My Baby Story

So it's been exactly 3 weeks and 1 day since I gave birth to the most handsome little boy this world has ever known :) I finally feel well enough and have some time (while he is napping) to sit down and write about my own personal baby story and the craziness that brought this baby boy to our lives. Speaking of my "baby story"...have you guys watched that show on TLC? While I was pregnant Cori used to change the channel because watching the women in labor would freak me out and make me all nervous. He didn't understand why I would torture myself but I couldn't keep my eyes off of it.  It's one of those shows that despite how disturbing it is, you just HAVE to watch. Anyways, I know this might sound a little cruel but now I enjoy watching it because I get a little kick out of the pain the women go through because I know the pain oh so well and I guess misery loves company (even if it did happen in the past) =)!

March 23rd at 11:30pm I woke up from an uncomfortable sleep (sleeping when you are a week over due is no picnic) and felt like I had peed myself while sleeping. I guess I should take the time now to tell you that this post might be a little graphic and I don't plan on holding back much (yes I will leave out the worst of it) but if you feel uncomfortable reading about the miracle of life and everything that involves it, exit the screen. You have been warned. Okay, so I wake up terrified because what 27 year old pees herself while sleeping? I quickly realize that I am 41 weeks and 1 day pregnant and that the possibility of it being my water breaking is very likely so my embarrassment turns into excitement as I proceed to wake up my husband. I say "Babe, I think my water just broke!" he opens his eyes slightly, looks at the bed and says " just throw a towel over it and go back to sleep". I disobey his absurd instructions and walk into our guest bedroom and wake up my mom. "Mom, I think my water broke". She unlike my husband reacts how I would expect someone to and she immediately gets up and walks with me back into my bedroom and examines the bed which now has a towel over it and a passed out husband (in his defense he had a very very long week and was extremely tired). We agree that in fact it was my water and not pee and we proceed to get Corigan out of bed, put the sheets in the washer, change into some comfortable clothes, let the neighbors know we are headed to the hospital, and grab some last minute things for our stay in the hospital. At this point I have not had a single contraction and I am a giddy mess because I know that I am about to have a baby!!! I'm pretty sure I sang a made up song about giving birth on our way to the hospital as my zombie husband drove my mother and I  there.

We arrive to the hospital close to midnight and they check me in immediately and check to see if my water had in fact broken on it's own. Surprise, it had! The nurse also checked to see how far dilated I was, and to my surprise I was not even a 1. She said I was BARELY a 1. For those of you who don't know what I am talking about, you have to be 9cm to start pushing and I was nowhere close to pushing and having a baby. So three hours later they decided to check again and I am BARELY a 1 1/2. At this point the doctor is worried that I won't dilate fast enough and this is bad news since the baby must be born 24 hours after the water breaks to avoid any infection. So now I am getting induced and the nurse fills my iv up with some Pitocin.

Pitocin (induction) sucks! It's basically a drug that makes your contractions REALLY bad and makes you go "into labor" faster. The minute I get the drug, the contractions start happening and they start happening fast. It is very painful and I'm thinking there is no way I can make it through hours and hours of this pain without either going completely insane or dying (yes, you do believe you can possibly die from pain). So after about three hours of being induced the nurse comes to check me and at this point I am dilated to about a 2. I was so disappointed that after so much time and pain, I had BARELY dilated to a 2. Obviously, at this point we all know that I am an extremely slow dilator and the process of getting to 9cm would be very painful without an epidural.

I know now, that this birthing story will not finish without an epidural. I want and need an epidural desperately and I am not ashamed to say so. I ask the nurse if I can please have it and she checks with the doctor who lets her know that I will not be allowed to have the epidural until I am 4cm dilated. I almost cried! I told her to give me ANYTHING to help with the pain, and she did. She gave me some hardcore pain medication that basically made me labor for an hour feeling like I was on another planet. I could barely keep my eyes open. The pain was still there but the medication definitely took off the "edge". The nurse let me know that at 7 am there would be a shift change and that she would ask the new doctor if I could have the epidural and that maybe he would have a different answer. An hour later my hero of a nurse walks in with the great news that the new male (I'm letting you know that he is male because I have a feeling that because he doesn't know the pain women go through he is a lot nicer and understanding and lets women get the epidural when they ask for one) doctor on shift says YESSSSSSSSS to my epidural request. Fast forward 1/2 an hour later, I am the most relieved person in this world. P.s. The needle is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be or maybe the contraction pains are so bad that it pales in comparison.

The epidural is the most amazing invention in this world. If you are pregnant and are contemplating whether or not you want it, I am telling you right now...GET IT. It is a life saver!! Yes, I know that millions of women for years and years have given birth naturally and that it is possible to do it without. To that argument I say...millions and millions of people have gotten their teeth pulled in the past without any local anesthesia. How many people do you hear about that go into the dentist office today and say "You know what? I think I want to go all natural today, please pull out my tooth without numbing it beforehand. Please and thank you".  Just because it's possible doesn't mean you have to do it! I originally didn't want the epidural but quickly realized I needed it to stay sane. I know what it feels like to be in labor and unfortunately I know what it is like to give birth without it (more of that later). And after my 22 hour experience of labor, I can only say that it was the best decision I made. After the epidural was given to me I slept on and off for the next 12 hours. Corigan was unable to sleep throughout this time however so my husband at this point is running on very low fuel and exhausted beyond words.

At about 7:30pm I felt a contraction. My initial thought was "what the heck?!". I had not felt anything in the past 12 hours and didn't plan on feeling anything ever again. Three minutes later I felt another one, then another and another. They keep getting worse and a lot more painful. I call the nurse in and tell her I need more of the epidural ( I never get it) . Throughout these 12 hours I have now dilated to 8cm and part of my cervix is covering a part of Cai's head so they can't have me push yet. They are hoping as I get closer to 9cm that the cervix that is covering that small part of Cai's head will move back and he can make his way down. Nothing seems to be working. The doctor even came into the room and tried to move it himself but was not able to. It would just have to be a waiting game. Luckily the waiting game didn't last very long because my contractions are getting unbearable and Cori is furiously fanning away next to me because on top of being in excruciating pain, I am extremely hot and bothered and just need to be fanned. Corigan, you are the best fanner ever =). I am distraught at this point because I've realized that I am feeling EVERYTHING and that I will most likely be giving birth without any medication and this was my biggest fear. I was scared to feel anything. During one of the contractions I felt this sudden urge to push and I tell Cori "I'm pushing! I have to push!" and I start pushing without anyone in the room other than my husband, mom, and sister. As I am pushing, the nurse along with another male nurse come in and immediately start assisting me as I am pushing. My mom has one of my legs, the male nurse the other, Cori is behind me holding my head and back forward as I push and the most painful and amazing 10 minutes of my life start to happen.

(Sometime between 6pm-7:30 I wake up from a nap, cough and throw up all over myself. Granted, I had not had anything to eat in the past 24 plus hours so there was no food involved only liquid but it was A LOT and all over my face, hospital bed, and gown. I feel horrible for Cori who ran to try and get me a bucket but didn't make it in time and for the nurses who cleaned me up and changed my bedding like I was a two year old).

I am screaming. Yes, I am THAT woman that you can hear across the hallway and throughout the whole hospital floor. I can't help myself. I'm even yelling at my mom that I can't do it. " I can't do it! I can't do it! MOOOOMMMMMMM I can't!!!!". She's assuring me "yes, yes, you can. You are almost there". And I knew I was almost there because I could feel his head and the ring of fire! Google ring of fire. It's insanely painful. The doctor rushes in at this point and is putting on his hospital garments and gloves as fast as he can all while he is telling me to "stop pushing" and I yell back " I can't!!!". I am sorry. I know you are a doctor and all and probably have good enough reasons to tell me to stop pushing but SERIOUSLY!? There wasn't a single human being or anything on this green earth that could have kept me from pushing at this point. My body was telling me to push and I was pushing. End of story. The doctor was barely in position when Cai's head came out into this world and all the doctor had to do was tell me to push one more time to get the rest of his body out. Birthing Cai was the biggest relief I have ever felt. I wish I could put into words the feeling but there aren't any (I am sure all mothers can agree to this). Instantly the pain went away and I had my beautiful baby boy in my arms.

I won't go into much detail next about what happened because it was a very scary moment in Cai's birth. Cai's umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice so when he was born he wasn't breathing right and his heart rate was 60 when it should have been 150. The NICU team rushed in quickly after he was born and worked on him for a good 5 minutes before I heard his first cry. 5 minutes of waiting for your newborn baby to cry seem like an eternity. When he finally let out a small cry, I felt like all the blood rushed back into my body. He was taken away to the NICU soon after and we were all left in the room looking at each other and trying to process what had just happened. I have to say that as scared as I was, I knew that he was going to be okay. I knew that God was protecting my baby and that nothing bad was going to happen to him. I was worried of course but I had a sense of peace that he was in good hands and that everything would be okay. And it was. Cai was released from the NICU the following morning and everything was great with him and he was completely healthy and ready to be with his mommy and daddy. God is the protector of my family and will always be.

And so ends my birthing story. I am sure I have scared most of you into not having kids (my sister was definitely scarred for life). I have to say that I am so thankful for the wonderful medical team at Lester Hospital that took such good care of me and my family. I am also thankful for my mom and Corigan who were by my side during the most important time of my life.

Cai was born at 8:50pm on Saturday March 24th. He weighed 7lbs 2 ounces and measured 21 inches. He is absolute perfection in my eyes and I can't stop staring at him in awe. Becoming a parent is an incredible feeling and I know the journey ahead of us is going to be a great one full of love and promise. He is a good baby and hardly ever cries. He is calm, cute, and sleepy. I probably kiss him more than I should but I won't stop. I've never known a love like this before....

I want to thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers this past month. We are loved by many and feel overwhelmed with all the kindness and love you guys pour out on us. Our friends here in Okinawa have been exceptional with us and have made being new parents so much easier with all of their help and generosity. We can feel the love from all around the world and appreciate each and everyone of you. So, THANK YOU.

We plan on visiting sometime this summer with Cai so everyone can meet him and fall in love with him like everyone who meets him does. We are excited to come home and share our pride and joy with you all. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we embark on this unknown journey of parenthood. I feel blessed to be taking on this journey with the man of my dreams. Every day he proves to be more and more amazing. Cai has the greatest father and I have the greatest husband. Life is good.

Love,
Paloma