Ethan James Baughman
September 17, 2012 @ 3:55pm
7 lbs 1 oz, 20 inches
What a special day for our family!!
I was like a kid anticipating Christmas!! The hospital asked me to call at 6:30am the morning of to make sure there was room for me. I was a priority induction, because of my liver issues, which meant I was on the books regardless. Luckily, we ended up needing to be at the hospital at 7:15am, which worked out really well. Grammie arrived the night before at 11pm, which meant the kids were going to wake up to her... adding to the excitement of course! I didn't get more than 2 hours of sleep from all of the anticipation and itching. Oh, the itching!!!
My nerves were on edge this time and I was hoping and praying everything would be okay for me and my baby boy. Justin gave me a beautiful blessing of comfort the night before, which gave me such great peace. I knew my Heavenly Father was mindful of me and would watch over my baby boy.
We were prepared for a pretty quick day, since I was already dilated to a 5. Once we checked in, I had the nurses check with my doc to see if they could just break my water, instead of starting me on pitocin. Unfortunately, our little guy was too far up and my OB worried about complications of breaking my water while he was so high. She started me on a super low dose of pitocin.
Once the nurse saw my feet, she asked about the sandals that I was wearing to cause all of the sores. It was almost embarrassing to admit that they were from the weeks and weeks of itching. :)
I was worried once the pitocin kicked in, that I'd miss my window for my epidural, so I asked for that right away. Luckily, the anesthesiologist was able to fit me in, in between 2 c-sections he was needed at. Just in time! Phew!
Once the epidural was administered, my blood pressure dropped crazy fast and I was sick within minutes. They laid my bed down and waited for it to come back up, which it didn't. I was on the verge of blacking out and insanely nauseous. Not fun! They finally paged the anesthesiologist back in-- he administered some medicine that would make my 'heart race' to get me back to normal. It took a little while, but my BP came back up. I still felt awful. But, what do ya do. Guess that's the price you pay to feel no pain. :)
This guy was so great through it all. Right there alongside me. Love him. My OB came over around 1pm and checked me. I was only a 6, which was shocking! She broke my water and we waited anxiously. I knew it would be fast from there. With Mylie-- I went from a 6 to holding Mylie in my arms in 30 mins.
Boy were we wrong!! My OB waited 20 mins, checked me again.. and I was only at a 6.5. So, she headed back to her practice to see patients. Everything seemed to take forever!! Justin and I had a great time watching The Price is Right, Family Feud and surfing the internet. It was just nice to be in a quiet room with my guy. That never happens! I spent most of the time laying pretty low.. when I'd sit up too upright, the nausea and light headedness set in again.
Sure enough, around 2:30 the contractions started to become more regular and intense. Around 3pm, they checked me again and I was dilated to a 9. They called Dr. Langer and she started heading back over to the hospital.
I started pushing at 3:52 and three contractions later, Ethan arrived!!
It was the most amazing experience. My epidural worked mostly on my abdomen region, leaving my legs completely movable. I was able to lift and do things normally you can't do. It also left a great sense of pressure and feeling during the delivery. I was actually able to feel Ethan emerge, as well as feel his shoulders pop out. So crazy!! It didn't hurt, but yet I could feel it all.
Love modern medicine.
Letting it all sink in right afterwards.. mother of 3?!
Best part was, no stitches for me this time!! First time ever! I'm so grateful for such a wonderful OB who took a conservative route which led to such a controlled delivery.
Dr. Langer and the nurses were so impressed with his size, for being only 37 weeks. Ethan was just as big as Mylie (7 lbs 2 oz) who was only 2 days early, and Luke (7 lbs 4 oz) who was one week early. Ethan was destined to be a big boy-- the size of his hands and feet tell that story.
They also commented on how great his coloring was, as well as how strong his legs were. That didn't surprise me in the least! Ethan spent most of his time in the womb working them out.
Something that was new to me this time around was the skin-to-skin contact. Immediately after Ethan was born, they put him on my chest, wiped him down and then put him under my gown. They say it's the best way to regulate the baby's body temp and calm them down.
It was such a neat experience. Heaven felt so close.
After some time, they grabbed him-- officially cleaned him off, weighed and measured him, and then brought him back for more STS contact.
Such a special moment with my boy that I'll never forget.
We finally made it over to the Mother and Baby unit around 5:30pm. I was anxious to make the call to have my kiddos come over and meet their brother. They arrived about an hour later, with Grammie and Grandpa T. Oh.. I was overjoyed when they walked through the door.
All of my babies together in the same room for the first time.
The minute Mylie came in, I could see the wheels turning in her mind. I know it was a bit scary to see me hooked up to IVs and etc. She didn't want to hold Ethan right away, but was more concerned about what my stomach looked like. The day before, she asked if I'd have my 'skinny tummy' back when Ethan was born. I had to explain that it takes time. So, she wanted to know just how big it still was! So funny. So.. of course I showed her. The kids gave it a good mush! lol
Luke was beyond excited to hold his little brother! It was so tender. He was filled with bewilderment and excitement.
Grammie waited patiently for the kids to hold Ethan and then had her turn as well. :)
'Ethan' had gifts for the kids, which they were over the moon about. Every time we go to the store, Luke and Mylie always beg for those little fans with lights. It was fun to see them so excited over those and the fact that they were from Ethan. A few other coloring things kept them occupied for quite some time.
More rounds of holding little Ethan. They were at the hospital for an hour and a half! I couldn't believe they lasted so long. It was so fun to see my munchkins.
Their love for their brother seemed to grow instantaneously. Oh.. it melted me.
Ethan.. all mummified for the night. Boy, was it a long night. Between nurse checks for me, Ethan and meds and blood work, as well as trying to get our little guy to eat every hour (he rebelled and wouldn't eat), I didn't get more than 30-40 mins of sleep at a time. Oh, it was a rough night.
Around 6am, we had to syringe feed Ethan some colostrum. This boy can sleep! But, after that, he decided that eating was cool and got in a groove only a few hours later.
The next day, we were begging to get out of there! My OB came by at 7:30am to do my discharge. She was excited that my blood work showed my liver levels decreasing! Yay! On my way back to normal. Before we could leave, we had to hit our mandatory 24 hour mark.
Our pediatrician finally came by around 1pm to do this guy's circumcision and his discharge paperwork. Everyone was so shocked that we wanted to leave so soon. I just hate being in the hospital for longer than I have to. I appreciate all the nurses and staff do for us, but it's not necessarily relaxing in the least bit.
So, we showered, watched a few more shows, tried to sneak in a few moments of shut eye, fed our cute boy and waited.
My absolute favorite picture. Love my tiny little Ethan.
We were finally given the go-ahead at 4pm to leave! We were elated! Ethan had a little wardrobe change and we were off.
Oh my, I could cuddle this boy all. day. long.
He wasn't a big fan of his car seat or the bright sunlight.
Not a fan at all.
We made it home just in time for dinner! Oh, it was so wonderful to walk in the door... find the kids playing in the basement with Grammie and have all my kiddos in the same room again.
Nothing compares to bringing a life into this world. The insignificant things faded, our world stopped and our family is changed forever.. for the better.
I'm so grateful for such a perfect, healthy little boy. He's brought such a sweet spirit with him and we are all enamored by him. I know Ethan is a choice spirit and meant to come to our family at this time.
My love for him is immeasurable and indescribable. I'm humbled at the opportunity I have to be a mother in this life... to be entrusted with these three sweet children.
My heart is full.
No comments:
Post a Comment