Birth Story

Ok, so it's been a month since Joshua was born and I've been a bit busy so no blogging for me. :)
I wanted to write his birth story out before I forgot most of it (need to update the baby book too!) and while I'm sure most of you already know how it all went down, here are the details anyway.

After being pregnant for 9 months, I was a bit antsy to have this baby come OUT and was trying to think of ways to make it happen. I was tired of waiting for Josh to make his debut on his own. On Tuesday, May 12th, Lauren and Pepper came over for a walk. We walked a pretty good distance (not sure just how far) and I was very tired and sore afterward. We had TNT that night and I had no time for a nap. David came home from work and we headed out to the Loft. Everything was normal that evening. No pains, no contractions (not even Braxton Hicks!). TNT was great (as usual) and we got back home around 9:30 or so. David had to go back to his office to finish up some work and I went to bed. He got back home at 10:30 or so and I was still awake. I couldn't get comfy and was having a hard time falling asleep. He hooked up his laptop and worked/watched tv in bed for a while. I started having a crampy feeling and David noticed that I was in pain. He asked how far apart the pains were and after timing them at about 5 minutes apart, we began to wonder if this was it! I got up to potty around 11:30 and my water broke! I couldn't believe it! We both freaked a little and then calmed down enough to call the midwife and get our things together for the hospital. We called our parents on the way to the hospital (Daddy thought I was joking). My parents got up, dressed and hit the road! David's mom had been vacationing at the OBX that week and planned to come later that morning. We thought Joshua would wait for her to get here!

By the time we arrived at the hospital the contractions were getting intense. I was so excited! We finally got checked in (that pre-registration stuff is a joke!) and they hooked me up to an iv, fetal heart monitor, contraction monitor and blood pressure monitor. They drew some blood and sent it off for testing. They told me that when it came back, I could get an epidural, which I was planning to do. They got me set up in a room (wonderful room!!) and my parents arrived shortly after. My brother, Robert & his wife, Kate also came from Raleigh. She had said from the beginning that I needed to go into labor during the night so she could call in "sick" from work to be there. ;)

By now, the contractions were coming 3 at a time and VERY close together. The first wouldn't even stop before the next one would come. Everyone kept watching the monitor to tell me when it was going back down. They were all great. We talked (which helped disctract me) and laughed (ask about the farting chair we had) and encouraged me to breathe through it and NOT make any noise (unlike the lady next door!). By about 4 am I was asking where that epidural was and told mom I felt like it would help to push. She said "no, you haven't been here long enough....." and I ordered David to find a nurse because I was going to start pushing. :) Dad and Robert had escaped to the waiting room by this time and Mom and Kate also went while the nurse finally brought in the epidural pump. She checked me and told me she thought I was ready to go! She went and got the midwife, Diette, and she checked me and said "Yep, we're ready! We'll have a baby in about 10 minutes!" Just then the anesthesiologist came in and Diette asked if I was going to be able to sit still on the bed for him to give me the epidural. I told her no, that I needed to push now!

So, I started pushing. David was great! He was encouraging and supportive. The nurse, Amy, was great and Diette was awesome. I had great "coaching" from all of them and couldn't have done it as quickly as I did without them. Meanwhile in the waiting room.......Mom and Kate were getting antsy. :) They had been out there for about 20 minutes and were expecting David to come and get them to let them know that I had gotten the epidural and they could come back to the room. They decided to give us 10 more minutes and then they would come back with or without permission. After 5 (b/c they were very impatient!) they headed back down the hall to our room. The door was shut and a nurse came out just as they got to it. They heard Joshua crying and mom asked the nurse who's baby that was. The nurse said "She had that baby!"

So, after about 5 hours of labor and 10 minutes of pushing (and NO pain meds!), Joshua was born at 4:33 am on Wed, May 13th. He weighed 7 lb 3 oz and was 20 in long. :)


The staff at PCMH was awesome. After David cut the cord, they put a hat on Josh and I just held him. It was a long time before they gave him his bath and we got him dressed. I think we all held him before all that.



Matt and Megan came later that day to meet Josh. So did David's mom and Gram. We had lots of visitors and were very proud to show him off. :) We have the most wonderful friends. We're so blessed.

It's amazing that I remember some details and others are just a blur. I only remember bits and pieces of what happened while I was pushing. I know they couldn't keep track of Josh's heart beat and Diette told me that we had a little baby and his heart rate was going down so we needed a really good push to get him out. I remember David telling me he could see Josh's hair and I asked if his head was beautiful. :) It is.


It will be 4 weeks Wednesday since he was born and it feels like we've had him forever. He's already changed so much and the time really does fly! He lost a lot of weight after he was born and it took him 3 weeks to get back up to his birth weight. But, we've gotten the eating thing down now so he's packing on those pounds......er, ounces! :) I've been so lucky to have my Aunt Bonnie, who is a Lactation Consultant, just a phone call away to ask questions and get opinions and advice. I've also made a contact with the La Leche League here in Greenville, Mimi. She's WONDERFUL!!! She came by on a Saturday (when I was ready to quit breastfeeding) and spent 2 hours with me and Josh working on everything. Breastfeeding isn't easy, isn't the wonderful mom-baby-bonding time I anticipated and I've had a few setbacks, but I'm determined. She's been checking in on us, without being annoying about it, and I'm comfy calling her to ask questions. And best of all, it's all FREE!!


Doesn't he look like a little man sitting there?! So cute!


And this one's my (current) favorite.

Ok, that's all for now, and yes, I really am writing all this at 3:30 in the morning. He's been asleep since 10:30!!! I'm so glad that 3 week growth spurt is over! I'll need 3 weeks to recover before his 6 week growth spurt. :) I'm going to head back to bed, as I'm sure he'll be up to eat again soon.