Birth Day

So after many failed attempts of making this baby come, he came on his own time Sunday afternoon, April 18th. My husband will tell you though that it was the hour and a half massage he gave me Saturday night that sprung me into labor, since I had horrible [what I thought was false] labor pains all night long. So a little recap on how the day went.

I was up all night long with [false] labor, which I had been experiencing for the last 4-5 weeks so I just chalked it up to another bad night. I was dilated to 3 cm by 34 weeks pregnant, 4 cm by 36 weeks, and 5 cm at 38 weeks, so my doctor and I both thought that I wouldn't still be pregnant at this point. She had even stripped my membranes at 38 weeks and I was disappointed when it didn't seem to have any effect.

So after a endless night with no sleep, I finally fell asleep at 6 am... just to wake up at 6:30 am with a heavy contraction, a popping sound, and my water breaking. Boy did I run to the bathroom fast! My forebag had broken earlier in my pregnancy resulting in a false alarm trip to the hospital, so this time we took our time going to the hospital to make sure it was for real. And it was.... but we took our time and Brick did the dishes and cleaned up a bit before we left.

By the time we reached the hospital (an only 5 minute drive) I was in horrible pain. We checked in and they took me to triage. Normally they do an exam there before they admit you, but when the nurse saw how much pain I was in they sent me straight to a labor and delivery room. I had planned on a natural delivery my entire pregnancy. I had practiced different breathing techniques, labor positions, and had even bought a birthing ball. Big surprise, I didn't need any of it. Because I had already been dilated to a 5, my labor came on so suddenly and painful that within 30 minutes of my water breaking, my contractions were already two minutes apart. It didn't give me a chance to gradually prepare myself and build up to the contractions. I don't know how dilated I was when I finally got the epidural, but shortly after they gave it to me I was already at 7-8 cm.

I was afraid, previously to going into labor, that if I wasn't able to do it naturally that I would be really disappointed in myself. But I was more than grateful and thrilled when that anesthesiologist finally got there. My hero! He gave me the best epidural ever...not that I had anything to compare it to, but I felt no pain whatsoever for the entirety of my labor.

I think the epidural slowed things down a bit and I was stuck at a 9 for quite a while but it gave me a chance to take a much needed nap before the pushing started. Finally when I got to a 10, the doctor and nurses came in and it was time to push! I only pushed for about 30 minutes...half of the time was just sitting there though, waiting for contractions. I asked for a mirror to watch and was really glad I did. It was so cool to see his head crowning and to realize he had hair! Yay for the Allred genes that dominated the bald headed baby genes of the Randall family. When it came down to the last couple pushes I was so focused on watching him make his way into the world that I forgot to push and they had to remind me that I was the one that had to get this baby out.

Little Cameron made his way into this world at 4:09 pm that day, weighing a whopping 8 lbs 4 oz. An unexpected size for how little weight I gained and considering he was still a week early. I guess I will have to warn my doctors next time that I make big babies.

It was such an amazing experience. It was almost like an out of body experience to have them place his little body on my chest where we got to meet for the first time. I never realized that you could love anyone as instantly as you can your child. Brick and I both had to fight the tears. He was so quiet, I worried a little that he wasn't crying. I realize now it was just a glimpse of what was to come. He is an amazing baby and only cries when he is getting his diaper changed and only gets a little fussy if he waits too long to eat.

He was absolutely beautiful, and I was very grateful to the hospital staff that let me hold him for nearly a half hour before they took him from me for the standard measures they take such as taking a bath and weighing him. At this point I was even more glad that I had gotten the epidural. I felt like it gave me the energy and the clarity of mind to really enjoy the experience, instead of being in the horrible pain I was in previously.

We are so grateful to have our little boy, after 4 long years of waiting, it couldn't have been more perfect. Although I am completely exhausted and am feeling a little overwhelmed and inadequate at all this mom stuff, there is nothing more rewarding than looking my little boy in the eyes and knowing that I am his mother. There is nothing better in the world.

Our first family photo all together.

"First we had each other, then we had you, now we have everything"