldn't be sitting around waiting by the phone). Nick ran back and there it went again. This time I was FOR SURE. My experience with my water breaking was pretty much what you see in the movies. I didn't expect that. Plus I wasn't having contractions that I could feel.

I changed clothes and told Nick that I wanted to do a quick clean up around the house so it wouldn't be too cluttered when we came back. I looked over my Hospital List and got all the small last minute things packed. We loaded up the car, took my last bump picture and decided to grab Carl's Jr on the way. I knew this wasn't the best food decision but I was hungry and knew I wouldn't be eating anything after I got to the hospital. 

Can you tell that I dropped?

We headed up to Labor and Delivery, and again, there went my water. We walked in those double doors to about 12 nurses at the front desk. It was obviously a slower night so I felt like the only person in there. Kinda intimidating. I told them my water broke about an hour ago, and also in that hallway I just came from. They all said Hooray! and I was led to the office where they made sure my info was correct. We headed to Triage and they told me my water had in fact broken and I won myself a room for the night! They checked me and I was 4 cm. I was also told my midwife that I had all through pregnancy was working tonight so she would be catching my baby! What a blessing that was! I started off with the day nurse but she was about 30 minutes from getting off work so she got my bloodwork started and they got some fluid going since I was a little dehydrated when I got there. My night nurse arrived and I totally felt a connection with her. I will never forget Olivia. She was an angel and Im so thankful she was there for my delivery. I was her last baby to help deliver because she was heading to Japan in two weeks to be stationed. It was a very special night!

My goal was to wear my wedding ring to delivery! It happened and I took it off right after this picture! haha!

Nick loved Ninja Turtles when he was a boy. I made him this onsie for his surprise box at the hospital!

I wasn't feeling anything for a long time. My one request was that we keep away from pitocin for as long as possible. Of course, if they told me they needed to start it, I would have been fine, but I wanted my body to do its thing. We made lots of calls and posted a picture to Facebook to let everyone know it was go time. I was feeling way too good and that made me nervous that I wasn't moving along. I walked, bounced on my exercise ball, rubbed Clary Sage on my belly and did some squats. They checked me a few hours later and I was still at 4. They brought up pitocin but that they would give me a little longer. They turned me on my side to try to get things moving. 

Well, they started moving. It really is true what everyone says. During contractions, you are in so much pain. Pain that I haven't felt before. But between contractions, you feel so so good. Probably because during the contraction, you felt so so bad. They came and checked me again and I was only at 6. They again said the next time they checked me they would probably start the pitocin. I told them go ahead and get me the epidural before they started it because that was all the pain I could handle and I knew what the pictocin would do. It was going to be about 30 minutes before they could get to me and I was hurting BAD by this point. She gave me some medicine through my IV to take the edge off while I waited. It helped a lot but I could still feel the pain pretty good. It was just like laughing gas at she dentist. So there I was gripping the side rails of the bed through contractions while poor Nick could only look on. I know he hated seeing me in pain like that. He was ready for that epidural more than me I think. 

My epidural finally arrived and I "bent like a shrimp" as the guy told me to and felt the rush of cold down my back. We had to wait through contractions so I wouldn't move while he did it. After he was done, I laid down and let the epidural do its thing.

It did its thing on my right side, but as time passed by, I could feel every ounce of pain in my left hip. It was more pain in my hip than all the contractions before…put together. I don't think I ever cried from the pain though. We called my nurse and she got the anesthesiologist again. He came in, did a little test with a cold pack to see where I was hurting and just gave me another rush of medicine. About 10 minutes later, I felt nothing. No pressure like everyone said I would feel. I unfortunately never really slept. I really hate the feeling of being numb, but it was worth it to be able to enjoy special moments in delivery. 

So about 4 hours later, my midwife came in to check me. I was convinced that since I had gotten the epidural and couldn't move around that my labor had slowed and I would be at maybe a 7. So Im watching her face as she checks me and I can't read it at all. She finally says, "Well, my dear, you're at 10 cm.. Time to push.". That's when I broke down. I love big moments in life where you know the next move will change your life forever. 

Olivia got me to do a practice push. I really felt nothing. I don't know how my mind connected with the action of pushing. I did the push and she said, "Um, this isn't going to take long at all." This was my favorite part of it all. It was just the nurse, Nick and me. I always thought I would want pictures of labor and delivery but in that moment everything changed. It was too intimate to share with anyone. The only people I wanted in that room was Nick and my nurse, Olivia. We got to the point where they called Denise, my midwife. She was delivering another baby. The doctor on call came in to catch Carter and about a minute later I see Denise rush in and say it was her baby :). I was so happy to see her. Nick was my rock through it all and was so encouraging. I could feel our relationship change right there in that delivery room. And it was good.

Carter was on my chest after 30 minutes of pushing. He came out screaming with that beautiful voice.  It was by far the best moment of my life. He looked like me, which I was not expecting. I saw that brown hair and just cried. He is the most beautiful thing Ive ever seen. He was so alert and ready to eat the moment he landed on me. Nick and I just kept looking from him to each other in awe. We talked about his fingers and his toes. His hairy back. His blue eyes. He stayed on my for a long time before they got him all cleaned up and swaddled.

My nurse, Olivia

 First time Daddy held his boy

Nick snapped this next one which is one of my favorite pictures! What a talented hubby.

He was 7 lbs 5 ounces of perfection. He was 20 inches long and was born at 5:54 Saturday morning, August 23. It was the best experience of my life. I wanted to go back and do it again. I thought I would miss his kicks, but having him here is way better. 

The doctors and nurses at Balboa Hospital were top notch. I couldn't have experienced a better delivery. Everything went pretty much as planned. What a blessing that was! Nick was so cute holding Carter for the first time. It made such a bond between the two of us. I can't even explain it. He has helped me so much and been so nurturing to both Carter and me. His 10 days off were the best. We got to spend our days laying on the couch and going to doctors appointments. He made recovery so much easier. 

Now we have a 3 week old and are adjusting to this new season of life. Its tiring and wonderful. Even when Carter wants to eat every single hour. And already hates to be put down. Thank goodness for the Moby Wrap!

What a blessing to bring this sweet boy into the world. We have lots to look forward to.. I'm just enjoying this little bitty bundle for now though.