Bringing Baby Mason into the World

A post about my labor and delivery seems a bit daunting, but as I would love to have it documented: here it is.

(warning: picture overload - I was lucky enough to have hundreds of amazing pictures to choose from thanks to Jenny and other visitors)

It all started when my water broke at work at 10:15 Wednesday morning (May 9th). After some slight freaking out with thoughts of "is this really happening?!?!" I was on my way to the doctor to confirm it was in fact my water breaking. It was in fact my water that broke and they told me I had time to head home before going to the hospital.

I made the critical call to Cameron who then met me at home while we got all of our stuff ready, showered, ate some lunch, and headed out - talk about a surreal drive.

We got checked in, called our mom's and waited...

The afternoon went by with testing if my water had broken, getting hooked up to an IV, waiting for contractions to pick up, and basically just waiting.

Brooke stopped by after work with dinner for Cameron (I was so jealous of his JJ's while I sat there hungry) and Brooke was nice enough to rub my feet (nicest sister ever).

The contractions started to pick up and while they weren't unbearable, they weren't a picnic either. 

Around 6:00 PM I finally decided that they were a bit more than I wanted to deal with. The nurse finally checked me (they tried to wait as long as possible to avoid introducing any bacteria since my water was broken) and I was already dilated to 5 cm. So they ordered the epidural and about an hour later it was time for that.

It took much longer than I expected to get it in, but once it was going, it was nice to have some relief.

My support system grew throughout the night as Jenny and my mom showed up. It was nice to have company and some distraction as the night tended to get longer than I expected it to.

Through the night we were constantly glued to the monitor -watching the contractions and the baby's heart rate. Through the night his heart rate started to drop, especially during contractions, and it started to take longer to recover afterwards. They slowed the pitocin to not stress out the baby and hopefully keep his heart rate up.

Around midnight they checked me again and I was at 9 cm - which to me meant things would probably speed up from here. 

 They didn't.

Being pregnant and in labor - I kept the room pretty cold, which for some reason my guests didn't like as much as I did.

But with this girl - any long amount of time and just waiting around she turns into comic relief. 

Dr. Brooke Jensen.

The night wore on - my visitors slept and some left, I slept very little (especially being checked on every 2 hours and the baby's heart rate keeping me on my toes), I watched 900 episodes of "House Hunters", I was given the "prepare for a c-section" talk just in case (this little baby was also sitting pretty high so there were multiple indicators it could head that direction), and just nervously waited.

Finally, just after 5:00 AM the nurse came in and checked me and I was fully dilated and probably ready to push.

Hallelujah!

(or so I thought)

Plans changed a little as the nurse had to deliver another baby - so I was left to keep going in the "rest and descend" process - hoping the baby might move down a bit.

Around 6:30 AM the nurse was back and we started to push - at least a little. 

It was really by 7:00 AM that the full time pushing started and I had constant support to get me through this next stage.

For some reason after only briefly pushing, I got very nauseous (for the first time in the pregnancy) and it was awful. Luckily that subsided and I kept going.

I pushed and pushed for what seemed like an eternity - but it was so nice to have so much support and encouragement.

my mom

my fabulously amazing husband (notice it is now 9:00 AM and I am still pushing?)

my darling sister Brooke

and the girl behind the scenes - Jenny.

The doctor showed up around 8:30 and was in and out of my room as he had another patient delivering. Every time he left the room I wanted to scream - I thought "I must be so close - how can you just leave? What if the baby comes?" Clearly I was not quite as close as I thought. 

I kept hearing everyone who was watching exclaim that they see the head and in my mind I thought - oh he must be almost out, but what it really meant, was they could see in and see the head HUGE difference people. 

Next came the hardest thing I have ever done. The 2 hours of pushing was hard, but the last 30 minutes I thought just might take my life. I hit my breaking point as I started to feel more and more pain. I burst into tears as I squeezed Cameron's hand and cried at how much it hurt.

Never before have I ever been through something as hard as this. My sweet baby was taking his time getting through the birth canal and I had to work hard through every push to get him here.

But finally my little mister made his debut - a bit pale and battered - but he was here and healthy and I had just accomplished this hard thing. 

It was 9:37 AM on May 10th that this little guy entered this world.

The respiratory nurse was on hand as they suspected he might need some extra help after being in labor for so long - I loved these two nurses and they got him breathing and going in no time.

Right after he came out I was world's away from that delivery room. I was mentally and emotionally drained and physically exhausted. It was this moment that was the most clear to me through it all - my dear Cameron there with tears in his eyes telling me how proud he was of me. 

We had the most amazing moment.

Of the whole process this is what still gets me teary-eyed. I love this guy more than anything in the world and I think I could physically feel myself loving him even more. I can not fully describe what I felt in that moment - but it is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.

We were now bonded in a way I have never known - we had a baby.

I finally heard this little guy scream and was able to come back to reality enough to realize that I had just had a baby boy. A BOY! To be honest, in the moment they said it, I was so done that it didn't really even register or matter - I was just happy he was here.

Cameron got himself a tattoo of his little foot...

and this new dad was already a sucker for that little boy.

He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long (although he is likely to have really just been 19 inches as his cone shaped head likely gave him an extra inch).

Our perfectly healthy baby boy.

I still have no recollection of seeing him for the first time - but I'm glad it was documented. How crazy to have given birth to this baby who was now mine?

Cameron brought him over to the bed and as I watched him hold that little baby I was overwhelmed with the love I had for these two boys who now made us a family.

The process was over and I had worked hard - the nurses were all expecting a c-section, but I had pushed hard and got him here. I was proud of myself for doing it - something I think every mom should feel.

My reward from the nurses? A diet coke.

Fitting right?

(notice my swollen eyes and face - I popped quite a few blood vessels in my eyes and it took days for them to recover and the swelling to go down)

I do remember the moment I got to hold this little miracle.

He was tiny, and perfect, and mine.

He was born to a multitude of people who were anxiously awaiting his arrival and just waiting to love on him.

It was an amazing/hard/surreal/spiritual/challenging experience - but every last detail of it was worth it to bring this sweet spirit into the world. 

I am now a mom. I had a baby and I accomplished something harder than I ever have before. 

I have the two loves of my life who make up my little family.

For now, my life is complete.