I woke up Sunday, July 10th around 4 am and just felt "different". I had a lot of pressure below like I needed to poop, so I figured Baby was just moving into position. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't, by the time Maddux started barking around 6 am DH and I were both wide awake. I told him I was hurting but that I didn't think it was contractions. DH got out of bed, I stayed and tried to rest. Soon after, I realized the pains were getting pretty steady so I started timing them. They were 13 minutes apart at ~7:30 am. I got up and told DH what was going on and I lied down on the couch. He went to get us breakfast and we just waited for contractions to get closer. DH told me I looked nervous--I said no, just trying to get comfortable. He, on the other hand, looked like a kid at Christmas he was so excited.
Contractions stopped at ~11:30 am, so we thought maybe it was a false alarm. I took a shower and a nap. Next thing I knew they'd started up again--this time they were only 6 minutes apart. I told DH how close they were and he started loading up our things while I fixed my hair, put on makeup, and got dressed (he was slightly annoyed by the fact that I took time to do all that

).
We got to the hospital right around 4 pm and I was dilated to a 3 and 100% effaced. They said they'd monitor me for an hour to determine whether or not to admit me. The on-call OB checked me 30 minutes later and I was at a 3.5 so he admitted me. We got moved into our Labor and Delivery room, DH started making phone calls, and once I was at 4 cm the OB broke my water.
I was laboring in different positions--leaned forward, sitting up straight, etc., but Baby's heart rate dropped unless I was laying down. My BP was really high during labor, so I was stuck in that bed. I started progressing pretty quickly, and when I got to a 5-5.5 they asked if I wanted the epidural. I said yes and DH asked if I was sure (he knew I wanted to go med free). I said I was....I couldn't even catch my breath, I was so effing hot (though DH did have cold washcloths on my face), and I felt like I'd lost control of the contractions--they were one on top of the other, I had to have something for the pain. I got the epi around 8:00 or 8:30 pm. Next time they checked me at ~10:30 pm I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurses got everything ready and I started pushing at 10:45 pm.
The first 30-45 minutes of pushing were bearable. Once the nurse could see the head she said if we have a little girl she won't have much hair for bows Lol. Baby was stuck on my pubic bone and I was having a hard time getting him/her past that. After almost an hour of pushing I told DH I was so tired...he told me how strong I am and that I could do it. When the OB came in I got another burst of motivation because I knew that meant we had to be close to getting Baby out. I told DH I "just want to see him", and after a total of 1.5 hours of pushing our baby was here. I'd told the nurses and OB I wanted Steven to tell me the sex, so once the baby was out the doctor said "okay, Dad, tell her what you have". DH said "Oh my God....it's a boy!" I said "We have a boy?!". I think DH is still somewhat in shock that he has a son

Garrett Edward was born at 12:17 am, July 11th. He weighed 8 lb, 13 oz and was 21 inches long.
They laid Garrett on my chest, then moved him over to get him cleaned off. When I realized he wasn't crying I asked if he was okay. The nurses said he was but that he wasn't giving them a big cry like they wanted (he was just sort of whimpering). We let my mom and MIL come in and see him before they took him to the NICU nursery, and the OB stitched up my tear. Garrett had some fluid on his lungs, and low oxygen levels which was causing him to breathe really quickly so they did chest x-rays and put him on oxygen. X-rays came back normal and he was weaned off the oxygen and back in our room Monday night. Seeing our baby in that NICU nursery was one of the hardest things I've ever done....I didn't like going to visit him because I knew he couldn't come to the room with us. Every time we went to see Garrett I would leave crying. I'm so thankful his stay there was a short one and that we have a healthy little boy!
Re: Birth Story :) (LONG)
Thanks so much for sharing!
I've been doing a lot of research on natural childbirth vs one with meds. I'm leaning toward natural when that time comes, but pushing for 1.5 hours with no meds seems terribly difficult. So glad everything went smoothly and your little boy is healthy!
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Kaylee & Cole 06.14.08
8/6/11 First 5k! OG&E Expo Run 34:47
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9/17/11 Healthy Sooners Fun Run 5k 33:38
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3/25/12 Earlywine Dash
Very sweet! Congrats!