Princezjk's L&D Story (with pics!)

princezjk · July 2014

First, I want to thank everyone for all of the support and well wishes! And a special thank you to my LB, @mrswallick!

Short version - Luke Joseph was born at 9pm on 7/17. He weighed in at 7lbs 10oz and measured 21 3/4 inches long. I may be biased, but he is basically perfect.

Long version - I started having contractions around 4:30am. They were fairly intense and were coming anywhere from 3-8 minutes apart. I called my OB around 7:30 to see if I should come in. He told me to stay home and keep monitoring them until they were more consistently spaced. So I tried to lay down and rest between contractions in case it ended up being show time.

Around 12:30pm I felt a small gush and ran to the bathroom. I was pretty sure my water had broken so I called the OB again and was told to come into the office to be checked out. On the way in, the apparently psychic @MrsWallick‌ texted me to ask if I could have this baby soon! At the OB office my water continued to leak and gush. It was also confirmed that it was stained with meconium. OB checked my dilation and I was still barely 1cm. So around 2pm, off to the hospital I went.

When we got there contractions continued to come on stronger and faster. I was pretty worried at this point about the meconium staining and really wanted to get our little guy out safely. In just 2 hours I went from 1 to 5 cm. Because the contractions were coming so quickly and I was really struggling with managing them I was offered morphine. I had planned to get the epidural, but was really nervous I'd miss my window and so I opted to take some morphine.

After getting the morphine, I was finally able to relax a little and handle the contractions much better. About 2 hours after getting the morphine the anesthesiologist showed up to administer the epi. I was now at 7 with the morphine wearing off. I wasn't sure if I needed the epi, but was encouraged to get it if I was unsure. About an hour later and it was time to push. Pushing took about 1 1/2 hours. Definitely longer than I anticipated considering I only pushed for 20 minutes with my angel Izzie. But at 9pm exactly my little guy made his debut! He took a second to cry, but considering the meconium staining he exhibited some strong lungs!

DH and I are totally in love and have been adjusting to our new life. PgAL brain has simply been replaced by PAL brain. And we are so grateful it has been! I can't thank this community enough for all of the support, not just these past nine months, but this past year. Between the loss board, TTCAL and PgAL I don't know what I would have done without you. You have helped me grieve my daughter and find hope for my son. I look forward to becoming a member of the PAL community with all of you!

And now without further delay, the good stuff!