Gavin's Birth Story!

Somehow... this past year has flown by and I'm about to have a 1 YEAR OLD!!!!
How did that happen??!!!
So in honor of that craziness, I decided to share Gavin's birth story!

So here's how it all went down...

My due date was August 16th.
I had been having braxton hicks contractions since I was about 7 months pregnant. The last month of my pregnancy I had them ALL THE TIME.
At 37 weeks in my pregnancy, my doctor checked me for the first time, and I was already dilated to 2! Gavin was already very low (no wonder my low back was so sore), and in the correct position for birth! My doctor said we could expect him really any day from that point on! So of course, I expected to have my baby within the next week! .....for sure BEFORE my due date....
Nope. Not even close.

...At 38 weeks I was dilated to 3...

...At 39 weeks we didn't even check, because both my doctor and I agreed, "what's the point...this baby will come when he's ready, and he seems to be taking his time". 
Before you know it, I went past my due date, and we were in talks about inducing me.

40 weeks pregnant, laying poolside in my bikini
...in the privacy of my parents back yard! ;)

I absolutely did NOT want to be induced.

My original "plan" was to have an all natural, drug-free birth. I wanted to labor at home (out at my parent's house in their soaker tub) for as long as possible, and not go to the hospital until later in my labor.
I had read about all of the possible interventions that result from being induced, I also heard all of the women's horror stories about Pitocin. But, we knew we had a bigger baby on our hands, and my doctor wasn't comfortable going past 41 weeks (which to be honest, neither was I, because I literally was not comfortable anymore...I couldn't sleep, my back was so sore, I could feel Gavin was super low, and I was just over being pregnant...).

So even though I still really did NOT want to be induced, I caved, and during my last doctors appointment on August 18th, we scheduled an induction for 8:00am, Thursday August 21st (5 days past my due date).

When we left that doctors appointment, my doctor said as we were walking out, "Hey, you're water will probably break the night before"....I responded with "I hope so... fingers crossed!"

So, it's Wednesday, August 20th, the night before my scheduled induction. We were all packed (for the most part) and ready to leave for the hospital bright and early the next morning. It was about 10:30pm and I was crawling into bed, feeling so let down that I didn't go into labor naturally. It was a lot of mixed emotions, but mostly just a huge disappointment that I didn't go naturally. 

My head was of course spinning with all kinds of excitement and thoughts about the next day...I somehow finally managed to just doze off when, it all began....

10:50pm, I woke up to......MY WATER BREAKING!!!!!

I was so excited!!! Our doctor totally called it! ;)

The relief and happiness I felt about going into labor naturally is hard to even put into words! I was thanking God, A LOT!

I quick said to Aaron (who was sleeping), "Babe- I think my water just broke!" 

It was in this moment that I have never seen Aaron move faster- he FLEW out of bed, got fully dressed, and literally ran over to my side of the bed and just stood there before he even said one word.
I busted out laughing...which only caused me to lose more "water"- which was the strangest feeling, because it literally just feels like you're uncontrollably peeing yourself, so that in itself made me laugh even more...and now you can see how that became a viscous cycle...
I ended up having to make Aaron leave the bedroom, because he just kept making me laugh, and I just kept (what felt like) peeing myself.
I finally managed to get myself out of the bed and to the bathroom. We called my doctor (the world's greatest doctor, by the way), we updated him, and told him I would labor at home for as long as possible. 

I hadn't experienced any contractions yet. 

11:10pm: after my water broke, I'm still sitting on the toilet at this point because my water is still uncontrollably leaking. To kill the time while just sitting there, I called my mom to fill her in on the exciting news! I remember I could hardly talk because I was SO excited! I was shaking and my head was just spinning! After I hung up with her, at about 11:15pm,
I finally had my FIRST REAL CONTRACTION!
I remember thinking, "ok, so THAT'S what a real contraction feels like, braxton hicks are a joke compared to that". 
From that point on, my contractions were consistently every 3 minutes apart, noticeably getting stronger, with each one lasting at least 30 seconds. My water at this point is STILL leaking (a lot), but I wanted to go out to my parents (about 15 minutes from our house) and labor in the super awesome soaker tub my mom has. 

Thursday, August 21st 
(5 days past due date, the day I was scheduled to be induced)

12:15am: We finally had made it out to my parents house. Mind you, the entire way out there with every, SINGLE, freaking contraction, I felt like I was losing about a gallon's worth of amniotic fluid. My sweat pants were drenched, and I'm not even kidding, my flip flops were wet (ya eww, I know). 
At my parents house I immediately went right for the tub- and my mom, being the angel that she is, tossed my sweats in the dryer!
I had envisioned soaking in the comfy tub for hours....relaxing, and feeling 'great'...oh my lord was I wrong. The water was too hot, the water was too cold, I couldn't sit, I couldn't kneel, I spent about a total of maybe 8 minutes in the tub before I stood up and said to Aaron, "We're going to the hospital NOW, and I'm getting the epidural".
Yup, my idea of a natural, drug-free labor & delivery went out the door pretty quick.

At this point labor was getting "real". I couldn't walk or talk through contractions. Things that I would have found sweet and comforting were the exact opposite... for example, leaving my parents house for the hospital, my dad walked down the hall with us and put his hands on my shoulders, nicely massaging them, and in the pain of the moment I just said "nope, don't touch me". They all laughed and I think I faked a smile. I didn't mean it to be rude, but honestly at that point I just didn't want to be touched I guess. Don't worry, my dad knows I love him. ;)
On our way to the hospital Aaron proceeded to take, what I swear, is the bumpiest road in the state (poor planning on our part). I was quiet, and not talking a whole lot, but in my mind I was most definitely cursing at every single bump we hit. I pretty much kept my face buried in a towel on the entire drive, focusing on my breathing, and repeatedly telling myself "you're almost there, you're almost there, you're almost there".

1:30(ish)am: We arrive at the hospital, and I make Aaron run in and grab a wheel chair (yes, I even told him to run). Contractions were about every 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, with each one getting noticeably stronger, and lasting about 30-45 seconds. My once dry sweats, were again now drenched, and my flip flops were successfully soaked as well. Yup, that's right, with every contraction, ALL THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL (20ish minutes), my water leaked. A lot.
I remember almost being pissed, thinking "in all the baby books I read, they say if you're water breaks it's just a light leak!! WTF, they LIE!!!!" 
(labor is so not glamorous)

While we were getting registered at the front desk in the Emergency Room, I remember all of a sudden feeling nauseous. I remember thinking, "great...so not only do I look (and feel) like a total mess right now, but I'm about to start throwing up.....fantastic...". They gave me a pretty little green puke bag, that luckily I didn't need. Well...that is, until we got up to my laboring room. Then it was put to use.
I was in the bathroom trying to change into my attractive hospital gown- amidst my almost constant contractions, and on top of that, repeatedly puking. (doesn't labor sound fun!) Meanwhile, Aaron (who is supposed to be helping me change) is hunched over in the corner of the bathroom with his eyes squeezed shut and his hands over his ears because he "doesn't do puking". So not only is he unable to help me change, but he's about to start puking himself! I finally was able to catch a break between the contractions and the puking, and told him to leave before he started puking since he was of no help to me in there! 

1:45am: I managed to make my way out of the bathroom. The nurse checked me and I was dilated to 5! Anesthesia was on it's way with the epidural, and I remember just telling myself, relax and breathe. I was super quiet during my labor, I didn't yell, I didn't swear, I somehow managed to stay extremely calm. I just focused on my breathing during the contractions, and kept telling myself the epidural was on it's way!
 (ps- the breathing technique that I read in one of my books is what saved me during labor. It's the only thing that got me through the contractions... breathe in for 4 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds and count them out in your head. This was my life saver).
The epidural didn't go quite as planned the first time around, it ended up in a blood vessel, which meant the doctor had to start COMPLETELY over. As in get all new supplies, re-scrub the area, re-tape the area, re-inject the needle, and re-do all of the little tests they do to make sure it's working and placed correctly. It was NOT fun having to sit hunched over the side of my hospital bed for that long, having to "be still" during contractions (but it WAS worth it...).

2:45am: The epidural is finally working like a dream, the nurse checked me again and I was already dilated to 8! (in one hour I went from 5 to 8...you can imagine my excitement!) My nausea was gone now, and I had zero pain. All I could feel was my stomach getting tight with each contraction.
I noticed I had the shakes, and that my entire body was still super tense. As soon as I relaxed my body, the shakes went away. It was kind of weird, because even though I felt zero pain, I still had to focus on staying relaxed and not tensing up! I had remembered reading in all of my baby books that when you keep your body tight and tense, it only slows labor. I worked on keeping every part of my body relaxed.
(it was during this time Aaron took a nap...I tried, but who are we kidding- who can sleep when you're in labor for the FIRST time and only hours away from finally having your baby!!??...ya, not this girl!)

The next time the nurse checked me was at 5:00am and I was fully dilated. She said I was ready to push, if I felt the pressure to push. . . But I felt zero pressure. So we decided to wait, and what they call "labor low" (continue with contractions, and relax until I felt the pressure to push...the more contractions, usually the less pushing...so of course, I was game for that).

6:00am: My doctor arrived, checked me, and said Gavin was "right there" and it was time to start pushing! I still had zero pressure to push, which they couldn't believe, because it was apparently most definitely "time"! Both my doctor and my nurse said my epidural was the best they had ever seen! I had zero pain, felt zero pressure, and yet I had TOTAL control over moving my legs and lower body. It was awesome.

We started off the pushing slow, more or less just practicing. It was actually super hard, because with the epidural I had no sense of "pushing". I honestly couldn't tell what the heck I was doing- if I was even "pushing" or not. I had no feeling! ha! So thank God my doctor and nurse were great coaches! :)

It was probably about 6:15am, still early in the pushing and just my nurse was beside me helping, when Aaron decides to ask our doctor "is there any coffee around here?"  Our doctor is seriously the most awesome, laid back guy in the world, and he responds with "oh yeah, come on let's go get some". So the two of them leave, and go enjoy some coffee together in the lounge. The nurse and I just laughed, and I'm sure I wouldn't have such fond memories of that situation if it wasn't for my epidural.  ;)
It wasn't a long coffee break, that's for sure- they managed to make it back pretty quick, but I just thought it was funny that Aaron thought that was an appropriate time for a coffee break. (....only my husband...)
Pushing got pretty exhausting, more than I expected. But...

6:59am: The moment I had been dreaming and praying about for 9 months, Gavin Daniel was born and laid on my chest!!!
That's a feeling that's just out of this world.
There's no other way to describe it...
Our doctor actually let Aaron "deliver" Gavin and lay him on my chest (have I mentioned how awesome our doctor is??)!

Gavin was a whopping 9 lbs 11 oz and 21 1/2 inches long!
Big, healthy boy!!!

Aaron's a Chiropractor, so Gavin got his first
adjustment at about 2 hours old.  :)

So there you have it... a pretty detailed, but still very condensed, story about the day that totally changed my life!
It was such an amazing experience.
It was totally different than I had "planned", but even if I could, I wouldn't change ONE thing!

I can't believe my tiny little baby is already almost 1!
It's bittersweet...