Part 2

When we arrived at the hospital for the second time, we were put back in the same exam room. The routine went pretty much the same as the first time, back on the monitors and this time when I was examined I was just about 2 centimeters! After all this time I had barely increased a centimeter. The contractions were 3 minutes apart though and the baby was at 0 stage. They wanted me to go home again! I couldn't believe it and started crying. I was so uncomfortable. I hadn't slept or ate and was exhausted. Just when they convinced me to at least go walk around the hospital and try to drink something (once you are admitted you can't eat or drink), I got sick again. That is when they said I wasn't going anywhere and finally admitted me. My nurse in L&D was great! They hooked me up to an IV to get some fluids in me and then gave me some medicine to help me sleep through the contractions. They broke my water then too, hoping to move things along. I fell asleep for almost 2 hours, but when I woke up the contractions were even more painful! Plus I was so groggy and kept passing out between them, I didn't have the energy to talk or do anything between them. I was trying to get Chris' attention, but could barely speak, so I just shook the rail on my bed, lol. Getting to 4 centimeters was the longest part. I don't really remember anything. I know my mom and Chris were in the room with me.

Around midnight things got a lot better! I think I was finally at least at 4 centimeters then and I had slept some. At this point this is when they gave me an epidural. Can you say HEAVEN! My mom said I did a 180. I wasn't nervous at all about getting it done and the doctor who did it was awesome, it wasn't bad at all. Plus the relief was instantaneous. Now I could communicate and was alert. We still had a ways to go, but after 4 centimeters you dilate about 1 centimeter an hour. They gave me pitocin to help me along the way. At some point during this time my blood pressure dropped and the baby's heartrate dropped. They put an internal monitor on the baby and worked on getting my blood pressure up. I think it was only a few minutes and we were both fine, but I know it worried my mom. Me? I didn't realize what was happening. Around 2:30am they told me it would probably be another hour till I was fully dilated and that it would take an hour or so to push. So I called my dad to let him know. The estimate was pretty right on, it took about an hour and 40 minutes for me to be fully dilated. They told me when I feel pressure below to let them know. By this time they checked me out and the baby was at -2 stage and it was time to push! From there it all happened really quickly! They had to yell to Dr. Lieberman to get in there quickly, she almost didn't make it. I only pushed for about 15 minutes. They almost weren't ready for my little guy, it is a boy!

I never heard such a wonderful sound as his little cry. Chris cut the umbilical cord and then they handed him to me. He was beautiful! All slimy and wet, but so adorable. He weighed in at 8 lbs (although the scale actually said 7 15.5) and 21 inches. He scored a 9 on his tests and then I was able to attempt to breastfeed. All of the grandparents were in the waiting room and came in to meet him. At this point we didn't have a name. Although as soon as I saw him I knew he was Luke. He was a strong masculine name, just perfect for our little guy. But Chris and I hadn't agreed on anything yet and hadn't a chance to discuss it. So it wasn't until later that morning that we decided on the phone his name and began sharing it with all of our family and friends.

Here are a few early pictures of Luke William:

Long overdue...

As most of you know by now - it's a BOY!!! My little guy is 3 1/2 weeks old now and I am finally getting around to posting our story. I wanted to go back and recount the actual labor & delivery. In my last post, I mentioned I was scheduled for an induction as I wasn't dilated as of my Thursday appointment. Well Friday, I woke up at 12:30am with contractions. I started timing them and they were 8 minutes apart and coming regularly. At about 2:30 I came downstairs as I wasn't sleeping, I mentioned to Chris I was having regular contractions, but didn't really wake him or anything. Let me tell you, not much is on tv at 2:30, I watched about 5 episodes of the 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' as I timed my contractions. I even created a spreadsheet of them. By the time Chris woke up for work they were 6 minutes apart. At first we thought maybe he should go to work, so he showered, but when he got out we both decided it would be best he stay home. I showered and the contractions were now 5 minutes apart. I called my doctor and they called back and told me to go to the hospital. We arrived at Winthrop around 9:30, on the way we called my mom and dad and let them know what was going on.

Once at the hospital they put us in an exam room and hooked me up to the monitors. We were still every 5 minutes. Dr. Levine was on duty and came in to examine me. My water hadn't broke and I was still not even 2 centimeters dilated. But he said "I would definitely have this baby today". The nurse later told us he was a bit optimistic. They encouraged me to go walk around, drink & eat. At this point Chris and I didn't realize I was being discharged and told to go home. They said walking and drinking was the best thing and to come back when the contractions were like 3 minutes apart. So we ended up leaving and went to a dinner to have some breakfast. I couldn't eat a thing and every time I got a contraction had to get up and walk around the diner. I was exhausted, I hadn't slept since Weds night. After 3 bites of Special K we left and went to the Perfetti house. I thought there was no need to go home, as we would be heading back to the hospital soon. I did manage to doze off for about 40 minutes and then we went home. By this time my mom had made it down from Connecticut. So between her & Chris they timed how far apart my contractions were and for how long as I paced the living/dining room. I tried drinking water, but couldn't get it down. Either from the hormones or the intensity of the contractions, I got sick twice. I went for a couple of walks outside. On my last walk I ran into both my neighbors. The contractions were more intense and close together and I felt pressure below. I thought the baby would pop out at any minute. So when I got home, I told Chris it was time to go and this was IT!! The pain was pretty strong and I could hardly stand during them. I kept doing my breathing, it was what got me through it. So around 5:30 we left to head back to the hospital.

To be continued...