As many of you know, I was scheduled to be induced the day I turned 39 weeks pregnant. Now, when I was pregnant with Braxton and I went in for my 39 week check (I was 39 weeks, 2 days), the doctor and midwife decided to induce me that day (at like noon or so) because I lived an hour away and was already 4 cm dilated and they didn't want me to have a "too big" of a baby. This time, with Nolan, I had scheduled and planned and the anticipation was awful! I had to be at the hospital by 6 AM on the 11th, which meant I did not sleep at all the night before. We had to leave by 5 AM to make sure we made it there on time, so I was up all night and finally decided to just get up and shower at about 3:30 AM so that Heath could shower before we left. He wanted to be up at about 4 AM so that he could shower and make sure we had everything we wanted and needed. We left (surprisingly) on time and made it to the hospital at about 6:04 AM. I don't know if I looked all that tired because my body was and still is so used to not sleeping much but I was finally tired by the time we got there.
After we were all registered into the hospital, back to Labor and Delivery we went! It took a little while for them to get everything into the computer and get everything hooked up but eventually, they did. And is it just me or is the hand/wrist IV the worst? :/ It hurts so bad! I had it in the hand with Braxton and in the wrist with Nolan..and I think the wrist hurts worse. They started by pumping fluids first and I think they finally started the Pitocin by 7:25ish. They started me low because it was my second baby and generally, it doesn't take as much Pitocin to get things going. I was already 4 cm dilated so I was hoping it wouldn't take too long, either! Angela, my midwife, came in at around 8:45 to break my water. She did and it was tinged with a green color which means it was meconium stained. Baby Nolan had ended up pooping while in the womb and she said that if we had waited until Friday to be induced, he probably would have come out green because he would have been sitting in it for a couple days. (Gross!) That also meant that Heath wouldn't be able to deliver, though, so that was disappointing. I was worried after she told me all of this because I know that infections can happen if a baby gets it in their lungs and everything but she assured me that everything was going to be OK and that sometimes babies do that. We would have a neonatal nurse in the room when he was born so that they could assess him and make sure they suctioned everything out. Once she broke my water, she said I could get the epidural and once I was ready to push, she'd be back. She had other patients to see in the office. (Thank goodness it's right next to the hospital..I knew she wouldn't be far away and would make it in time for her to birth my baby!!)
I was having some decent contractions after she broke my water and I'm a baby, so I was ready for that epidural! It took a while for the esthetician to come in so I sat there with Heath for a while with the lovely contractions. Heath seemed to be worried that I wouldn't be able to get the epidural in time. I told him I better get it or this is not going to be very fun for anyone! My mom and sister made it to the hospital right before I was about to get my epidural..so probably about 9 AM or so. The esthetician was so nice and funny..he was great! I finally got my epidural and I told him about how last time, it didn't really take right away and I had to get it 3 different times before I was finally numb. He didn't want me to have another experience like last time because I was numb for so long so he gave me the epidural and said he'd check back and see how it was going. Well, it wasn't going very well at all. He and the nurse would keep checking to see how I was doing and how the epidural was working..and every time, it was the same story- I still felt everything. Sure, my legs and feet were tingly but that was it. It wasn't going around to "numb" my contractions at all. Michael, the esthetician, came in about 3 times and gave me another "bolus" of drugs to try and see if the epidural would work and every time, it didn't. He ended up giving me what he called "voodoo" which was some combination of drugs to help numb me and thankfully, it worked! I was in heaven, then! I was probably 8ish cm when it finally worked. I ended up taking a little nap (about 45 minutes or so) while I was in "labor" which was amazing because I needed a little sleep..I was exhausted before I even got there!
My little sister was there to do birth photography so I had her do my make up while I was in labor. She tried to do it in between contractions but it's hard to do when you're having contractions every 2 minutes. She got it done and got a couple of shots that I was wanting and I at least knew I'd look decent for some of the "after" pictures! :) I couldn't wait to meet my little man, as soon as the epidural kicked in!
The nurse came in and checked me and said I was at 10 cm and she was going to go get Angela and I'd start pushing soon so be ready! And boy, was I ever ready!! Everyone started to get in their places and we were ready to meet little baby Lisk. Angela came in, gave me a cupcake and made sure the Neonatal nurses and doctor were there and I began to push with the next contraction. Heath and Mom were holding my legs as Becki was documenting the whole experience. I pushed and they counted to 10, rest, pushed for 10, rest, pushed for 10 and rested. They told me to rest and wait for the next contraction but I asked if I could just keep pushing and they looked at me with such surprise and said "yeah, go for it!" so I did! I started pushing again and Heath says "Honey, he has hair..I see hair!" and then Angela told me to stop pushing. I looked at her because I was scared something was wrong because I was convinced that I just couldn't have a normal birth. Thankfully, it was nothing bad, his hand and arm was just up by his face and she didn't want me to tear if she could help it. So, once she kind-of maneuvered him correctly, I finally pushed him out and he started crying instantly! He came out with hair on his head and crying like crazy! He was quickly assessed and suctioned and things were OK with him and I got to hold my little man for some skin-to-skin time. He was precious and he was perfect! He was beautiful. Heath and I hadn't agreed on a name prior to birth (except he says he told me what it was before he came but I must not have heard him because I don't remember that at all). I looked at Heath when he was born and asked him what his name was and he said "Nolan Craig"! Nolan was 7 lbs, 1 oz and 20 inches long. I tried nursing him after he was born but he wasn't having it..he was a little too traumatized and tired.
Heath had been texting his mom, who was keeping Braxton for us, about what was going on so they were actually close when Nolan was born. I couldn't wait for Braxton to meet Nolan but he wasn't as thrilled as I thought he would be. Nolan was crying the whole time and Braxton hates when babies cry because it makes him weepy. I guess he just feels bad and wants to fix it but doesn't know how. Plus, I think it was a lot for him to take in. I was so happy to see my little man because I knew our lives were changed forever. He didn't really want anything to do with Nolan at first but he eventually ended up holding him towards the end of their stay. I was in the delivery room for about 2 hours or so after birth before I was moved to my recovery room.
They packed up the room, our bags and whatever else we had in there, and they wheeled me to the nursery to watch little Nolan. He looked so little in there and I couldn't wait to get him back to try nursing again. I wanted to see if nursing would be easier this time around. He was measured and got his first bath in the nursery before they brought him back to me and he was just snoozing when they brought him back. He seemed to nurse pretty well, though, so I was pretty happy about that. We enjoyed some quality time as a "family of three" during our 2 day stay at the hospital. We definitely missed our monster of a toddler, though! We had plenty of visitors during our stay and everyone loved baby Nolan. :)
My recovery was/is amazing! I'm assuming that it's because Nolan's birth wasn't as traumatic as Braxton's or something because I was so happy with how well I was recovering. I was up and walking by the night that I had delivered..I wasn't that lucky with Braxton. I felt better, too! I felt less exhausted, more alert, more "there". I even told Heath that I could have another baby if delivery went as smoothly as it did then! I did end up taking some Motrin because of the awesome cramps but other than that- I was good to go! By the time our 2 day stay was up, I think Heath and I were both ready to get home and try to get back to our new "normal" life.
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