Owen's Arrival Story!

Well, since we're in the hospital, and Owen is sleeping like a champ, I thought I'd get a jump start on recording the birth story while everything is still pretty fresh in my mind!  Warning though, it's not a short story!  (and it may be a little graphic for my male audience which includes my dad and my bother!  Just warning you two!  And my husband just confirmed that it is a little graphic, but since he was there it doesn't bother him so much!)


So, as everybody well knows by now, I was hoping to have had little Owen quite some time ago!  I had high hopes with dilating early and the other two being early, but Owen, we have learned, does things on his own schedule!  So we decided to hope for a leap baby, and we almost made it too!  I had a Dr. appointment on leap day, and while there the Dr. stripped my membranes, which is supposed to bring on labor.  She said that I still might not have him that day, but it was possible!  So I went home and waited for contractions... I cleaned our new van, vacuumed, and waited... I told Jeremy that maybe he wouldn't be able to go to young mens... still nothing!  So he went to work and young mens and everything like normal.  When he got home from young mens though, around 8:00 PM I had my first contraction.  We had basically lost hope at this point since we had 4 hours left to have a leap baby, but it was exciting anyway.  I had very irregular contractions for a few hours, then at about 10:30 we decided to try and get some sleep incase this baby was coming and we'd need our rest.  I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but I was out in seconds, and awoke from a weird dream at 2:30.  I was instantly irritated that I had slept so well because that meant the contractions had either stopped, or were so small that I could sleep through them.  But, they started back up when I woke up.  Still irregular, but between 5 and 10 minutes apart.  Jeremy woke up around 3 and neither of us could sleep, but it wasn't time to go to the hospital yet either.  So we hung out, timed contractions, took showers and got ready.  We decided to go in by 6 since I knew I'd have to have a round or two of antibiotics anyway.
My amazing sister-in-law Sylvia came over at 5:30am and slept on the couch till the kids woke up so that we could go to the hospital (then she watched them at her house all day along with her 3 kids.. super woman!).  We got here around 6 and got all checked in and stuff.  Since my contractions still weren't regular they asked us to go walking for a half hour and see if anything progressed.  I was a 4ish when we got here, and about a 5ish when we finished our walk.  So they admitted me and we were both smiling and happy to have things going! 
They wouldn't break my water until the antibiotics were done, and these things took FOREVER!  We were told 2 hours by a nurse, then when we got here we were told 4 hours, in reality, it took almost 6 hours to get the antibiotics through and the Dr. in to break my water!  The contractions were stronger, and closer together, but still not totally regular!  And I was still at a 5... very disheartening.  Also, by this point I'd had only 4 hours of sleep in the last 30 hours or so and I was getting tired right when things were going to be getting hard!
At about 1:20 the Dr. came in and broke the water.  (I should add a note that my actual doctor wasn't on call this day, so another Dr. from her office was going to deliver my baby.  I wasn't happy about this, especially when I saw the Dr. who was on call.  I had met with him once and hadn't liked him at all.  This only got worse when the nurse said his nickname is "The Vagina Whisperer".  Yah, not impressed, but I can't complain because he did a great job in the end.)  Immediately my contractions went from like a 3-4 in pain to like a 8.  I had no pain meds, but I was still really hopeful that now that the water was broken, and this being my 3rd, that things would just happen within an hour or so.  Wrong again!  Owen takes his time with things!  I think our nurse thought I was a little needy since at least every hour if not more I was ringing her to come in and check me because I KNEW I was getting close... but I wasn't!  She's tell me half a cm or 1cm just to make me happy I think.  Then she got this great idea to check me while having a contraction so that she could grab the cervix and pull it down for me!  This, while being a potentially good idea for helping things speed along, was insanely painful.  I was trying to be so strong, but I think I whimpered and cried a little every time she did this!  Anything to speed things up though!  
It wasn't until 3:45 or so that I started feeling a ton of pressure with the contractions, and then feeling like I should push a little.  I still was only like an 8 though and I was getting so frustrated!  BUT the Dr. was about to go into a c-section, and since I probably wouldn't wait until he got back, they decided to deliver me first!  THANK GOODNESS!  I would have been insane, or dead by the time the c-section was done, I'm sure of it!
So, they brought in the crew, lifted up my table, and waited for contractions.  I had one and still not quite a 10, but I was feeling the need to push bad, and I was DONE physically.  So, on the 2nd contraction I decided to push a little even though nobody said I could, and the next thing I knew the Dr. was saying "ok, yes, let's do it, keep pushing"!  I was so shocked, not expecting it to happen right then, and he kept saying "give me another one, another, another" every time I stopped.  I don't think that Brenna's was quite this hard for me, but it was also almost 4 years ago and it's easy to forget.  Anyway, I nearly blacked out like 4 times, I was not keeping quiet like I did with Brenna, and I was literally giving more than I could physically give (Jeremy said I kept flat lining on the monitor!) BUT it was worth it because he came out all in that one contraction.  I was crying like a baby just to have done it and couldn't open my eyes for a few seconds to see my baby boy.  He is beautiful though and I almost can't believe he's finally here after all of this!  Owen promptly began peeing right on the doctor and he just didn't stop!  He soaked the Dr.'s hand pretty thoroughly!  Always nice to have some quick comic relief in a draining situation!



It feels so good to be through the delivery!  I didn't even tear or anything, and the recovery thus far, has been very smooth and quick.  I am probably going home tonight which is the fastest I've ever left the hospital before!
So, he was born at 4:24PM on March 1st, 2012.  He was 8lbs 4oz, 21 inches long.  My longest labour, biggest baby, and hardest delivery I think, but also my fastest recovery so far.  I am feeling great already!  I am just so happy that he's here now and we can adjust to life as a family of five!  Can't wait for my mom to get here tomorrow night and have the extra help too!  Thank you for all the kind wishes and congratulations!  We have felt everybody's love!  Sorry that this is long and graphic!  Don't want to forget when my kids want details!

The Family!  (I'm not quite ready to be in many pictures yet.. I love this picture though!)