July 16, 2011

The day we became a family of four! Yes, we welcomed Colton Eli into the world a little under 2 weeks ago, and since then, life has been...awesome, exhausting, overwhelming, wonderful, emotional, and a new experience that is going to take more practice!!

At my appointment on Friday, 7/15, I was given the option to induce the next day or on Monday (which was the original plan). I couldn't decide, and my doctor put me on the schedule for both days. She basically said, if you want to tomorrow, be there at 6. If not, just call in the morning and let us know. Easy enough, right? Well, I spent ALL afternoon trying to decide which day to go in. Were we ready? Yes. No. Maybe. Would two days make a difference? Yes. No. Maybe. We had no plans for Hampton. Would the grandparents be ready that night? Yes. I guess. Should we spend that last weekend alone with Hampton? Yes. No. Maybe. You get the idea. In the end, I basically threw my hands in the air, said "what the heck, let's do this tomorrow" and finished up some accounting work, got in as many hugs as I could from H, and made my husband help me clean the house as much as possible before the next morning to help me feel ready. Hampton stayed with Jordan's parents that night, so that we could be up and out of the house early. He was perfectly happy with this idea. I was a wreck.

We went to the hospital Saturday morning, got checked in, and they started the pitocin around 8am. Contractions started pretty quickly, but they weren't painful at all, so we just hung out, talked, played some Words w/ Friends, and watched TV. Once I got to 4 cm, my doctor wanted to go ahead and break my water. Because of how far back my cervix was, checks were extremely painful and they thought that getting my epidural before breaking the water would be a good idea. I planned on getting one anyway, so I went ahead and called for the meds. Yep, before I even felt any pain from contractions, I got an epidural. And let me tell you, it was the most fantastic idea ever!! A completely pain free labor (minus the 2 checks I had before that!)? Yes, please! So, my water was broken, and we waited. My family and brother and sister in law were here by this point, so they came in and kept us company for a while. Later, Jordan's parents came with Hampton. Hampton DID NOT like being in the room and seeing me hooked up to the different machines. The afternoon seemed to drag along, but atleast it was pain free. At one point, a couple of nurses rushed in the room and silently watched the computer. Then, all hell broke loose. One nurse said something about too many decels and they all went into action: turned me on my side, moving the baby around, oxygen mask on my face, family rushed out, and orders to get supplies ready for emergency c-section were being yelled out. I was in tears! Fortunately, everything calmed down, Colton's heart rate returned to normal, and I had to stay on my left side until it was time to push--ugh. So uncomfortable. But whatever, I did what I was told! I told the nurse around 4 that I was feeling some pressure. She asked if it was constant or came with contractions. It came with contractions, so we waited. Shortly after that another Dr. came in to check me, said, "I hope you're ready to have a baby" and called for Dr. H to come deliver. I was ready! They got all prepped, Dr. H made a comment about how he was right there, and while we waited on the baby's nurse to get to the room, she asked if I wanted to do a practice push. Sure. Why not? Well, why not is b/c he was RIGHT.THERE. and they had no nurse in the room! They made me stop and wait, called for a nurse to come in immediately, and then we were ready to go! Good thing, too, b/c in less that 10 minutes and 3 pushes later, I had a healthy baby boy! Colton was born at 4:49pm, weighing a whopping 8 pounds, 7 ounces, and measuring 19 inches. It was quick, easy, and this momma has now survived two births with no tears and no stitches!! My doctor said that my body was made to have babies! :)

We were in our L&D room for what seemed like forever (because it was shift change for the nursing staff). It was getting close to the time that Hampton needed to go home, and they finally allowed him to come back to my room to see the baby with my parents. Everything seemed so much more rushed this time around. Not only were the grandparents' visits revolving around Hampton's nap and eating schedule, but we were out of the hospital and headed home a little after lunch on Monday. It was great to be in and out so quickly, but I don't have all of the first day pictures with Colton and all the grandparents that I was able to take with Hampton. I'm sad not to have captured those very first moments!

Hampton adores his baby brother. He feels Colton needs to have a paci shoved in his mouth at all times (though Colton doesn't really like the paci!), he pats him and tells him it's okay when he cries, and he wants to hold him any chance he gets! Jordan was home the first week, so that was a ton of help. Hampton ran a fever on Friday and Saturday, so he and Jordan had a lot of one on one time while I stayed trapped in my room with Colton. He's been pretty good behavior wise, with a few whiny fits here and there. I was on my own starting Monday. Thankfully, my sister in law came in town and has been taking Hampton over to my inlaws house to play with his cousins for a little while each day. So, next week, I will really, really be on my own!And I'm not even going to brag about how great of an eater and sleeper he is for fear of cursing myself....So far, we're surviving!(a sneak peak from our newborn pictures. I'll share more when I get them!)