He is Here!!

Our second baby boy, Andrew James was born on November 10, 2015 at 4:49pm. He was a week and a half early and weighed 8lbs 2oz and was 22.25in long. It's a good thing he came early or he would have probably been 9 plus pounds. Ouch!! I am so so so happy to say that I did it all without epidural or pain meds. It was hard but went really fast. Here is the story and some pictures:

I woke up that morning around 4 with some painful contractions and difficulty sleeping. I continued to have them but they were sporadic and far apart. I went ahead and had Jon go to work but I got ready as if we would go to the hospital later because I really felt it was almost time. I had a hard time taking care of Jackson because of the contractions and a lot of trips to the potty, plus trying to arrange everything for heading to the hospital. When Jackson napped I tried to rest and nap too. I woke up with contractions on and off but they still weren't regular enough. I kept hoping and praying Jackson and I could rest and nap before it hit. Well my prayers were answered and as soon as he woke up it hit hard. I started timing my contractions around 1 o'clock because they were really intense. I was having contractions 2 to 4 minutes apart and they were painful. I waited a while to see if it would continue and then I felt like I needed to get Jon home so I texted and called him about30 minutes later. I pretty much couldn't do anything at this point but pace the house and go potty. I was in a ton of pain. Jackson luckily was fairly happy and I let him watch tv and eat while I managed my pain and finished getting childcare arranged.

When Jon got home it was about 2:10. I started worrying that we were waiting too long so I called the doctor, Jon loaded up the car, and we dropped Jackson off at our friend's house nearby around 2:30 or 2:40. Then we headed to the doctor to get checked. On the 30 minute drive there, I had several painful contractions. I kept worrying that I was only a 2 and the hospital won't admit you if you aren't a 3. The midwife checked and I was at a 5, I couldn't believe it!!! I told the midwife that I did not want an epidural and she seemed surprised and said that is going to be tough. I don't think she thought that I could do it.

We headed straight to the hospital which is just down the road. We probably got there around 4pm. We were able to skip triage and were admitted immediately. I told them I did not want an epidural and they were a little surprised. They understood when I explained the issues I had from it last time. They reassured me that the anethesiologist on shift was excellent. I then, started to think I could just try the epidural once and if it didn't work I would give up. I toughed it out for a bit more and then it got really bad. I wanted an epidural right away and they began frantically preparing me for it. I was still doing paperwork and getting checked in/monitored so I was stuck in a bed for a bit and then was stuck standing next to the bed. I couldn't walk around or do the other things I wanted to do to manage my pain until I finished all that up. I was crazy hot during my labor and it kept getting worse and worse. I closed my eyes and breathed through each contraction but I felt unbearably hot and thought I was going to pass out.

At this point I felt a gush and I thought my water had broken. I looked down to see blood dripping down my legs and on my feet. They nurses weren't concerned at all but that made me feel like baby was coming soon. After minute or two later, I told them I needed to go number two. They asked if it was poop or baby and I said poop. I went to the bathroom and tried but I couldn't go. Almost as soon as I came back out I had to go, really bad. I told them and they didn't seem to care. By this point I had peed and bled on the floor so I didn't care. I started pushing, thinking I was going to go number 2 and then I felt the baby's head. I yelled out that he was coming out. The midwife had just come in and looked at me with wide eyes, because it had only been maybe an hour since she checked me in the office. I started begging for an epidural at this point. I was so afraid of pushing without one and I was in so much pain already. The midwife had me lay down on the bed and quickly checked me and said that I was a nine. She said that I was going to have the baby now and quickly got everything ready in the room. I had to push again and she told me to wait so she could put on her gloves. He was coming so fast! They let me push whenever I could feel the contractions and after a few pushes he was crowning. That part hurt like crazy but a few pushes after that he was out. It was so much faster than with Jackson.

Andrew had the cord around his neck and the midwife tried to slip it off his neck and it snapped and sprayed blood all across the room on the doctors, nurses, the couch, and walls. It seem to take Andrew a few seconds to start crying but he did after a little while. They later explained to us that because he came so fast he had a lot of amniotic fluid in him and he also had bruising on his face. I only tore a little bit and as the midwife stitched me up I noticed she had blood on her nose from the cord snapping.

I nursed Andrew and held him after a while. I was so overwhelmed I started to cry. He did really well with nursing and caught on fast. I was able to get up and go to the bathroom and move around pretty soon after giving birth. I felt so much better because I didn't have any pain medication or the epidural. It has made my recovery so much faster. Andrew passed all of his tests and is really healthy. He initially failed his hearing test because he had a lot of fluid in his ears but the nurse had warned us that might happen. He passed it the second time just fine.

I really wanted Jackson to be able to meet the baby right away and I missed him so much but by then it was getting late and Jackson was needing to get to bed. We finally got a hold of my parents who had somehow never received Jon's  text about the baby being born. My dad came to the hospital to see the baby and then went to pick up Jackson and take him home to bed. My mom was coming from a different way and came to the hospital to see the baby. She couldn't believe he was already here because it happened so fast.

The night in the hospital were pretty tiring but not terrible. The next day my parents brought Jackson early and I was so excited to see him. I cried when I woke up that morning because I missed him so much. He was very jealous of the baby especially if Jon was holding him. He would cry and try to give the baby to grandma to hold. He is warming up little by little but I think it will take a while. He is sweet and loves to see and touch Andrew's features like his nose and mouth.

I gave birth on Tuesday at 4:49pm and we were able to leave the hospital on Thursday around 11am or 12pm. The time in the hospital went by fast. I was nervous about coming home but I was also really excited. I ended up riding home in my parents car because I really wanted to have some time with Jackson. It was weird having Jon and the baby go in a separate car than me but I really needed time with Jackson and his car seat was in my parents car. It was so fun being with him on the drive home. I missed him like crazy when I was in the hospital. We all met home safe and sound and ready to start our life as a family of 4.