Then it was time....

Well I supposed the time has come to get some blogging done. The original plan was to blog more constantly so that so that this post wouldn't be so extremely long but OBVIOUSLY that didn't happen; therefore, you have received fair warning on the longevity of the up coming post.

Starting where I left month in my last post... Congratulations Carlson and Allie!!!!! They were married December 14th and it was just absolutely lovely. Spencer was the best man so he stayed all day with them and I got to sleep all day, it was nice and relaxing.

When I saw Dr. McBride on the 17th he did an ultrasound to make sure that the baby's head was down because I was still only dilated to a one so he couldn't tell for sure. Then we went over the procedure... I was to schedule an appointment for the 24th (even though it was passed my due date) and if I actually saw him at that appointment he would call the hospital and get everything ready for my induction on the 29th. So the rest of the week went by smoothly. Everyone was freaking out and would not let be alone for a minute so I spend the week at my parents' and at the Keele's. On Friday the 21st I convinced Spencer that we needed to go on a date since it may be the last time for a while, so our date included walking around at the mall (to try to induce labor) and dinner at my favorite restaurant, Gloria's Little Italy (I purposely ate a spicy sauce on purpose to try to induce labor). And that's how the rest of the week followed... a lot of trips to the mall to just walk around and a just about every method we could find on the internet to induce labor (including rubbing essential oils on my feet). Everyone was really nice to me even though I really wasn't that nice. I was really big, and really annoyed and I just wanted the baby out of me! I have such good family around me, everyone was at my beck and call and Spencer, Adam, and Nate even took turns playing zombies on Call of Duty and massaging my feet (oh yeah). Laura spent hours with me at the mall and target simply walking around (okay she actually bought things, which she blamed me for). I could make it passed Sacrament meeting on Sunday so that brings us to the 24th.....We went and saw Dr. McBride and he said that I was still at a one but my cervix did feel softer (personally I think the was just trying to make me feel better). So he called and set everything up for Saturday.

Christmas Time!!!!!

Now the Keeles team up with the Swensons for a big Christmas Eve party every year and they don't really do anything on Christmas, but the Tita's just have a small family home evening on Christmas Eve and they have a everyone come over on Christmas. So what we have done in the passed is spend Christmas Even with the Keeles and Christmas Day with the Titas. This year, however, the last thing I wanted was to be around a lot of people and we decided to switch it up (besides the Christmas Eve party was at Aunt Diana's house in South Jordan since Grandpa and Grandma Swenson were stuck in St. George so the drive alone would have made the decision). Well it turns out that we had just about the PERFECT Christmas! On Christmas Eve, Spencer had to work until 4 so I spent the day cleaning the house and taking it slow. He got home, showered and we actually fell asleep to Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer and got a nice nap in before going over to my parents house for dinner. We had dinner and watched a movie with my siblings and had a very nice FHE in which we read the Christmas story from the bible (it's a tradition my parents do it every year). By this time it was around 11 so we bundled up and went to home and to bed (we fell asleep watching the Christmas Story... so funny).

The next day we woke up to find that Santa had actually come to our house! we really didn't except him because we had both asked for a baby and we were already getting that, but sure enough, he came and took my note with him. ( I was feeling bad about the fact that I might go into labor on Christmas and make Dr. McBride miss time with his family (he does have three kids after all) so I made a promise with Santa that if I didn't go into labor on Christmas, I wouldn't even complain about it for the entire day). We got dressed (which is a loose term, we really just changed pajamas) and went over to the Keele's. It was the perfect relaxed day spent watching movies, me sleeping on the couch and eating delicious food. We even had the unexpected bonus of getting to talk to Zac McEntire who is serving a mission in Colombia. Sorry there are not a lot of pictures but, to be honest, I was just lazy about it. Spencer did make me take this one though, although he wouldn't pose for one.



The rest of the week was pretty much like the week before everyone went back to freaking out about me being alone so I spent it at both the parents' houses. On Thursday I got a call from the hospital and they had me pre-admit so that everything would be ready for Saturday. And then it was Friday....I guess I should back and explain... (how an induction works is they set a day and we wait for the hospital to call us depending on how busy they are. So at this point, we are thinking that there is a chance that we may not have this baby on Saturday at all if they are really busy). Friday I cleaned, did laundry, got my eyebrows done, Spencer and I got groceries for the next two weeks, and the Keeles took us out to dinner. The nice thing was that we had a rare opportunity in which we were able to gather everyone at the Keele's house and get a blessing from the dads. It was really nice. We went home and I made sure everything was spotless, went over the contents of my hospital bag to make sure everything I needed was there, took a shower, and we went to bed... out last night as a childless couple.

The call came in at 5:45 AM "We are ready for you... can you be here between 6:30 and 6:45?" So we got up, got dressed, called the parents, and gathered all our things (thank goodness we had put the car seat base in the car the night before because it was pitch black and Spencer's car does not have lights on the inside).  Now I have pictures.... Here is the final bump picture, we took it right before we left


Ready to be parents

arriving at the hospital

we took a couple of minutes to explore the room. It was so nice. I highly recomend Utah Valley Regional to everyone


Goodbye baby bump

7:00 AM... all hooked up and ready... so began the longest 15 hours of my life...


Labor was really hard. Dr. McBride came in an broke my water around 11 am and I had the Epidural when he was done. The main problem we encountered was the baby. He just really was not doing well with the contractions and his heart rate kept dropping suddenly. The whole time everyone (including the nurses) were just holding their breaths waiting for Dr. McBride to come in and say "He can't take it anymore, it's time for a c-section". I really wasn't scared of a c-section at all but I was really scared for the baby. The contractions hurt...a lot! For whatever reason my body metabolized the epidural really fast and anesthesiologist had to keep coming to give me stronger doses. I was in so much pain. Here are a bunch of pictures of the day

Right before my water was broken


The moms were the the entire day and so was my dad and the siblings. Unfortunately, Mark had a show to do in Wendover but he stopped by and saw me before he left.


Pretty huh? they thought that oxygen would help the baby. They also periodically moved me from side to side to see if that would help him. To make matters worse, every time they moved me, I threw up... all just adding to the joys of the day. Everyone was really good about trying to keep me entertained and comfortable but honestly, there were times when I just wanted to be left alone, Spencer was really good at catching those times and pushing people away.

Surprising everyone, the baby and I did it. We made it to completion around 9 pm and Dr. McBride gave me the period call "rest and descend" giving the baby a chance to really settle down in my pelvis and giving me a chance to sleep and get some rest before the big moment. At ten o'clock... it was time.

Actually delivery was not that hard, it was just annoying to have to wait for the next contraction so that I could push. NICU was called because pushing was taking a really big toll on the baby and Dr. McBride called his partner who had been reviewing my case with him to have her ready in case it turned c-section. At one point there must have been at least 15 people inside that room or more.

10:36 PM... 15 1/2 hours later... our son is born. 5lbs 13 1/2 oz almost 20 inches long

He was all wrapped up in the umbilical chord although it was not constricting him in any way, Doctor McBride cut it (Spencer didn't get get too since we were on a time crunch) and handed the baby over to the NICU doctors. And that's when all heck broke loose. Now I have seen enough movies and know enough about babies to know that he should be crying at this point and he is not. On his side of the room there are doctors and nurses fussing over him running around and getting things, and everyone one my side of the room is trying to calm me down because I am freaking out. It didn't help that I haven't even been able to see him yet. All I can hear is Doctor McBride saying "Ana you need to calm down, breath. He is in really good hands" I was too stunned to even cry myself at this point. There were so many people I couldn't so much as get a peek at him. And then he cried... and I cried. Really this all happened in about two minutes tops but it felt like forever and day to me (Somewhere in between all this commotion my placenta came out... I didn't even feel it). Then they had him all clean, wrapped and ready to go. The NICU doctor put him on my chest for a millisecond and then they took him away (Spencer went with him).

That was when I stopped and processed what was happening. I remember Dr. McBride telling me that I had two small tears that he was going to have to stitch up and saw that he was currently doing so. Everyone was complementing me on the great job I had done pushing and the nurse was cleaning me up. Then the doctor said something that brought me back "We got him out just in time". At the same time, Julie got a text message from Spencer saying that he was doing fine but he was not cooperating and they were having a hard time getting the IV on him. I still couldn't relax but I felt better that Spencer was with him. We then had to wait an hour with the nurse checking on me every 15 minutes to make sure I was doing okay. I actually left great at this point. I had her take the epidural off as soon as possible and was ready to go see my baby. Spencer sent this picture


I was really jealous of him. Why was he getting to see the baby and I wasn't?! He was my baby and I had only seen him for a second! They finally let me go see him on the baby down to our room (at this point, Julie had taken all the kids home when it became apparent that they were not going to get to hold him that night. I felt a little bad for them because they had been at the hospital for 11 hours but only a little, after all I hadn't gotten to hold him). As soon as I got there, Spencer went to go get some food, he hadn't eaten in a long time so it was me, the baby, and the nurses. They told me that he was actually doing okay and that they had him on oxygen as a precaution. Right then the NICU doctor came in and told them to take him off the oxygen and watch him for 5 minutes and see how he did. The delivery nurse was kind enough to let me stay and wait. When he did great those 5 minutes they told me that they would still have to keep him for an hour (that's just protocol) and that they would send him down to the nursery where those nurses would give him a bath and run their own test on him (that's just protocol), then I could get him. So I went down to my room... and waited... my nurse Mai (we had the same night nurse all three nights) came in and checked me and helped me go to the bathroom for the first time and I waited... Spencer was back at this point and he was exhausted. He pulled out the extra bed and was out. I must point out that I was doing great at this point. The only reason I needed help going to the bathroom was because Mai made me get help I was fine and I was able to get up and walk by myself without any problems. They finally brought him!!!! (It was about 2:30 AM at this point) I woke up Spencer and I got to feed him right away :) Then all three of us were able to get some sleep after what had been the hardest day of our lives.

Mai came back for him at 6 AM because she needed to run some test and we found out that his bilirubin was high. They got Dr. McBride on the phone (he is also the baby's pediatrician  who order him under the lights right away. The doctor told me that they were many contributing factors as to by his bilirubin would be high and that they would probably keep him there until we got discharged. So Spencer and I spent the day by ourselves. They would bring him to us every 3 hours so that I could feed him and then take him away again. I was able to get up, take a shower, put make up on, and feel better about myself. Oh and eat! I hadn't eaten anything but some oreos since Friday night.

Nate was lucky enough to come visit right when they had brought him, so he got to be the first one to hold him besides Spencer and I.


By the next day, his bilirubin level was really low so Spencer and I got him the entire day! Grandma Keele works at the hospital so she came over to hold him on her break


Before we knew it, it was 6 PM and Dr. McBride came to discharge us. It seemed like in the blink of an eye we were both dressed, he was in his car seat, I was in a wheel chair, and my dad was bringing out car to the front (we were lucky enough that my family happened to be over when we got the discharge). We took some pictures and went home

The nurses made that name sign. I had seen it before in my friends babies' pictures so I asked around to see if it was something I had to bring made from home. I didn't want my son to be the only one at the nursery without one all because his mom didn't know to make one.

Spencer's bed. He actually stayed with us both nights

In his car seat ready to go home

We finally got home around 8:30 and Spencer went to the store to get some sparkling cider to ring in the New Year while I made some dinner (yeah, I was really doing that well that I got home, put everything from the hospital away and made dinner)

His first picture at home
The funny thing is that Spencer and I didn't even notice the new year. We were sitting in bed and I was feeding the baby when Spencer looked down from the game he was playing on the computer and said "Happy New Year" (it was about 12:10 at that point). We laughed and decided that we were officially parents now.

And we have been parents for the past two weeks. Spencer was able to take a week off work so that was a huge help for me as we got into the routine. He is a pretty chill baby but we are having a hard time sleeping because he likes sleeping in Mommy's arms. Needless to say he has everyone wrapped around his finger. He got circumcised last Friday and is all recovered from it already. Now that Spencer is back to work and school it is just me and him all day long at home.

Facts about Baby Spencer

  • He doesn't like to be bothered so changing his dipper is always a horrible experience for him in which he cries a lot
  • He is really happy all the time
  • He loves the sound of running water (which is awesome because his swing has a water sound feature). He also really likes it when daddy brings him in the bathroom while mommy is showering
  • He is a pretty good eater. He was already gaining weight at the hospital and had gained more weight when Dr. McBride saw him the Wednesday after we came home
  • He is using preeme diapers because he is so tiny (although he is really long and has really long fingers and feet)
Has this post been long enough yet? Sorry about that

Spencer loves taking pictures of him. Every time he has him I hear his camera turn on. So here are a some more pictures

In his swing


He loves to be sucking on things. Thank goodness for binkys because mom was his binky until we got him to take that one

Yes... all of his clothes are big on him

With Aunt Veronica



He loves sleeping on out bed and on his side like that. I have to keep turning him over to his back to that he is safe


He actually had his two week appointment today but I couldn't get the snow or my car so I moved it till Monday. I'll try to keep up with blogging but no promises. Maybe I'll have to write a post a little bit at a time

PS we want to do newborn pictures but the person we would do them with is in California with her newborn son. Any recommendations?

Comments

  1. I have been waiting for this!!! He is so precious :) that sucks that you were in labor do long but it must be a good pay off to feel better enough to cook and clean right when you get home :) I hope I get to meet him sometime! I'm sure you guys are amazing parents!

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  2. Congrats again Ana! =) Loved reading this. Sorry the birth was tough =( But i'm so glad to hear he's a good eater! That seriously helps so much! He is so adorable. Glad he's gaining weight so well cause is a little guy! Text me with ANY questions! =)

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  3. My sister might be able to take some for you. I can get you her info if you like. I'll message you on FB. Baby boy is a complete doll! He's so handsome! I have a bunch of white onsies newborn size if you guys want them.

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