2-10-10

Rushton's Birth Story:

Daniel and I arrived at the hospital a little bit before 5am for our induction. We were both feeling pretty discouraged because I hadn't progressed very much on my own before the induction so we didn't want to get our hopes up that it would actually work. Our nurse placed our first gel around 5:30am. PG gels help change the cervix to induce labor... just an FYI *wink! When they place the gel you have to lay in bed for an hour, then walk for an hour, then they check you. After the first gel I went from 1.5 and 50% to 3 and 75%. We thought... awesome, it's working! However, after they placed the second gel things really slowed down. I didn't have any contractions... nothing. zilch. nada. I told the nurse this and when she checked me I was still 3 and 75! So before placing the 3rd gel she stripped my membranes. OUCH! Luckily, this got the ball rolling... a little. When she came to check me I was having pretty uncomfortable contractions but was only 3-4 and 80. They discussed with us our options; 1)go home, 2) see if this labor kept progressing naturally, 3) start low dose pit to keep the ball rolling. Daniel and I discussed it and decided upon low-dose pit for 4 hours only. At this point I am REALLY uncomfortable...

I remember being really frustrated with everyone in the room. They kept trying to help me breath through contractions but everyone was shouting a different breathing pattern. I remember at one point I told everyone they needed to shut up and get on the same page. I was really hurting. 30minutes into the pit running my water broke. I FREAKED OUT. I was hurting so bad at this point. I just kept saying "I can't do this..." I am such a baby! Soooo anesthesia comes in to place an epidural, I really couldn't handle that kind of pain. Afterwords I felt like a million bucks. Unfortunately, this is when Rush decided he didn't feel like a million bucks.

Laura (my nurse) came in and said she had thought she saw a decel so she turned me to my side... then back to the other side... then I returned to the previous side. This was quite concerning. As most of you know I work on L/D for school. I knew exactly what was going on and so naturally I was freaking out. Soon other nurses were coming into the room checking my strip. The problem was that the nurses were having a hard time reading my contractions because I am so small. They could not tell if Rush was having early decels (normal) or late (no bueno). Everyone was trying so hard to keep the environment calm but my anxiety was sky-high. Pretty soon I was wearing oxygen, that didn't seem to be helping. I had a lot of bloody show that nurses were coming in to evaluate to see if it was problematic. In a matter of maybe a couple hours I went from 4cm to 7cm. They thought maybe Rush looked so bad because I was progressing so fast.

In time the doctor came in to see what was going on. Even he couldn't tell what was going on with baby boy. He said he needed to place internal monitors. Reluctantly I agreed, I was very concerned about Rush at this point. Before placing the monitors, the doctor said that if things continued on this path that we might be going back to the OR. I knew this. In fact, I told Daniel almost an hour before when I was crying watching the monitor that we were going to the OR. Daniel kept saying I was fine, everything was fine but I think we both knew. The doc said that even if Rush started doing a little better, he might not tolerate the time it takes for a first time mom to labor a baby. Anyway, they placed the monitors and left. After a few minutes the doctor came back in and said that ever since he suggested a c-section that Rush was looking really good and that maybe we should hold off to see if I keep progressing. If I did, then maybe we could try to get him out right away. At this point I was just going with whatever the doctor was telling me. No more than 5 minutes later the doctor, anesthesia, and 2 nurses come into the room and explained we were going back to the OR NOW. Literally handing Daniel scrubs and disconnecting me from the wall in a matter of minutes. I was hysterical at this point.

Rush was delivered HEALTHY and BEAUTIFUL at 5:38pm on 2-10-10! He apgared 9 and 9! He weighed 6 lbs 13oz and was 19inches! The doctor said that he had a tight cord around his neck that wasn't allowing him to descend properly. The overall c-section was not terrible but you definitely DO feel things. I am kind of bummed because I will more than likely never be able to deliver naturally again. Rushton and his safety were definitely worth it. The rest of this story isn't so pleasant; fever after surgery, uncontrolled pain, and medication error... But in the end we have the most beautiful baby boy.

Here we are over 3 weeks later and Rush is kickin! At his first appointment he went from 6lbs 13oz at birth to 7lbs 5oz 6 days later! He grew 1.25 inches, too! At his second week appointment he was 7lbs 12oz, and grew another 1.5 inches! Rush is in the 79% for height and 23% for weight. Basically we have ourselves a beanpole. Rushton is our newest best friend. He constantly puts a smile on our faces. Daniel has been so amazing to watch. He loves his little "bubba boy." Rushton has already grown and changed so much. Everyday I realize more and more that this kid is the best thing to ever happen to us. I can't imagine a life without him.

Some of Rushton's favorites right now; pooping, cooing after he sneezes, chewing his fingers, kicking his way out of swaddles, his nummy (pacifier, not sure how we started calling it nummy), staring out the window, sun bathing, eating, and sleeping on dads chest.

Some of Rushtons dislikes: diaper changes, gas in his tummy, bright lights when he is trying to sleep, and being sprayed by mom in the face while trying to eat.

He is so easy to please. We are so blessed to have such a fantastic baby! Can't wait to chronicle our adventures with Rush now! Hope you continue to read and enjoy our ramblings! Here are pictures in no particular order :o)