So once upon a time, I thought it would pretty sweet to have a November baby when all three: my doctor, my husband, and my mom could be here. Well last week, I feel very very blessed that at least my husband could be there when the other two could not.
You see, when I was 37.5 weeks along, Bryce left for 5 days to go to a conference. The night before he left, our ward had a chili cook-off --which in my opinion, really got the ball rolling. As I was trying all these yummy chilis, some pretty spicy, I felt something change and my stomach felt kinda weird and I turned to Bryce and told him that maybe this wasn't the best idea. You hear lots of birthing stories (well, at least that is what my birthing book told me) that started with eating something spicy.
Well anyways, fast forward a few days, Bryce left on Saturday and on Sunday, I had a scare that my water broke (big gush, just like they say). I really had not planned on having this baby anytime soon (since my body did absolutely nothing on it's own at 41 weeks with Brycen) and I got super scared. Not only was I not packed, but what was I going to do with Brycen? At 2am? 8am? Noon? 3pm? I have had lots of friends that have offered but with different schedules, depending on the time of day--it's really hard to predict and plan for. And with Daddy being out-of-town, Brycen was already having a rough time. And then...do I drive myself? Have someone else pick me up? Needless to say, I packed for the hospital just in case and worried a ton the rest of the day. I talked myself out of driving all the way to the hospital to check to see if my water broke just to find out that it didn't (made that mistake with Brycen) and decided I would just wait until my appointment in the morning. Probably not the best idea...if my water had indeed broke.
Luckily, I found out the next morning, that my water had not broke (thank goodness! Since a baby is supposed to be born within 24 hours of it breaking) and that I had not dilated any further than I had the previous week. 60% effaced. 2.5-3 cm dilated. It definitely gave me hope that I would not have this baby until Bryce came home.
Well, Tuesday night came and I started having contractions. Real contractions. Things I never felt on my own with Brycen. The pain did not ease up when moving positions or walking, but they were irregular and pretty far apart and went away some time after I fell asleep that night. Bryce called me at 5am Wednesday morning to see if he should fly back to Indiana or fly to Oregon (for less than a 24 hour visit to get his teeth worked on by his sister and brother-in-law, they have their own dental practice and it was going to be much, much cheaper this way). He had bought both tickets just in case (love Southwest) but could cancel one without difficulties. I told him to go ahead and go to Oregon since my contractions went away and so we could get this trip out of the way. After all, he would be home the next day--the end was in sight!
Well, scare #2 came when I drove over to my friend's house to watch her little girl at 10:30am Wednesday just to have contractions that came every 5-7 minutes for an hour, lasting 30-45 seconds each, which in every book I have read--means a good hospital trip was in order. I immediately got emotional thinking that I made the wrong choice when I told Bryce to go to Oregon. I called the doctor and they said I didn't need to come in until the contractions were 5 minutes apart for an hour. So I went home to re-pack, clean, pray, and wait it out. After all, Bryce had not even arrived in Oregon yet (still in the air).
My prayers were answered and the contractions only got further apart as the day went on. I had called my mom and her reaction was "Oh, boy. " And she remained on-call for she was convinced the baby was going to come within the next few days and she started looking at plane tickets to move her planned trip up a week. I cancelled all the rest of my plans for the day and took it easy, anything to not put labor into full bloom.
I didn't get much sleep that night....I really hadn't gotten much sleep the last week---hate not having Bryce home. I freak out at every little noise. And in all reality, hadn't gotten much sleep the last three months since I could no longer get very comfortable at night and then you have those wonderful potty breaks. Not missing those.
Well, Thursday finally came and my contractions had again, stopped during the night. But just in case, I packed everything for the hospital into the car for when we would drive down to pick up Bryce from the airport. And as soon as we got on the road, my contractions started. Painful but not regular. Daddy was going to make it though, I was determined.
Contractions continued throughout the day but never got closer than 10-15 minutes apart so we headed home and enjoyed the evening together and Bryce packed his things for the hospital. And we were all looking forward to a good nights rest that night. Bryce had taken two 6am flights in a row after weeks of not much sleep because of work and the presentation he was preparing for the conference he had attended.
Well the contractions continued and got almost unbearable around 2am when I could no longer endure them in bed. I instead, hopped off the bed and tried to rock on all fours (methods I had read about in the weeks prior...I was so much better prepared this time around than with Brycen) and when that didn't work, I screamed into the side of the mattress. Bryce woke up several times and said, "Christi..where are you? Are you okay?"
Once the contractions started coming 5 minutes apart for 30 minutes, I decided to hop into the shower...anything to get through the next 30 minutes before I could call the doctor and if I was going to go to the hospital...I was in need of a shower. The warm water worked wonders. I immediately relaxed and had maybe only one contraction. When I got out though, I found myself on the floor every 3-4 minutes for when the contractions struck and during my break between the contractions, I was frantically doing my hair, calling the doctor, and packing up the last few items. Now after reading lots of things, I know that when you call the doctor--you're not supposed to "hide" your pain since they really judge your condition based on your voice. However, I'm really not one that likes to show pain, let alone, on the phone and so the doctor sounded like he didn't believe me when I told him how close the contractions were and he said to wait another 30 minutes and then "he guessed" I could go to the hospital (my doctor left that morning for a conference, this was the on-call doctor).
Maybe I was a wimp. Not wanting to wake Bryce and Brycen up for a hospital trip that would end up being for nothing and heading back home...I tried to convince myself that maybe I didn't need to go. However, the contractions came so bad...I soon found myself praying that if I could get through them, I promised I would go to the hospital. Sounds silly. They hurt bad but during the break between contractions...I felt great, so great, that I would almost convince myself that maybe the contractions didn't hurt so bad...and then they did. It was a vicious cycle that I endured a few times before finally waking up Bryce.
Bryce totally jumped out of bed, saying, "Did your water break?" He was so out-of-it that he did not remember anything...not my contractions all night, not me telling him I was going to hop into the shower before we headed to the hospital...poor guy. Oh, well. Here we go...
We then woke up Brycen who asked if we were going to Grandma's house. Whenever we leave that early in the morning...we are headed to the airport. And he was alittle bummed that it was the hospital and was asking to go home before we had even arrived.
We arrived at the hospital at 5am.
I changed into my glamorous hospital gown and got tied to the monitors while Bryce and Brycen ate breakfast and watched Tarzan and Elmo on the computer. Brycen immediately knew something was up and ran to my bedside every chance he could (when no nurses or doctors were around) to hold my hand and ask me if I was okay. Love him.
Well, the first nurse was a complete idiot and couldn't find my cervix to check how far I had dilated, I'm so glad she left at 6. As a result, I had to be checked three times (among painful contractions, let me remind you) just to find out if I was really staying at the hospital or not. I needed to let my mom know asap and work out what we would do with Brycen. At around 6:30am, they finally decided that I was 6-7 cm dilated and told me, "You're going to have a baby today!" That's alot to all the sudden take in. For sure.
Around this time, Brycen started yawning and asked that we go home again. So we thought of our options and I texted the same amazing friend whose house I was at Wednesday morning, and asked if she would mind coming and getting Brycen. It was a huge bonus that Brycen happens to adore my friend and was way, way excited for "Mommy and Daddy stay here. Brycen go to Tracy's house". I loved knowing that he was going to be okay and in good hands.
Well, like I said, sadly-my doctor (who was all for the VBAC) had just left that morning and the on-call doctor didn't seem as excited for it-but willing to try it. They discussed my options and asked me if I wanted an epidural to keep me comfortable. I initially, was going to try no epidural (before I knew that the baby was going to be early and hopefully...smaller than his older brother) but they informed me that the anesthesiologist would be unavailable for two hours in a surgery so if I was going to have one, I needed to decide soon.
I evaluated my condition. Dead tired. Getting more worn out with every contraction, which were now coming every 2 minutes. Would I have anything left for when it came time to push? Okay, epidural, please (and it also helped that they told me that the anesthesiologist was really good and could make it so I could still feel some, and it would just take the edge off the contractions). I really didn't remember how much epidurals hurt though. Ouch. I did ask the anesthesiologist if she liked her job since my brother is studying to become one and she said she loved it--there you go, Josh!
Well, the first dose didn't take. The contractions came hard and fast and all the nurses and doctor were confused. They later told me that they think it was because my body was progressing too fast. Luckily, the anesthesiologist was able to come back (especially since she was supposed to be in surgery) and the second dose took just in time to push (I fully dilated without an epidural....I'm sort of proud of that :). I'm not sure I would have been able to make it if it didn't.
Between every push, I was able to completely relax and close my eyes--a wonderful, wonderful thing. With the second dose though, it took away all feeling everywhere, making pushing very hard. I found it so hard to push in an area that I could not feel and had to mentally remind myself where it was. I did feel better prepared this time pushing (compared to Brycen) after reading up on techniques of how to do it and managed to not pop an eye blood vessel (those things take forever to heal...)
With every push, they told me they could see his head but when I stopped, his head would go back up. We also had some scary moments where his heart rate dropped and times, when they couldn't even find his heart beat...very scary. So, c-section discussion came up and although, I was immediately diappointed (I had my heart set on a VBAC, Bryce said he could see it in my eyes), I wanted a healthy baby more and of course, I would be fine going through with a c-section. The doctor told me he could try the vacuum extraction once but that they would first take me into surgery and prep me to be ready just in case.
All the while, I prayed hard that he would come vaginally and that I could do it. I'm not sure how many kids we want or will be able to have but I know, vaginally--increases my chances of being able to have more kids and reduces my chances of complications.
Thoughts as I laid there and prayed: If only I had not gotten the epidural...if only I could feel where I needed to push. Please, could I feel something, I asked? I then tried to remember everything I had ever read about successful pushing and tried to mentally prepare to first, push and if needed, a c-section.
After final preparations for the c-section were made and I was moved onto the operation table and the anesthesiologist came in and started hooking things up to me and a very scary few moments where my nurse couldn't locate baby's heartbeat later, the final contraction came. It was time to push one final time, and I, for the first time since getting the second dose of epidural was able to feel my lower back. I focused all my attention on that area and pushed with all I had. To my surprise (I was already preparing myself for a needed c-section), I heard, "Do you see him?? Keep pushing!!" My eyes flew open and I saw his precious head and then continued to push while they brought his shoulders through and then the rest of his body. I waited for the much wanted baby cry (he has the adorable baby cry, something Brycen never had) and finally heard it after they cleared out his mouth and moved him onto the warming table--bringing a huge wave of relief.
The feeling I had felt in my lower back immediately disappeared again as I relaxed and felt.... bliss. Bliss is all I can think to even come close to describing the state I was in . I had done it...well with the help of ALOT of answered prayers. Our baby arrived healthy and well, Bryce and I were able to both be there and be awake (recall I was put to sleep for Brycen's and Bryce was put into another room), and now I was able to witness the joy on Bryce's face as he stood close, took pictures, and watched them take our newest baby's measurements.
Born 10:17 am. 7lbs 11oz. 20 inches long.
Proud Daddy. Note: Cian is wearing a hospital hat--something Brycen never fit into. As well as newborn diapers-though you can't see it, it swims on Cian where it could barely stretch over Brycen. Crazy what a different experience brothers can have :)
I then observed the other nurses and doctor as they put me back together and told me the specifics (what time he was born, how long I had pushed (about an hour), that I have a small, very minor tear--every bit worth it, if you ask me). I also then noted how many people were there that made it possible. There must have been at least 9 or so nurses along with the one doctor. It might sound silly (I blame the hormones) but I felt special and honored that so many people were on hand (And I'm sure we will pay for it when the bill comes :)) to help assist bringing our newest addition into the world.It was definitely not something I felt when Brycen was born, it was a busy birth night and I was the last one to deliver).
Lastly, I was able to finally touch and hold my baby. He was and is still perfect, just like his older brother. He had brown hair just like I hoped and thus, I wanted him to be named after my family.
Cian was a name that I came across on the Irish baby boy name list that I liked and Bryce actually liked too (very rare event). Bryce went to Ireland on his mission (sparking the Irish baby name list in the first place). I also see it as an appreviation of Christian, taking the C and the ending and putting it together. Scott is my dad's first name, making it a perfect middle name for Cian.
The doctor that delivered me (Dr. Shaffer) proved to be very experienced, knowledgeable, and I was very pleased with the way he handled my situation and took great care with my stitches and Cian's (later) circumcision. I also LOVED my labor and delivery nurse (the one that replaced the not so kind, idiot one). She was young, her name was Megan, and she was so nice. She answered all my questions, made suggestions, told me what was going on and was the perfect bridge between the medical staff and us. She went above and beyond to make me as comfortable as possible and ensure the safe delivery of Cian and was always right by my side.
Overall, I loved my birthing experience. I thought it was perfect. Bryce was able to be there (holding my hands and being my anchor through the pain), Brycen was happy and in great hands, the laboring itself (strong, consistent contractions) went relatively quick-roughly 8 hours-I felt much better prepared going into it, having done it already and doing lots of research to help prepare me for a possible VBAC. And since the VBAC did take place--I loved my epidural (I might've felt differently if I had a c-section since I would've never known if having the epidural decreased my chances of such), the relief it gave my tired body was amazing and well worth the pain I experienced to receive it and it provided me with the needed rest and thus, strength to push--maybe being the reason I was able to have a VBAC? Not sure but the idea of it, allows me to love the epidural even more :)
I also, really, knew all along that it was going to be Friday, October 21st. During the whole month of October, I couldn't get the 21st out of my mind like something was planned and I couldn't remember what. I told Bryce before going to bed on the 20th that if the baby came the next day, it would be crazy because I knew all along that he would.
Meeting Baby Brother for the first time. Brycen was grumpy after waking up from a short nap and not getting much sleep the night before.
He was sold on his love for Cian though, after he received his gift from him (the best idea, ever-by the way).
My mom was also able to fly out the next day for a very, very reasonable price for being purchased the day before and has been a great extra set of hands, our chef, and personal house helper. I'm sure spoiled to get her for 2 weeks especially since life back in Utah seems to fall apart without her there.
Brycen photography
Brycen has been the perfect big brother so far. Always telling Cian that he loves him and asking to hold him.
Brycen has also been an amazing help getting things for Mommy when she is feeding baby brother and changing his diaper. And I am LOVING this newborn age. With Brycen, I think I was more anxious for him to learn and grow but with Cian, I'm already find myself dreading the next day because he is getting older and I wish he could stay little forever (for now, at least). He is a much better eater and sleeper than Brycen was, making it all a little more perfect.
As for what I did differently this pregnancy that I hope to remember and do again in the future: I stayed physically fit in a whole different way then with Brycen, continuing my aerobic exercise and volleyball playing several times a week which I also owe to my body dilating early on it's own--all that jumping around did some good and I loved doing it. I also changed my diet (late, not until 32 weeks, will probably do it earlier next time) to include more whole grains, vegetables, brown rice, wheat flour, and less desserts, candy, and ice cream. As a result of maybe one or all the above, I also gained 10 pounds less than I did with Brycen (33 pounds total) and the fact that Cian came so early-11 days-he was much smaller and maybe one or all the above reasons, helped me have a successful VBAC. Along with the aid of the vacuum extraction (which Brycen broke 3 of) and answered prayers, of course.
It has truly been a wonderful, perfect experience and the journey in many ways is just really beginning.
First night home.
Matching facial expressions.
Brycen was watching Elmo and held sleeping Cian for a good 20-30 minutes, perfectly.
The immediate love we have for him is amazing.
