It's a BOY!

Introducing 2.0, AJ's little brother, born 6/3/16 at 1:46 am at 37 weeks.  6 pounds 5 ounces and 19 inches long.  Hi baby!!!

Looking back, this labor was a whirlwind. What they say about second babies is absolutely true (in my case anyway).  Originally, I was really worried about induction of labor at 37 weeks (is it too early to be successful?), but as it turns out, there really wasn't anything to be too worried about.

Rewind.

6/2/16.

6 AM:  I get a phone call from the L&D triage nurse.  I'm due to come in at 8 AM for my scheduled induction.  Turns out, too many other babies decided to arrive on 6/2.  They tell me that they'll call me at 11 to figure things out.  Click.  I was pretty darned disappointed. Another 4 hours of waiting. More like 4 hours to kill. 4 more hours of anxiety and panic over how this 37 week induction would pan out.

9 AM: I'm getting really antsty - did they say they'd call me BY 11 or AT 11???? I can't remember, and it's freaking me out.  We decide to go play in the park with AJ instead. 

11 AM:  Mid-morning nap.  I'm exhausted from the anxiety.  The phone rings and I almost fall off the couch.  They apologize for the delay and ask me to come in a 12 noon.  YESSSSSS finally!

12 PM:  I'm admitted and start the paperwork.  I'm introduced to the care team, and told that they won't be checking me out til around 1 or 2 PM.  Sounds good.  M brings out the Surface and we enjoy a few episodes of Friends.

2 PM:  I meet the dayshift midwife who checks me out.  She thinks the baby is going to be 8 pounds (holy F*** at 37 weeks?!?!).  I'm 1.5 cm dilated still and 70% effaced (absolutely no change since 35+5).  Misoprostol protocol it is.  I remember my heart sinking a bit.  It's probably gonna be another long while before I meet this little guy/girl.

6 PM: I meet the night shift OB team - a very soft spoke attending, a flamboyantly optimistic resident, and a very crunchy looking chief midwife.  The midwife thinks the baby will be a 6 pounder, MAYBE even a little bit under 6 lbs (OMG I HOPE SHE IS RIGHT).  The resident checks the cervix.  4-5 cm dilated!!!!!  Wait, what?  I barely felt contractions over the last 4 hours.  The plan?  moving on to Pitocin to induce contractions now.  I ask frankly about the epidural...since I wasn't having any pain yet.  At 4 cm dilated with AJ, I was hyperventilating from the terrible terrible terrible pain.  Resident notes that I might want to consider it sooner than later.  When they break my bag of waters, things will progress very quickly - and I may not have time for the epidural.  Second babies come a lot quicker, I guess. There was still time to decide though.

8 PM: Pitocin starts.  6 cm dilated. Within an hour or so, I feel the contractions.  They are real contractions.  Not the wimpy ones I've been feeling for a few weeks.  Still not painful though, and breathing is working.

10:45 PM:  Checked out by the resident again.  7.5 cm dilated.  I'm still not getting the crazy contractions just yet - maybe I can wait it out?

11:30 PM: Yeah these pesky contractions are still kinnnnnda doable.  But thinking about the prospect of pushing a baby out of my va-jay-jay without any meds does NOT appeal to me.  We summon the anesthetist and within 15 minutes, the good stuff is flowing through my epidural space.  GOOD STUFF.

6/3/16

12:30 AM:  Me to M:  HEY!  We should totally watch that labor episode of Friends!

1 AM: resident comes back to check on things.  He's asking if I've felt the urge to push yet.  Nope.  It's gonna happen soon though. Soon. I'm suddenly hit with a bout of the shakes. Literally, my whole body is shaking.  I've heard about this before.  The labor shakes.  I keep fighting it, but the nurse tells me not to - otherwise I'd feel it tomorrow.

1:30 AM: Suddenly out of nowhere, I throw up.  WHAT THE HECK???  Then, suddenly, I felt the urge to push.  OH MY GOD I CAN'T STOP IT!  The MD resident confirms, I'm 10 cm dilated and ready to push. 

There were only 4 pushes, and out he came at 1:46 AM.