Happy 2nd Birthday to my big boy! You've brought Daddy and I so much joy and happiness the past few years!
I woke up Tuesday morning (February 1st) not feeling very well (I was 39 weeks, 1 day) but really couldn’t pin down the reason why I didn’t feel well. I went to work but felt progressively worse throughout the morning. I went to lunch at Grandma and Grandpa’s house and while I was there I had a feeling that I should check my blood pressure. It was 154/97. I dismissed it thinking it was just a fluke, since we took my blood pressure three more times and it was all over the place, but Grandma made me promise to call my doctor.
I called the nurse and they wanted to send me to labor and delivery to be monitored. I called Daddy and put him on “alert.” I went over and felt silly the whole time thinking that it wasn’t necessary; I was going to get hooked up and find that Grandpa’s blood pressure machine was faulty and that we were going to get another huge bill for the stress test for nothing. To my surprise the first reading was 157/94, and I was having weird little crampy contractions (as the nurse called them). After an hour my blood pressure was still high so Dr. Smith called and said that he wanted to induce me. I agreed. I wanted to be induced a week early anyway! I called Daddy and let him know that you were going to be coming today.
At 4:45pm Dr. Tweede came and broke my water. I was dilated to a 1.5 and 70% effaced. That's pretty much where I had been the week before. As soon as my water broke I tried to pass out. I had ringing in my ears, and everything seemed so far away. The nurse gave me some oxygen and the world came back into focus. The pitocin was started and I was told that I could have an epidural anytime I wanted. I wasn’t going to be a wimp and get an epidural when I was only at a 1.5, so I told her that I would wait a while. 45 minutes later I was singing a different tune. I had heard contractions were more intense after your water had been broken and I was a believer. I wanted that epidural! I would have knocked out the first person who called me a wimp too! Daddy had arrived by then and was doing his best to rub my lower back in between the contractions, and my upper back during them. I didn’t like having my lower back touched during the contractions.
I was feeling a little uneasy and scared of the epidural so I told Daddy I wanted a blessing before they did it. We called Grandpa to come and help give the blessing so I had to wait a little longer. Grandpa got there a little after six (I swear it was an eternity. He said that he hit every red light on the way over). I got the blessing and immediately felt better regarding the epidural. At 6:30 I received my wonderful epidural. I don’t remember it hurting at all; I just remember Daddy almost passed out. He was supposed to be holding my shoulders to support me as I leaned forward but his arms were so rubbery that I was pretty much supporting myself. The nurse kept asking him if he was okay. The phone rang during the middle of the procedure, and the nurse told Daddy that she thought he should answer it. Once Daddy was off the phone she had him sit down over by the table until I was through getting the epidural.
Becky, Karalee, and Sara all came over and hung out in the room entertaining me. At 8:30 they came and put in a catheter and checked me. I was 4 cm dilated and 95% effaced. Since I was only dilated to a 4, Grandma sent Grandpa, Becky, Karalee, and Sara home while we settled in and tried to get some rest. After 20 minutes we gave up on the resting idea.
At 10:15 the nurse came and checked me again and I was to a 9, and 100% effaced. Grandma got on the phone and called everyone to come back. They all wanted to be there when you were born. I was fine with that as long as they were in the hallway and not in the room. I wanted it to be just Daddy and me (and the hospital staff of course) when you were as born.
At 10:45 they started to prep the room to take care of you, and at 11:00 I was 9.75 dilated. By 11:40 I was complete and the nurse had me start pushing at 11:55.
Everyone had come back by then, so when I started pushing they moved out to the hallway and played cards until you were born. They said that they were calling out encouragement to me, but I couldn’t hear them. I was busy!
You had your cord wrapped around your neck so your head was pretty gray and blue when you were coming out.
At 12:35 on Wednesday, February 2, 2005, YOU were born. We named you Tornado T. (not really) You were 8 lbs, 1 oz. and 21 inches long. No one (including the Dr.) thought that you were going to be that big.
You were so beautiful and so calm while they were cleaning you up and monitoring you. Your birth and the moments afterward will be ones I will always remember. Daddy kept going back and forth between you and me. I had never felt so much love at one time before. Daddy and I finally had our sweet baby.
DA and T.
Me and T.
And just because I thought it was cute. This was the day before we left on our trip.
