Birth Story:Part III...BABY

Part II..
Let's start with some morphine. Sounds good to me. Welp, that didn't do much. Did it calm me down and take the edge of a LITTLE bit? Yes. Did it make the contractions go away and suddenly feel like I was pain free? Not a chance. So, let's continue on with this.....

(Continued)
Fast forward a few hours. 5:50am to be exact. 5 centimeters dialated. READY for the epidural. The pain was as unbearable as I needed it to be without some serious pain control. When the nurse came in the room and told me that the Anesthesiologist would be here in about 20 minutes, my world shattered right in front of me. Wait a minute. "We have to WAIT for the Anesthesiologist to get here? As in, he/she isn't in the hospital at this very moment?" Doctors have to go home and sleep too, right? No, no, not this morning, when I AM in labor. Breathe.I.Can.Do.This. Never in my life have I EVER watched the clock tick as closely as I did during the 20 minutes I had to wait. Tick...tock...Did time stop? Sure felt like it. Baby boy, I cannot wait to meet you. Positive thoughts during this time.

The moment the Anesthesiologist walked in the room (much later than 6:10am might I add), felt magical! I was instructed to lean over the pillow and hold as still as possible, and "whatever you do, don't move." Wait. Did she just say "don't move??" She's got jokes. With Sean in front of me and a contraction coming along, all I could do was grin and bear it. "Ok, you did a great job, you should start to feel some relief in a few moments." This woman was my new best friend! Boy was she right. The nurse had me lay back down and as she covered me with a blanket, this momma was out cold.

Happy Momma after the drugs kicked in

Thumbs up for the epidural. Ready to have my BABY!!!

 

A few hours later, around 9am, I was 10 centimeters dialated and fully effaced. Best.News.Ever. During this transition I was beginning to feel very nauseaus. A normal sign that I was ready to have this baby, or so I was told. The nurse, very nonchalantly put the puke bucket over to the table near the bed. Thankfully I did not ever have to use it. I was asked if I minded a Student Nurse coming into my room and helping out during the delivery. Sure, we all have to learn somewhere, right? Bring her on in. At this point, I could have had a stranger from the side of the road come in my room and it wouldn't have mattered. Just get this baby out! "Sean, you are going to hold her left leg, and student nurse, you will hold the right." Oh boy, here we go. We asked the student nurse if she had been through a delivery before and she said "oh yes" like she was a pro at it. "We shall see," I thought to myself.

Wait, where was my doctor? In he walked, and an immediate sigh of relief came over us. He said everything looked good, and that he would be back shortly. The 3 of us watched the monitor to determine when I was having contractions so they could tell me when to push. A few pushes here and there to get things going! This wasn't so bad I thought. Then...upper leg pain. WHAT was this feeling? I had an epidural, this shouldn't be happening. Unbearable pain. I could not focus on the task at hand. Apparently the epidural didn't hit my upper left leg, and I was feeling everything. Baby boy, you are worth all of this.

  Around 9:45am things were getting serious. I was pushing as hard as I could and was definitely making progress. The doctor was prepared to get suited up at any moment, and more and more nurses were in and out of the room. All of a sudden, one of the nurses asked me if it was okay if my mom came into the room. Wait, what?! We had previously decided that she wouldn't be there for the delivery. So amidst a contraction and trying to push my baby out, I had to decide if my mother could come in. Of course I wanted her to, but did SHE want to? As I was about to say "yes, of course," our Doctor told Sean "you better say yes, or else you will regret this for the next 25 years." Myself full of sweat and absolutely exhausted, in walked my mom. Ready to help her daughter who was five days overdue. Ready to give pure encouragement and watch her first grandson be born into this world. Couldn't get any better than this. No sooner than she walked in, was a nurse moving a chair beside her, in case she were to pass out. You see, the door she walked in was across the room from me, so walking in 15 minutes before the baby was born, she got a straight shot of labor, right there. I'm not even sure if I said hello. I guess I had a good excuse? Just.keep.on.pushing. That I did.

 I was starting to feel defeated. THEN...the Doctor said he could see Baby Boy's head. No way. I didn't believe it. "Chase, you are doing a great job. A few more pushes, and he will be here, in your arms." Still.didn't.believe.them. They must say this to everyone, I thought. Then, the next thing out of my Doctor's mouth stunned me and I realized, this is it! "Chase, give me your hand. You can feel the baby's head." Unbelievable. He really is about to be here. Oh my goodness. I am about to be a MOM.

10:29am. Baby boy is here. Best moment of my life. Welcome to the world Parker Daniel Stalls. 7lbs. 3.2oz. 19in.long.

Welcome to the world Baby Boy!

Meeting my Daddy

 

So loved!!! With my mom and grandparents :)

Just a momma staring at her new baby boy; soaking in the moment

Hanging out under the heat lamp because I got a little chilly; wide awake and so alert!

My first bath! Was not a huge fan of that!

My Heart <3 This face!

Family of 3 :)