Baby Heath made his arrival...

Most of you know by now that baby Heath made his arrival...he was born at 9:58pm on July 16th. He was 7lbs 0.5oz and 19" long.

A little background on why he was induced 2 weeks early.

If you have been reading my blog...you will know that there were a few times that my blood pressure was on the high side. When we went for a couple of our last visits to the midwives, the b/p was getting higher and higher and they don't like to see that in pregnant women. So, my midwife gave us 2 options. She said that we could elect to be induced now, or we could go back to the Dr's and be put on high blood pressure medicine and wait out the 2 weeks until the due date. We were all in agreement that we would rather be induced than to have to bow out of the midwives care and be placed once again into the Dr's care. Once the baby was born, then they (the Dr and midwife) would collaborate on a plan to see if I should then be placed on high blood pressure medicine.

We arrived at the hospital at 7am on July 16th and they immediately hooked us (I say us and not just me since there is more than just me involved!!) up to the pitocin and monitor. Ideally, I would have loved to just go into natural labor on my own, but many people told me not to mess around with blood pressure....so, inducing was the way to go. The nurse that we had, Kelly, was a wonderful nurse...very attentive to my needs, and very sweet. I feel like she didn't leave anyone person out of our conversations. Our usual midwife had hurt her hand while running (twice...poor thing) so she was out of commission for helping bring the baby into the world. But, we had Julia for our midwife, and she was very good as well.

Here we were...just waiting and waiting....I was having some contractions, but nothing terrible. I think around 1pm, the midwife came in and broke my water. She had tried earlier, but without success. I can't believe at how much water comes out when it gets broken!! It's kind of like the energizer bunny...it just kept going and going and going!!

I then started having some contractions that were stronger...really, I am not sure what time this was...but they were getting uncomfortable. I think around 7pm or so...is when it all started really happening. My contractions were very painful and I finally asked for an epidural. Julia checked my cervix at this time and said that we could still have an epidural..and we were dilated to about a 6. Tito came in( the anesthesiologist) and prepped me for the epidural. He was my saving grace as the contractions by this time were putting me in a place that I didn't want to go. I really tried to frame my mind around a mountain...and when I would have a contraction, I would (in my mind) try to climb the mountain...but it was just too much. So finally, the epidural was placed...and I got some relief. Julia checked me again and asked me if I could do some pushing?? WOW!! That was a quick change!! So the pushing began. By the way...Alissa, who was my regular midwife, came in on her day off and helped me get through the pain as well. Amazing!!

I don't recall how many pushes I did...I think about 8 or so...and Heath's head came out...followed by another push and then his shoulders came out. It was an amazing feeling for him to be born right into his Papa's arms!!

OK...so here is the part where I gush....HE IS SUCH A SWEET, SWEET, ADORABLE, GORGEOUS, WONDERFUL (shall I go on?) BABY!! Oh, and don't forget beautiful, and handsome!!!

The first night I could not get my mind to shut off....as is common when something major happens for me. So by morning, I was pretty much wiped out...J&T got their own room for a few hours so they could try to sleep. At around 4am, J came in a brought me Heath so that he could nurse. J&T came back into my room around 6:30am since the maternity ward needed that room for an induction. Making the story go a little faster now....

We ended up being discharged at around 6pm...so I went home to grab a bag and take a shower and then went to J&T's house for the week. I got to nurse Heath for the first 6 days (which was very rewarding for me)and now I am exclusively pumping for him. I have taken milk over to their house twice now...I don't know if I am producing enough, but I am trying!! They have a friend that is also breastfeeding her son, and she produces quite a bit of milk, so she is also pumping for Heath as well.

So...that is my birth story...kind of a condensed version...but none-the-less.

I want to say thank you so much to J&T for trusting me to carry their son these past 9 months. Words cannot express how I feel...