What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been for our family with the addition of Drew. He is now three weeks old and growing like a weed.
I forgot how much work a newborn can be both physically and mentally. Hence, why I haven’t blogged in a while. I am simply too tired and breastfeeding has consumed my life.
But, more on that later… Let me share Drew’s birth story. Please know I am writing this with little sleep, so hopefully it makes sense!
There are two times during my pregnancies that I absolutely love:
The day I found out I was pregnant and the day I finally give birth.
Let’s go back to the day Drew was born.
I waddled to the hospital anxious, excited and already dilated to 5 cm.
We were all smiles before the contractions hit! We are having a baby!
I had a hunch that my labor would be quick because Reese’s was fairly fast.
My other prediction was that baby boy would be on the large size. Did you see how huge my belly was?
We checked in at 7 am.
I was 5 cm dilated. My doctor arrived and broke my water at 9 a.m. and I am not lying when I say she literally opened the flood gates. She commented on how much fluid I had. Again, no wonder my belly was so huge.
His heart rate began to drop as he was most likely shocked to not have his huge pool of water to surround him. The doctor put an internal heart monitor on him. It happened so fast, I didn’t have a chance to freak out, but they knew what they were doing.
In that instant, I was thankful for my water not breaking in public.
Instantly, the contractions hit fast and hard. The pain was intense, unlike anything I remembered feeling with my first.
My tolerance for pain is super low. I have no shame in asking for an epidural. I begged for one after the contractions came closer together. I may have dropped a few cuss words as the anesthesiologist went over all the rules and procedures. I simply couldn’t help it.
My husband was by my side the entire time. I am sure I probably could have broken his hand as hard as I was holding it.
(On a sidenote: major props for the moms that give birth naturally. I am in awe of you! I only felt 7-10 contractions and I felt like I was going to die.)
Once the epidural hit, I was feeling good! Let’s do this.
In less than an hour and a half I was 10 cm dilated ready to have this boy. It happened so fast that it’s hard for me to think of all the details.
My doctor arrived and I started pushing. The weird thing about epidurals is that it makes it incredibly hard to feel if you are pushing well enough.
After three times of pushing, the doctor mentioned that they might have to use the vacuum tool if he doesn’t come out soon because his heart rate was dropping a bit. With that comment, I pushed harder and the next thing I heard was, “Look at all that hair!”
With that, I saw him from a distance as my doctor carried him towards me and the tears instantly started to flow (similar to my water breaking!) I heard Chad sobbing in the background and before you knew it, Drew was on my chest.
Simply surreal.
I had a son and he was absolutely perfect.
And he was huge! A whooping 9 lbs, 2 oz. and 21″ long.
Later that day Grammy and Grandad brought Reese up to the hospital. She was all smiles! She was smitten with him from the moment she laid eyes on him. My heart burst witnessing that. Fast forward to present day and she is still that way. Sometimes I think she is more patient with him than I am. She helps me with diaper changes and getting me his pacifier.
We spent the next few days bonding with Drew. This time I was more relaxed and not such a stress ball. Nursing went well during those days. (Although we are experiencing oversupply issues that are causing fussy behavior right now). Breastfeeding is a whole other blog post…
Drew’s birth story was short and sweet to the point. I guess that was my trade off for having such a miserable pregnancy. Three weeks later we have bags under our eyes, but our hearts are full. I won’t lie – it’s been challenging, but I know it won’t last forever. I will soak in the snuggles while I can get them.
Thank you to those who have given us so much support. Whether that was a simple text to check in, helping watch Reese, dropping off food, or listening to me vent about breastfeeding – THANK YOU! It takes a village!
