Dean's Birth

Friday morning I woke up feeling crampy, but not really in pain, so Mom and I went out to run some errands to see if we could get things going. We went grocery shopping and ran to Target and DI. Then we went home to watch a movie. While we were watching, my cramps started being a little more defined, so I was able to actually start timing them. At around 6 they started getting closer together. Again, not painful, but we decided that given family history, if contractions were getting closer together and more defined, it would be worth going to get checked. We weren't in a big hurry, so we gathered up some things we hadn't packed yet just in case and then headed to the hospital. We got there around 7. On the way, Trevor totally made the red light camera go off. We hope they buy the "My wife was in labor and we were driving to the hospital" story. When we got there, I hadn't really dilated any more from my appointment on Wednesday, but my water broke right then, so I was at the hospital to stay. We called Jason to come help Trevor give me a blessing, so Jason, Brittany, and Emmett came for a short little visit. Then, it was time to get on the monitors and such. Here's a pic of Trevor and I in the labor/delivery room:

The staff at Banner Desert was AMAZING. I hear all the time about how women need to be more respected during the labor process and be able to make decisions about how they wanted things to be. That was the exact experience I had. I said I wanted to be able to take monitors off, and they were totally accomadating. I was only on the monitors for the required 20 minutes out of the hour. At around 10:00 PM my contractions had reached a point of "incredibly painful." I tried lots of things. I went for a walk, used the labor ball, took a hot shower, etc. Trevor was amazing at helping me breathe through contractions. Counting my breathing has always been helpful for me (I have to count my breaths as I run or else I pant) and he was right there with me every step of the way. Mom was always near to let me squeeze her hand and to rub my back. I had wanted to use the labor tub, but Dean's heart rate was already high and being submerged in the warm water would make it higher, but they said I could take a shower until his heart rate calmed down. It really helped a lot. But by the time I was getting out of the shower and I'd been having really painful contractions for a few hours and had only dilated a little bit, I decided I would rather scratch the tub and just have an epidural.

I had gone in to labor with an open mind about an epidural. I figured if it seemed like I would progress quickly, I would rather go unmedicated. If it seemed like I was going to be in excruciating pain for a long time, I would take the meds. It was clear to me it would be a while longer, and I wasn't sure I was going to be up for that long of hard labor. Plus, it was in the wee hours of the morning and I figured it would be good for all three of us (me, Mom, Trevor) to get some rest. Best. Decision. Ever. My regrets about getting medicated? None. I didn't really sleep after, but I was able to rest. I didn't feel a thing! But I still had mobility in my legs, which was nice.

My body finally kicked in to gear and dilated. About 5:00 I was at an 8.5. The nurse thought by shift change at 6, I would be about ready. She was right. The new nurse checked me at some point after six, but took her time with calling the doctor and such, so I was at a 10 and ready for about half an hour before anything happened. I pushed with the nurse to get Dean's head down and crowning and then she called the doctor in. He came in at 8:10, I pushed through about 4 contractions and Dean was born! Mom made sure there was a mirror in the room in case I wanted to see, and in the end I decided I wanted to. I would look in between pushes. Most of the time I had my eyes closed when pushing, but the doctor made sure I had open eyes the last push so I could see Dean's arrival. It was a pretty incredible sight! (but I won't post a picture)

Dean had pooped in his amniotic fluid (silly boy) so I didn't get to hold him right away. He had to go to  the table where doctors and nurses from the NICU were waiting to make sure he didn't aspirate any of the fluid. Trevor was able to watch them clean him up and weigh him, etc. Meanwhile, the doctor delivered my placenta and stitched me up. I'm pretty sure Trevor had more fun during those few minutes.

But then they brought me my sweet little angel boy and I was so excited to be able to snuggle my son!! It was pretty surreal. (These are not the best pics of me. There's a better one on my phone, but I haven't uploaded it to my computer yet. But I'd just given birth, so I'm allowed to not look my best.)