John Lucas' Birth Story
Thursday, June 02, 2016
On Sunday May 22 I woke up feeling a little off, for a few weeks I had been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions but that morning they felt a little more intense. John and I already had plans to go buy a new family car so I didn't tell him that I wasn't feeling like my normal self. My sisters came over to baby sit Juliet around noon and John and I left to go car shopping. As we walked the car lots in search of a car my contractions started getting more uncomfortable. I finally told John my contractions were getting more intense. He immediately wanted to leave but we had already found our car and were going through negotiations and I didn't want to have to start all over. So we decided to stay. I could tell I was making the car salesman nervous, he kept offering me water and food. It was actually kinda funny to watch. Once we finalized the purchase we were home by 7:30pm.
That night I could not sleep. The contractions continued to get stronger and closer together. I woke John up around 12:30 am and told him it was time to go to the hospital. I called my sisters and they came over to watch Juliet. I took a shower and took my time to make sure we weren't forgetting anything. We were admitted to the hospital around 1:30 am.
Lo and behold, I was 4 cm dilated. Seems like as soon as we arrived at the hospital my contractions stopped. They monitored me for about an hour and contractions were not consistent. John and I walked the halls for an hour and a half to help speed things up. When the doctors checked my cervix at 5:00 am, I was still only 4cm dilated. The doctor decided to administer pitocin to get the contractions started around 8:30 am. She said she had two other patients in labor and there was a possibility that she would not be able to deliver the baby if she was in the middle of another deliver. I freaked out a bit and told her if she had to choose she would have to choose me. I did not want the doctor on call to deliver my baby.
The doctor then asked if I wanted the epidural. I let her know I would need some time to think about it. I called my mom and my sisters for their advice and they all encouraged me to get the epidural. I decided to go forward with the epidural. I remember with my first pregnancy how unbearable the contractions were after they administered the pitocin and I did not want to go through that again if I didn't have to. The anesthesiologist came in around 9 am and as soon as I got the epidural I felt a immediate sense of relief. I was so relaxed, I was still able to feel the stronger contractions but the pain level was very moderate. It was amazing! My sister did my make up and I took a nap. The doctor came in and checked my cervix around 10:30 and I was now at 6 cm. She felt it was necessary to increase the pitocin as things weren't progressing fast enough. She told me the other ladies in labor were all at 10cm and were just waiting for their cerivix to finish thinning out... This worried me as I thought for sure they would beat me and I would end up delivering with the doctor on call.
It was now 11 am and I was now unable to feel my legs because of the epidural. It was scary and uncomfortable because I felt the need to move around. At around 11:30am I felt a gush and a tremendous amount of pressure in my lower back, I thought my water had broken. John called the nurse and when the doctor came in to check I was ready to push! They rushed us to the delivery room. I let the doctor know I felt like pushing, she asked me to push and then asked me to stop. My membrane was still intact and the doctor would have to rupture it so the baby can push through. When I got the next contraction I was asked to push and the doctor broke my water. I didn't feel anything... The next contraction came, I pushed and John Lucas' head was out Another push and his torso was out. My final contraction came. I pushed one last time and John Lucas was finally here!
Everything happened so fast! John Lucas was born May 23, 2016 at 11:54 am. I felt relieved and felt a rush of emotions. They placed him on my chest and he latched on for the very first time. It was magical. John and I stayed in the delivery room for an hour bonding with our baby boy before the nurses took him to weigh and measure.
Lo and behold, I was 4 cm dilated. Seems like as soon as we arrived at the hospital my contractions stopped. They monitored me for about an hour and contractions were not consistent. John and I walked the halls for an hour and a half to help speed things up. When the doctors checked my cervix at 5:00 am, I was still only 4cm dilated. The doctor decided to administer pitocin to get the contractions started around 8:30 am. She said she had two other patients in labor and there was a possibility that she would not be able to deliver the baby if she was in the middle of another deliver. I freaked out a bit and told her if she had to choose she would have to choose me. I did not want the doctor on call to deliver my baby.
The doctor then asked if I wanted the epidural. I let her know I would need some time to think about it. I called my mom and my sisters for their advice and they all encouraged me to get the epidural. I decided to go forward with the epidural. I remember with my first pregnancy how unbearable the contractions were after they administered the pitocin and I did not want to go through that again if I didn't have to. The anesthesiologist came in around 9 am and as soon as I got the epidural I felt a immediate sense of relief. I was so relaxed, I was still able to feel the stronger contractions but the pain level was very moderate. It was amazing! My sister did my make up and I took a nap. The doctor came in and checked my cervix around 10:30 and I was now at 6 cm. She felt it was necessary to increase the pitocin as things weren't progressing fast enough. She told me the other ladies in labor were all at 10cm and were just waiting for their cerivix to finish thinning out... This worried me as I thought for sure they would beat me and I would end up delivering with the doctor on call.
It was now 11 am and I was now unable to feel my legs because of the epidural. It was scary and uncomfortable because I felt the need to move around. At around 11:30am I felt a gush and a tremendous amount of pressure in my lower back, I thought my water had broken. John called the nurse and when the doctor came in to check I was ready to push! They rushed us to the delivery room. I let the doctor know I felt like pushing, she asked me to push and then asked me to stop. My membrane was still intact and the doctor would have to rupture it so the baby can push through. When I got the next contraction I was asked to push and the doctor broke my water. I didn't feel anything... The next contraction came, I pushed and John Lucas' head was out Another push and his torso was out. My final contraction came. I pushed one last time and John Lucas was finally here!
Everything happened so fast! John Lucas was born May 23, 2016 at 11:54 am. I felt relieved and felt a rush of emotions. They placed him on my chest and he latched on for the very first time. It was magical. John and I stayed in the delivery room for an hour bonding with our baby boy before the nurses took him to weigh and measure.
My sisters came later in the day and Juliet was finally able to meet her little brother. It was spectacular. Juliet looked at her brother in awe and sniffed his head. She kissed his forehead and we gave her a gift that her brother bought for her. I can't begin to put to words the feeling I had when we were all together for the first time. I felt overwhelmingly happy, complete, and amazed at how far life has taken us.
We are so grateful the delivery went so smoothly and thank God John Lucas is healthy and thriving. Our family is finally complete and we could not be happier!
XO,
Iris
0 comments