Colin Scott Has Arrived!

On Thursday (8/16), I had my OB appointment. The doctor checked me but it felt a little more uncomfortable than normal.  I didn't really think twice about but she may have "accidentally" stripped my membranes.  Anyway, Liam and I went on with our day.  He has had a cold so we hung out at the house the whole afternoon and he got to watch some George.  Around 3PM I realized that I was cramping/contracting more than normal so I thought I would time a few, and I was having them every 10-12 minutes.  Chris stayed later than normal at work to finish up a few cases just by chance because I didn't tell him about the contractions until about 5:30, and it's a good thing he finished them.  I did finally start to pack my bag before he got home though! I kept having this crazy thought that it was all in my head!  

I was suppose to have a couple of friends come over for lunch and a play date on Friday and one of them, Alex, texted me Thursday evening to see if we were still on.  I let her know about the contractions and asked if she could be on call for the night just in case something crazy happened.  Thank goodness she was around!  Chris and I went on about our evening and around 9:30 I realized that we probably would end up at the hospital sometime through the night but I will leave those details out for the sake of male readers with weak stomachs.  We went to bed around 10:00 and I showered and tried to prepare myself mentally for the events that could be forthcoming.  My contractions were still 10 minutes apart but becoming a little more intense.  Finally around 11PM I actually crawled into bed.  It was awful and I couldn't fall asleep.  Every time I had a contraction it was 10x worse than what they were if I were sitting, so I guess laying down just doesn't work for me.  Around midnight I sat on our rocking foot-stool and leaned my head into Colin's crib and found my contractions were much more bearable.  The contractions kept coming and were getting closer together, Chris was getting a little concerned, but I still had this feeling it was all in my head and if we left now they'd send us home. Finally, I gave in and told him to call Alex so we could get to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital about 1:30 in the morning.  They got us to the triage center where my nurse took her sweet time doing anything.  She called the wrong physician at first, which delayed things further.  Finally, she realized that my contractions were coming frequently and were strong.  She checked me herself and I was 5cm dilated.  She then asked if I wanted an epidural.  I decided that I did purely because I didn't sleep the night before (Wednesday) and was up with Liam and then I was up all day long.  I was afraid I didn't have the energy to attempt birth without one.  I let her know that they needed to check my platelet count before I could get an epidural.  She then put us in for a labor room and noted it as urgent, Ha!

Chris and I got to our room at 2:30AM and thought my delivery nurse was going to be a complete grouch, because she didn't even introduce herself or really acknowledge us for several minutes.  Turns out she was actually wonderful!  She was just all business when we arrived knowing that the triage nurse slacked off a little.  I think she was a little worried I was going to move too fast and my labs wouldn't be back in time for me to get the epidural.  I got the epidural about 3:30-4 and after that she checked me and I was 7-8cm.  I decided at this point that going into labor naturally is SO much better than being induced! I think labor was easier this time around and if I had gotten a little sleep within the last 24 hours natural birth would not have been that bad.  Don't get me wrong it is still quite painful :) The doc showed up around 4:30.  That is when she asked if I had my membranes stripped, I told her no but she then said that the doc that I saw in the office tends to strip membranes, which I was fine with.  She then broke my water and said they'd be back to check me in 30 minutes.  Chris and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to catch some zzz's.  Well, Chris got about 10-15 minutes and I got none.  The pressure kept mounting and I had to wake Chris up and let him know we needed to call the nurse.  I felt like Colin's head was already half way out!  The doc and nurse arrived and we began pushing! About 4-5 pushes later we had our little bundle of joy!  He is perfect!

Momma and Colin's first meeting

Getting checked out.  8lbs and 21 inches. He was born at 5:19 in the morning

Don't mind my tired face, it was a long night :)

Colin was wide awake for the first 45 minutes, Chris and I soaked it all in.

Daddy holding his boy for the first time.

Sweet baby boy

Snoozing

This little guy likes to sleep with his mouth open.

More to come!