Beautiful Chaos: Vince's Birth Story

Wednesday, June 25

I went to my 39.5 week doctor's appointment (see previous post) and Vera stayed home with the neighbor girls. I was feeling really good, but also really anxious to have this baby! Doctor Train stripped my membranes, which was slightly uncomfortable, but tolerable. Later that day, I was having a few contractions, but nothing regular enough to time. I packed bags more thoroughly that night and enjoyed an evening at home with Adam and Vera.

Thursday, June 26

Mandy called and said that she and Blake were headed to the pool. It was a hot day. Part of me said to stay home and rest in the A/C, but the other part of me said to go to the pool and enjoy the afternoon with Vera, Mandy and Blake. We decided to go. I squeezed into a make-shift swimming suit and headed to FR to meet Mandy. We spent about 2 hours at the pool and had a fun afternoon.

Friday, June 27

Karen text me and told me to go get a pedicure to stimulate contractions. Though I was tempted, I didn't really feel like going out. In the afternoon, I scrubbed and massaged my own feet, thinking it might get something moving. I was feeling pretty bummed because it was Country Fest weekend, and I wasn't able to go and enjoy it. I wanted to go out and do something so badly, but it was extremely hot and I didn't have the energy to stand or do a lot of walking. When Adam came home from work, I asked him if we could do something to get out of the house. We decided to go and eat at Sideliners and then visit with his parents. While we were there, I noticed some slight contractions, but nothing regular. We had "movie night" when we got home and Vera was entertained by "Madagascar" for the evening.

I went to bed around 10:30-11 and woke up around 1:30 with pain from contractions. I laid in bed until 2 when I noticed the contractions were more regular. I went to the couch to rest and time them. I had put an app on my phone to help time the contractions, and it was super handy. The contractions were about 5-8 minutes apart and were lasting 40-50 seconds. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle. At 5am, I got up and sat in our bath tub for a while, which wasn't helpful. It was more uncomfortable than relaxing. I made myself some toast around 5:30, and then I went and rested in our bed for a while. In fact, I fell asleep between a few of the contractions. Being awake all night was starting to catch up with me. In my mind, I kept debating when to wake Adam and call for someone to get Vera. I wanted to take a shower before we left, but I didn't want to go to the hospital too early and be bedridden for hours.

Finally around 7am, I woke Adam, told him I'd been up all night with contractions, and said we'd probably need to get moving soon. His response was, "Seriously? Why didn't you wake me up?" I let him sleep because there was no reason for him to sit up awake with me. He needed to get some quality rest because it could be long hours ahead. Around 7:30, I got up and took a shower. Adam called my mom around 8:30 to get Vera, and I had asked for her to come within the next hour.

Within about 15-20 minutes, my contractions intensified big time. They were strong and frequent. By 8:45, I couldn't talk through them anymore, and I couldn't sit still. I was leaking some fluid. I text Karen and told her to hurry. It seemed to be taking forever for her to get here. I found out later that she had to drive to Maria Stein first to get my mom's car (she was at work) that had a car seat. If I had known that, I would've told her to come to our house and drive our car or use our car seat. I couldn't wait much longer!

Meanwhile, Vera woke up around 8:30. Adam told her she was going to grandma's for a sleep over, and she was thrilled. She insisted on packing her own backpack of things, which included notebooks, crayons and other toys. It was hard for Adam to convince her to leave the things at home, so she went with a backpack of random things that she packed herself. Adam continued to pack his own things, get the car loaded, and close the house up.

Karen walked in the door and I was sitting in the chair in a cold sweat. She put Vera in the car, we got in our car, and at 9:30am we were off! I was in a ton of pain on the way to the hospital. I kept telling myself that each contraction was finite--it was going to end soon and when it was over, it was one contraction closer to the end. We came across some typical Saturday morning drivers gawking and driving slowly. We zoomed right by them. We even had to slow down for some deer on 185. Through Covington, the road was really bumpy and that made the pain worse. I remember saying out loud in Covington, "10 more minutes and we'll be there."

When we were about 3-4 minutes from the hospital, my water broke. I was in a lot of pain, and said to Adam, "Oh man, my water just broke." He stayed very calm, and told me we were almost there. I could tell he was anxious and worried too. As we drove around the hospital to the maternity entrance, I was so ready for some pain relief.

We pulled up to the door at 10, and Adam helped me out of the car. As I stepped out, my fluid started gushing everywhere. I was soaked and my feet were slippery in my flip flops. I was standing, doubled over at the door, very impatiently waiting for the receptionist to buzz us in. She stood and looked at us. I told her my water just broke and I needed to sit down now. There was no wheelchair, and they seemed quite disorganized. The nurses were talking back and forth about which room to use. The first question they asked me was if this was my first baby. We ended up in room 9, and as I walked in, the receptionist was like, "Oh shoot, there's two beds in this room. Can someone come and get this bed out of here?" I wasn't too nice and told her I needed to sit down now. I maneuvered myself around the beds. She got me to the bathroom and gave me a gown. She seemed to be searching for a pad of some sort to put on the bed. I could've cared less about a pad for the bed at this point. This baby was coming quickly, I was in tons of pain, and not interested in her scatterbrained behavior.

Right away the nurse put me on the monitor and checked me. She said I was 4cm, told me she'd phone Dr. Train, and asked if I wanted an epidural. I said YES right away. Meanwhile, scatterbrained receptionist was working on checking me in. I was struggling through the contractions, so Adam had to handle some of the Q&A.

My contractions intensified even more and the back labor started. They convinced me to roll on my side to relieve some of the pressure. Adam helped with counter pressure on my back, which helped a lot. The nurse was really struggling with the fetal monitor. She was moving it every 5 seconds, adjusting the straps, and applying more cold goo. I was getting annoyed with her messing with me constantly. I got an IV started, some labs drawn, and fought through each contraction. The baby's heart rate was dropping as low as 60, and the nurse was sternly directing me to breathe deeply, which was really tough at this point. She kept saying, "You need to give your baby oxygen!" We found out later that part of the reason the heart rate was dropping was because the cord was twisted all around the baby, and with each contraction of the uterus the oxygen supply was restricted.

Adam was chatting it up with Jenna, the new nurse who got called in, who happened to be from Versailles. Her nephew goes to Patty's house too. It was a nice distraction between contractions to hear their conversation. I wasn't able to participate, but it was good to listen to them talk about something unrelated to labor and delivery. I know Jenna was asking me questions that I didn't answer because I was concentrating on managing the pain. I asked several times, "Where is the anesthesiologist!?" Jenna finally told me that if he didn't come soon, I wouldn't be able to get an epidural. I started to panic when I heard that. I knew pushing was coming soon, and I didn't know how long I'd have to push or how much more pain I could take.

Finally, the anesthesiologist arrived! He went through some quick instructions, which I already knew and remembered from my epidural with Vera. I vaguely remember Adam telling me he'd be back soon, as he had to leave the room for the procedure. Dr. Train and Jenna put their masks on and helped me get into position for the epidural. The anesthesiologist did a quick, but careful job and I remember Jenna telling a second nurse to go get Adam ASAP--in her words, "So he doesn't miss this!" That's when it really registered how fast this was happening, and that I'd be holding a baby within the next few minutes. My entire body was trembling, and I was freezing cold. The nurses said that all of these things were good signs. At this point, the anesthesiologist had not dosed my epidural. It was in, but he was still monitoring my vitals and asking me questions. Dr. Train helped me get into position, checked me, and very calmly said, "Let's try pushing. Put your hands on your knees and push." And just like that, with one push, she was holding a little baby. Right away she said, "It's a little boy!" and put him on my chest. He was crying hard, and was a healthy shade of pink. The second nurse said right away that he looked like his dad! After talking about the events later, Adam said that I had no idea he was on my chest at first. And the truth is, I really didn't. I was trying to catch my breath and mentally recover from what just happened. Adam stood by my side with tears of joy running down his face. What a joy to welcome a son to our family!

First cries and breaths of life!

The nurses and Dr. Train did their work, and I asked if I would need stitches. I was thrilled when she told me that I wouldn't need one stitch! Hooray!! After about 10-15 minutes, they clamped the cord and Adam got to cut it all while baby boy was crying a healthy cry on my chest. Eventually they took him and weighed him: 7 lbs. 15.1 oz. I had a really hard time remembering his weight at first.

Jenna took my epidural out and started to clean up our little boy. Not once had anyone asked what his name would be. As he was being cleaned up, Adam and I discussed names. He was nameless for about 3 hours, but we finally decided on Vince "Vin" Michael. Other names we considered for a boy were Jace and Charlie. It was such a hard decision!

Vin's first bath.

Jenna gave him a mohawk after his hair was all cleaned up.

Jenna told me as she was doing her work that I didn't look like I just had a baby. I think the doctor and nurses were impressed that I went from 4 cm to complete in one hour. We arrived at the hospital at 10am and baby Vince was born at 11:05 am. Dr. Train told me later that if she hadn't already been on her way to the hospital for rounds, she would've missed the delivery. I had prayed and hoped for months that this labor and delivery would be smoother and faster than with Vera. I'm so thankful that I was so lucky. I told Adam later that I really didn't feel like I just had a baby. I was able to get out of bed right away, walk, use the bathroom, bend over, sit down and move pretty easily. The thing that hurt the most was probably the epidural site and my IV. The IV was pinching and quite uncomfortable. I asked right away when I could get it out, and was disappointed when they said it'd be several hours.

Vince and I laid skin-to-skin for an hour or two as he cried and grunted. His Apgar Scores were 8 and 9. Jenna said no baby ever gets a 10--unless it's an OB nurse's baby! :)

Around 1 or 2 that afternoon, we started to call our families and share the good news. We'd asked for no visitors until at least 6 that evening. We needed time to relax, get settled, and love our new baby boy! I was moved to a postpartum room down the hall with a much softer bed! Adam left around 4 to go and get something to eat. The poor guy hadn't eaten all day! I could tell he was anxious for visitors that evening and excited to show off a son!

Our first visitors that evening were Mike and Rosie. Soon after, Karen, Vera, and my parents came. I was excited for Vera to see her brother. She climbed right in bed with me and immediately asked me if I was ok. I assured her that I was feeling great. She was also very concerned about where I got the purple pajamas I was wearing. Then, she got to hold her brother for the first time. We looked at his hair under the little hat, his tiny toes, and how small and sweet he was. It was a special memory for me to hold BOTH of my kids together in my lap for the first time!

I love this picture! Vera was so excited to see his tiny little toes!

Vera helped open our gifts that everyone brought. She also opened a gift from Grammy for her. She started acting wild and loud within about 30 minutes of the visit. An hour-long visit in a small hospital room was long enough for our 3 year-old.

A cowgirl hat to ride Sparky is just what she needed!

See what I mean about acting silly?

I was really tired when all of the visitors left and looking forward to a good night's rest. Surprisingly, I slept better than I thought I would. We sent Vin to the nursery for several hours that night.

Happy Birth Day sweet boy!

Sunday, June 29, 2014--Baby's Due Date

They say that your time in the hospital is a time to rest and recover. That's far from the truth. There's so many things going on--OB rounds, vital checks, assessments, pediatrician rounds, meals, paperwork, labs, lactation consultant rounds, shift changes, photo sessions, baby feedings, showering....all while trying to rest. I remember feeling fairly overwhelmed on Sunday and Monday mornings in the hospital. It was one thing after another.

Hello world! 22 hours old!

Dr. Wilimitis was the pediatrician on call. I really liked him. He was honest, understanding, flexible, and had a sense of humor. He did Vin's circumcision late that morning. It was so sad to send him off for that procedure, and when he came back 20 minutes later, the Lidocaine was still working, so he was calm and quiet. We were instructed on how to care for his circ in terms of diapering and bathing. I remember the nurse saying that he would probably like to be held and snuggled for a while. So heartbreaking!

We see some resemblance of Vera in this picture.

Dr. Train made her rounds later that morning. She told me that I had a very high tolerance for pain. As I was pushing during the delivery, she said I was very controlled and breathing so well. She said I delivered him without any drugs at all, and that getting the epidural was probably more mental pain relief than physical for me.

Sunday afternoon Mandy, Jeff and Blake came for a visit. Blake was really good during his visit. He could even say Vince's name. Jeff stayed busy feeding Blake plenty of snacks while Mandy held her newest nephew.

That evening, Mindy and Bailey were our visitors. Bailey was also so well-behaved at the hospital. She was very intrigued by Vin, and enjoyed holding him very much!

We were struggling with nursing by Sunday evening. Adam and I decided to feed him a few bottles because we wanted him to have nourishment of some sort. From experience, I know that if a baby doesn't eat well right away in the hospital, other problems begin developing--too much weight loss, jaundice, inability to maintain body temperature, dehydration, and on and on.... I had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong with Vin's latch as I nursed him, but everyone kept telling me I was doing everything right. Vin is a very aggressive eater, and I already had sore, bloody and painful blisters from feeding so often. Around 50% of Vin's feedings were bottles and 50% nursing at this point.

Vin went off to the nursery for several hours that night too. I slept pretty well that night too!

Monday, June 30, 2014

Discharge day! Adam was really ready to go home, and I sort of was too. We both missed Vera and were ready to have our own couch, bed, and shower. Vin had his photo shoot in the morning. Dr. Train released me for discharge, and Dr. Wilimitis came by around noon to release Vince.

The lactation consultant stopped by for a visit. I talked to her about my concerns with the latch and that I was in a lot of pain when nursing. She began to investigate for a tongue tie. She shared that his upper lip would probably need to be clipped, and his lower was a borderline decision. I didn't even know there was an upper lip, but when she showed it to me, it was very clear why the poor guy couldn't suck correctly. He was unable to flange his lips outward. She suggested a pediatric dentist look at him and make the decision. Good thing I had done my homework on this! I knew that our pediatric dentist, Dr. Phil was on vacation this week. Dr. Phil recommended a pediatric dentist in Tipp City, Dr. Mason. I did not want to go through the same struggles we did with Vera and the tongue tie, so I called Dr. Mason's office right away. I explained our situation, and the receptionist was so accommodating. They worked us in to a 3:30 appointment that afternoon.

We ate some lunch, packed up all of our things, went through discharge paperwork, and at 2:30 we were in the car headed home. I cried as we drove away from the hospital. It's a scary thing to go home and be on your own.

Not happy about his first time in the car seat.

At 3:00 we pulled in to the dentist office, went through paperwork, and Dr. Mason personally came out and called us back to an operatory. He shared that they consider a tongue tie an emergency situation, and their office was "closed" for lunch at the time, but he worked us in. He was so nice! After an exam, we decided that both the upper lip and tongue would need to be clipped. Dr. Mason uses a laser for this procedure instead of surgical scissors that we had with Vera. Because of the laser procedure, Vin's mouth would have two white scabs that would take several weeks to heal. Dr. Mason gave Vin some sugar water as a numbing agent, wrapped him tight in a swaddle, and then asked us to leave the room. A few moments later, he came out, and had me nurse him to make him feel calm and safe. It was so hard to see his tiny little mouth with huge, sore scabs! We were given post-op instructions, and were on our way home around 4:00. As we drove away, I was crying again. How do people with special needs babies do this? We had a healthy, beautiful child who just had a small, minor procedure done, and it was so hard!!

All snuggled in at the dentist office waiting for our turn.

We were home by 5 and got settled. Then Adam left to go pick up Vera. She spent the day with Mindy, Bailey and Rosie. They went to the pool and had a good time. I was so excited for Vera to come home. When she walked in the door, the first thing she said is, "Where's the baby!?" Immediately she wanted to get him out, hold him, and feed him.