craftymama
Mama of 3!
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This birth story is a bit late, it's been pretty much a whirlwind of emotions and activity over the last 10 days for us, and I haven't had a chance to spend enough time sitting down to type this up!
Gabriel Richard Edward joined our world one day after my due date on October 18th, at 4:33 pm, just 2 hours after his wonderful Great-Grandfather passed on. That morning, I woke at 4 am restless. I woke DH and we DTD. I started to contract a while after that, very mild and about 10 minutes apart. At 5:30 am I had gotten up to kiss DH goodbye as he left for work, and I received a call from my brother who had been staying with my Grandparents over night to hold vigil over Grandpa, as they had told us his final days were upon us. My Grandpa has had Pulmonary Fibrosis for a few years, and has suffered greatly. During the call my brother told me the hospice nurse said he had only hours left, and that we should come if we wanted to say anymore goodbyes. My mother-in-law sat with our other 2 kids while they slept, and I headed over there thinking the contractions were just going to be another round of fakes as they hadn't gotten any stronger since they'd started. By the time I got there contractions were a little stronger, but still 10 minutes apart. I sat with my Grandpa a while, listening to him struggle to breathe and wishing there was something I could do. And suddenly I knew it was happening, and it was exactly how I didn't want it to happen. My baby was coming, and my Grandpa was going. Contractions started to come closer, around 6-7 minutes apart by the time I left his room. I sent my husband a message telling him to be ready, that I was pretty sure we were having a baby today and that I'd let him know when it was time. That time came just an hour later, when contractions were 5 minutes apart I called him and told him it was time. I knew it was a 45 minute drive to the hospital so I figured I better play it safe knowing I was already at 4cm and 80% effaced at my appointment 2 days before. My husband got to my Grandparents' house around 9 am, and we headed off to the hospital. I got there around 10am, she did a check and thought I was still 4cm, so she had me walk around for an hour. Next check I was about 5cm, she called my doctor who told her to admit me and said she'd come break my water. Doctor got there at 12:30 pm and broke my water, I got up and got on the ball to help baby come down as he was still -1 station. At 2:30 pm my sister called me and told me my Grandpa had passed a few minutes before, asleep with my Grandma. She woke from a nap with him, and found he was no longer breathing. Around 3 pm, I was at 8 1/2 cm and had brought baby's head down a bit more and the nurse discovered during the cervical check that baby was laying on his side, shoulders were vertical. They had me get on my knees to attempt to turn him. To no avail. I was in a lot of pain, still determined to get through it drug free, but could feel my strength wavering. I was emotional, I was terrified about how I was going to push him out with his shoulders being vertical, and I could feel myself giving up. They ran a warm bath for me to sit in, which helped me relax slightly between contractions, but soon I felt intense pressure and horrible pain my abdomen, I was sure he was tearing my body apart. I looked down at my stomach, and was shocked to see the shape of baby laying on his side, tucked well into my right side. My tummy sloped down to the left, almost looked like a lopsided triangle. It was SO bizarre!! I asked for the shot of Fentanyl at this point. They got me out of the tub and into the bed for another check, I was complete. I wanted to push, so they had me push. Anesthesia arrived after a few pushes, doctor said baby was still pretty high, and that she thought he was big. I ended up getting the shot of Fentanyl, and soon started to push again. After 3 more contractions our yellow bump arrived, and it was blue! During the 2nd contraction, I had started to feel like my ears were ringing, which I told the doctor, and they immediately did a BP check. BP was low, they gave epinephrin twice. No change. Last contraction came and I started to feel I was losing consciousness. With one last effort, baby came sure enough shoulders up and down(stubborn boy wasn't gonna turn!) weighing 8 pounds 11 oz and measuring 21 1/2 inches long, and I felt like I was going to pass out as they laid him on my chest. DH announced "It's a boy!" to me, but everything was going black and DH said I was slurring my words so they took baby immediately and checked BP again. 94/44, they did epinephrin again-DH said they did several rounds of it. For 3 hours after he was born I was passing out and vomiting, I couldn't hold him, couldn't sit up, couldn't talk normal. The entire 3 hours was a blur. Finally around 7:30pm I was able to hold him. They told me my stomach muscles are separated, which has been painful and I can tell I don't have much strength in my abdomen even 10 days later. But it was still worth it. Gabriel is a wonderful baby, very calm, very easy going. And he has his Great-Grandpa's chin, nose, and middle name.
Grandma came to the hospital to see him that night, and she told me she is sure Grandpa and Gabe met in passing, and that Gabe brought her a message. One that he was going to whisper to her when he could talk. Which was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Over the weekend we had Grandpa's funeral, and every time I walked by someone with Gabriel I would hear them whisper "That's the new baby who was born the same day he died." I really don't want him to be known as that and every whisper brought me to tears, but I know it's inevitable, and that it was meant to be this way. In the end he DID put a bright light on a very sad day...I lost a very special man in my life, but I also gained a very special little man.
Gabriel Richard Edward joined our world one day after my due date on October 18th, at 4:33 pm, just 2 hours after his wonderful Great-Grandfather passed on. That morning, I woke at 4 am restless. I woke DH and we DTD. I started to contract a while after that, very mild and about 10 minutes apart. At 5:30 am I had gotten up to kiss DH goodbye as he left for work, and I received a call from my brother who had been staying with my Grandparents over night to hold vigil over Grandpa, as they had told us his final days were upon us. My Grandpa has had Pulmonary Fibrosis for a few years, and has suffered greatly. During the call my brother told me the hospice nurse said he had only hours left, and that we should come if we wanted to say anymore goodbyes. My mother-in-law sat with our other 2 kids while they slept, and I headed over there thinking the contractions were just going to be another round of fakes as they hadn't gotten any stronger since they'd started. By the time I got there contractions were a little stronger, but still 10 minutes apart. I sat with my Grandpa a while, listening to him struggle to breathe and wishing there was something I could do. And suddenly I knew it was happening, and it was exactly how I didn't want it to happen. My baby was coming, and my Grandpa was going. Contractions started to come closer, around 6-7 minutes apart by the time I left his room. I sent my husband a message telling him to be ready, that I was pretty sure we were having a baby today and that I'd let him know when it was time. That time came just an hour later, when contractions were 5 minutes apart I called him and told him it was time. I knew it was a 45 minute drive to the hospital so I figured I better play it safe knowing I was already at 4cm and 80% effaced at my appointment 2 days before. My husband got to my Grandparents' house around 9 am, and we headed off to the hospital. I got there around 10am, she did a check and thought I was still 4cm, so she had me walk around for an hour. Next check I was about 5cm, she called my doctor who told her to admit me and said she'd come break my water. Doctor got there at 12:30 pm and broke my water, I got up and got on the ball to help baby come down as he was still -1 station. At 2:30 pm my sister called me and told me my Grandpa had passed a few minutes before, asleep with my Grandma. She woke from a nap with him, and found he was no longer breathing. Around 3 pm, I was at 8 1/2 cm and had brought baby's head down a bit more and the nurse discovered during the cervical check that baby was laying on his side, shoulders were vertical. They had me get on my knees to attempt to turn him. To no avail. I was in a lot of pain, still determined to get through it drug free, but could feel my strength wavering. I was emotional, I was terrified about how I was going to push him out with his shoulders being vertical, and I could feel myself giving up. They ran a warm bath for me to sit in, which helped me relax slightly between contractions, but soon I felt intense pressure and horrible pain my abdomen, I was sure he was tearing my body apart. I looked down at my stomach, and was shocked to see the shape of baby laying on his side, tucked well into my right side. My tummy sloped down to the left, almost looked like a lopsided triangle. It was SO bizarre!! I asked for the shot of Fentanyl at this point. They got me out of the tub and into the bed for another check, I was complete. I wanted to push, so they had me push. Anesthesia arrived after a few pushes, doctor said baby was still pretty high, and that she thought he was big. I ended up getting the shot of Fentanyl, and soon started to push again. After 3 more contractions our yellow bump arrived, and it was blue! During the 2nd contraction, I had started to feel like my ears were ringing, which I told the doctor, and they immediately did a BP check. BP was low, they gave epinephrin twice. No change. Last contraction came and I started to feel I was losing consciousness. With one last effort, baby came sure enough shoulders up and down(stubborn boy wasn't gonna turn!) weighing 8 pounds 11 oz and measuring 21 1/2 inches long, and I felt like I was going to pass out as they laid him on my chest. DH announced "It's a boy!" to me, but everything was going black and DH said I was slurring my words so they took baby immediately and checked BP again. 94/44, they did epinephrin again-DH said they did several rounds of it. For 3 hours after he was born I was passing out and vomiting, I couldn't hold him, couldn't sit up, couldn't talk normal. The entire 3 hours was a blur. Finally around 7:30pm I was able to hold him. They told me my stomach muscles are separated, which has been painful and I can tell I don't have much strength in my abdomen even 10 days later. But it was still worth it. Gabriel is a wonderful baby, very calm, very easy going. And he has his Great-Grandpa's chin, nose, and middle name.
Grandma came to the hospital to see him that night, and she told me she is sure Grandpa and Gabe met in passing, and that Gabe brought her a message. One that he was going to whisper to her when he could talk. Which was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Over the weekend we had Grandpa's funeral, and every time I walked by someone with Gabriel I would hear them whisper "That's the new baby who was born the same day he died." I really don't want him to be known as that and every whisper brought me to tears, but I know it's inevitable, and that it was meant to be this way. In the end he DID put a bright light on a very sad day...I lost a very special man in my life, but I also gained a very special little man.
