...and then there were 6!

Tucker Elliott Foster was born on Saturday, March 24th, at 2:40 p.m.  He weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz and was 20 inches long.  He has lots of dark hair, a perfect little head, and the most handsome face.  We are head over heels.

Now for how it all went down.  (Feel free to not read on and just peruse the pictures...)  It was a doozy, but a doozy that resulted in the sweetest, best smelling little babe in my arms.  Oh my gosh, he is so tiny and handsome.  I love him.

So we headed in for the induction about 9:45 p.m.  It wasn't until 12:30 a.m. that Dr. Christen got into the hospital to start the first phase of the induction - the balloons.  It's basically a catheter-type thing and they blow up two balloons with saline, one on the inside of the cervix and the other on the outside.  The balloons press against each other, opening the cervix, and once you are dilated to a 4 the balloons fall out.  He gave me an Ambien so that I could get rest until the morning.  The plan was for him to just take the balloons out at 10:30 a.m. if they hadn't come out on their own.  Well, at 3:30 a.m. I remember having a really intense dream and then realizing that my water broke.  I woke up in a haze and told the nurse who confirmed it.  It was kind of tough coming out of the Ambien-induced sleep, but the contractions began and that got me out of the haze pretty quick.

From 7 to 11 a.m. I was working through some pretty good, consistent, intense contractions.  At some point I felt pressure and pushed/pulled the balloons out.  Contractions continued for quite a while and I felt like we were getting close.  Then...nothing.  It all stopped.  I just felt exhausted and wanted to take a nap and eat something. Not a good sign since you aren't hungry during active labor.  I laid down for a bit until Dr. Christen came in and said that we needed contractions so he would be starting me on a low dose of pitocin and just increase it incrementally until I got going again.  After he left I turned to Ty and cried.  I was frustrated and tired and, well, an emotional pregnant momma.  A few tears did me some good.  My nurse said, "Sometimes it's really good to cry."

I need to say something about my nurse, Peggy.  I think it's great to have a doctor you like who is supportive of your birth choices and I am SO happy that Dr. Christen was my doctor this time around.  He was perfect. But I really feel like having the right nurse makes ALL the difference.  I pray throughout my pregnancy for a good nurse and every time I have felt so blessed.  I know that Heavenly Father has answered that prayer with each birth; it is a beautiful tender mercy for which I am so thankful.  My night nurse, Marcella, came in around 7:30 a.m. to introduce me to my day nurse, Peggy.  Peggy tells me that she practiced as a nurse midwife back East for over 20 years and now teaches nursing classes at the local college.  I later found out that she works at the hospital only 4 times a month because she just can't give up being part of deliveries.  Just four times a month, and she is there on the day I am giving birth and is assigned to me.  So the lady (me) who had wanted a home birth gets the experienced nurse midwife to be her nurse.  I absolutely know that God knows me and is aware of me.

The pitocin started around 12:30 and things were pretty irregular and not very intense for the first bit.  I realized the time and sent Ty out to get himself some lunch.  I couldn't stand the smell of food in the room and I was sure that we had a while to go.  Peggy and I chatted it up between contractions - sister has some crazy birth stories from her years in the business - and then things started getting pretty serious.  Suddenly I wasn't feeling very talkative and I had to go to the place in my mind where I can work through that kind of pain.  I was wondering where my husband was and Peggy was realizing she'd better take a bathroom break because it seemed that things were moving pretty quickly.  I think she called Dr. Christen to let him know that we were well on our way.  Ty walked in the door just a few minutes after Peggy walked out.  Dr. Christen had Peggy lower the pitocin for a bit because he was just finishing up a delivery down the hall.  He came in sometime after that.  I felt like I was transitioning and getting close to pushing.  Oh, the pain was so intense. He checked me and said I was at a 6.  I was expecting to hear 8.  I didn't feel like I could do that kind of pain for much longer.  Dr. Christen said, "I can't tell you that with another contraction you won't be an 8, but I also can't tell you that it won't be 3 hours."  I said that I would like an epidural.  If this was going to go on for more than another 1/2 hour I just didn't want to do it.  I knew that I could, but I didn't want to.  Dr. Christen said I'd have to have fluids in me for about 20 minutes before they could administer the epidural and that he wanted to check me before the anesthesiologist came in.  Ty said that Dr. Christen and Peggy exchanged a look that said they knew there was going to be a baby before an epidural.  I thought that too, but things had been so weird and I was on pitocin so I just wasn't sure about anything.  Plus, who is super rational at that point during labor?  Not I.  Dr. Christen later told me that he did call the anesthesiologist, but basically told him not to even get ready because he didn't plan on needing him. Peggy started the fluids and I worked through a few more serious contractions (10 minutes) before saying, "I feel like I need to push."  Peggy called Dr. Christen in.  He checked me and I was at a 9 1/2.  Oh happy day!  He asked if he could stay there through the next contraction, I said yes, and he pushed the rest of the cervix out of the way.  About 5 minutes and two pushes later, Tucker Elliott Foster took his first, wonderful, miraculous breath while I looked on in tears and with a heart FULL of love and gratitude.

I am in awe of childbirth and the spirit and love that accompany that baby who comes into the world.  I am in love with this tiny person who has entered our family.  I am humbled to be his mom and I am so glad that he is here!  In fact, the last picture is him next to me right now.  I'm going to hop off of this computer and kiss his face and smell his breath...I love, love baby breath.  Welcome to the world, Tucker Elliott!