Well, let's see if I can remember the details. This time around I was already pretty tired to start things off, so I had a harder time keeping up with things as they were happening let alone remembering them afterward.
We planned an induction for Corban because of Britt's work schedule (and me not wanting to be pregnant longer than necessary nor have a huge baby - Rachel was 8lb 12oz and I didn't want bigger than that). I struggled a bit with the decision at first. Even at the end I wondered as I wasn't dilating at all during the last month of pregnancy like I had with the others. We chose Thanksgiving Day after finding out when my doctor (new to us for this pregnancy, but I worked with her almost exclusively) would be available, and I would be exactly 39 weeks which is the earliest the hospital allows for elective inductions, and luckily, we were able to ensure Britt would have that day off as well. I had joked with people a long time before that maybe the baby would come that day, so I felt a little silly choosing that day. We still did not have a baby name picked out by the induction day. We had a few names in mind but really hadn't had much time to discuss or debate names because Britt had been so busy with work.
The week before the induction, my OB had outlined a plan for the coming week. She said she could strip membranes the Tuesday before at my appointment to help things along. Then, there was a possibility to place a foley bulb to help stretch my cervix. When I went in on Tuesday, I was an emotional wreck. I was having doubts because I hadn't dilated any more. I was worn out. Britt was super busy, and I worried that if we stripped membranes the baby would come before Britt could be there (although his rotation was at the same hospital I would deliver at). I ended up crying to my doctor about some of my concerns and told her I wasn't even feeling excited to have the baby because I felt like things had been so busy I couldn't enjoy things. Bless her heart, she listened to me and changed our plan a little bit to help me feel better. We stuck with the induction day without trying to do anything ahead of time (like make a trip to the hospital on Wed for the foley bulb). She told me to take it easy and spend some calm time with Britt before coming in for the induction. I was very grateful for her advice and her concern for me.
Melinda came to our house to be with the kids when we went to the hospital. I have definitely been blessed to have Melinda as close as she has been. She has helped me out so many times. Thank you, Melinda!! The kids were excited to have her here. Let me take a step back, though, and say that Logan had been really concerned about me that last week. I had told the kids what would be happening, and I think it scared Logan somehow. He wanted to go with me to my doctor appointment; he wanted to know where I would be all the time. I was hoping that having Melinda here while we were gone would make it all okay for him, and I think it did. Rachel also was sick with a fever on Wed, and I was really hoping she'd be better the next day so that I wouldn't be bringing a newborn baby home to a sick house.
We were told to check in at the hospital at 12:30am on November 24. I didn't sleep really before going in nor did I rest much that day before. I did eat a slice of pecan pie that Melinda brought me before going in to the hospital. Britt was super wiped out, so he slept any chance he could during the whole induction. I was really frustrated because we checked in and had to wait for more than an hour before they were ready to do anything with us. We sat in triage for so long for nothing. We did try to discuss baby names then, but still couldn't narrow it down. I finally got taken back to the delivery room by my nurse.
The nurse started my IV. My doctor and a resident came in to place the foley bulb (I think they told me I'd have that in for about 4 hours, at which point it should slide out easily because I would be dilated to a 5). That was an uncomfortable procedure though not as bad as I thought it may be. My doctor ended up taking over on the placement because the resident was having a hard time with it. Again, I felt blessed that my doctor was aware of me as a person. Again, I was told I wouldn't need to rush on getting the epidural even though I would be getting pitocin to start my contractions. So, the waiting game. I tried to sleep then but just couldn't really. I started noticing contractions though they weren't painful. Anyway, boring waiting time. I finally asked to do the epidural in the 6 o'clock hour before change of shift. The anesthesiologist only had to poke once and was efficient, but he was not very gentle at all. It was quite uncomfortable having it placed. After it was working, I again felt like my left side got way more numb than my right. This time I noticed that changing my position had an effect on the numbness caused by the epidural. There were even times I could feel the pressure of contractions more but still no pain. The nurse told me I could push a button to have more medicine administered if I was noticing feeling, so I did end up pushing maybe 3 different times. That was all new for me as I'd never had to do that before with the others.
My doctor had promised to stay as long as it took for me to deliver that day, but I felt bad that I was keeping her later than she should be. People came in often enough to interrupt any sleep I tried to get. My new nurse was like a grandma, and she ended up being awesome. Things still seemed to be progressing rather slowly, and I was afraid it would take all day. They ended up breaking my water to help things along (I think that was around 10am). When they checked me then, I think I was still a 5 or 6. After that I tried to rest a bit but couldn't really. I started to feel pressure some of the time. As I kept trying to rest, I decided I was feeling pressure near my bottom (again, surprising to feel anything with the epidural going), and I wondered if it was like I've heard women say about feeling the need to bear down. I woke Britt up once to tell him about it and wondered if I should call my nurse. Shortly after that, my nurse came in and asked if I was feeling any different. I explained that I was feeling that pressure, and she got excited and said it was getting close. She said the baby was cutting out of the monitor any time I had a contraction and that would indicate that baby had descended a bit. My doctor and a different resident came in to check on things, and lo, and behold, I was a ten and the baby was already crowning. Say what?!?! We woke Britt and told him it was baby time. This was at ten after 11. Somewhere in here, Britt turned and asked me what I thought of the name Corban. I was like, where did that come from because that name had never come up before. I told Britt we could talk about it after we delivered since it was time to have the baby now. Everyone got situated, and I started pushing when I felt that pressure. I felt his head right away, and that made me feel excited that we were so close. I pushed a few times each contraction, but it really was only like 4 contractions, and he was out (way different that my other babies where I pushed for 40 min or so). They put the baby right on me before weighing or measuring or cleaning him. I tore, so my doctor took some time stitching me up.
It felt so wonderful to have my baby in my arms. He seemed to nurse okay once everyone left. I kept him for quite a while, and we finally asked the nurse about weighing him. He was 7lb 11oz, so definitely smaller than I had thought/been worried about. He was 20.5 inches long. We still got to hang out for a while in the delivery room. We ended up asking my nurse if she'd like to give the baby his bath (as she'd mentioned something about not getting to do that anymore since usually that's done on the postpartum floor). Finally I was transferred to the postpartum floor. I could barely stand up to transfer to the wheelchair, as my left side was still really numb. Melinda brought the other kids at dinner time, and Britt took them to the cafeteria for a Thanksgiving feast. He ended up taking the kids home that night, and Melinda spent the night with me. He slept quite a bit, and I was grateful for that, though I don't think I slept that much any way. I'll write a part two post about his name.
