Life is Good: July 2012

Several things have really amazed me lately:

1. How awesome of a dad Quinn is! I expected him to be a great dad, but he has exceeded my expectations. He’s always loved kids and he is just so sweet with Dainen. He literally changed every single diaper for the first week and he’s changed all but about 7 since then. He is such a supportive husband and such a caring father and I love him so much!

2. How sweet our baby is. He’ll fuss a bit when he’s getting changed but he doesn’t full on cry unless he’s hungry. Granted, he’s hungry a lot, but he doesn’t cry for no reason.

3.How much I love being a mommy. I do wish I could sleep more, especially now that I don’t have the giant uncomfortable prego belly anymore, but there is just something amazing about being a mom. He’ll calm down to my voice and he falls asleep in my arms and he looks at me so intently and smiles and it just makes me happy =).

4. How fast I’m recovering. I’m by no means fully recovered, but even on just a few hours of sleep I feel pretty dang good and he’s only 13 day old! I’m getting better every day =).

5. How content I am with my life, my marriage and my family. It just feels right to have Dainen around and Quinn and I are working together to take care of him and there is just a feeling of contentment. =)

Normal first labor versus my first labor:

· Contractions start gradually

My contractions complete with nausea and shakiness hit me like a freight train at exactly 11:10pm

· Contractions build like waves

My contractions were being monitored because I was induced and so we saw the shape of them. My mom described them as skyscrapers. They went straight up, off the chart for 2-3 minutes and then straight down again.

· There is 1-3 minutes between contractions

I had 15-20 seconds between contractions. That’s not even enough time to catch your breath before the next one hits.

· Amniotic fluid helps dissipate the intensity of contractions

I had low amniotic fluid, which is why I was induced. So I had a “dry” labor, which makes every contraction incredibly more intense.

· There is ample time to use different breathing techniques and methods

I barely had time to breathe. Period. I did use a breathing technique, but I really couldn’t relax at all.

· Labor lasts 12 hours on average

Dainen was born at 2:47 am, making my labor 3 hours and 37 min long. You’d think a short labor would be a good thing, except I had to do all the same work, just in 4 hours instead of 12. It was crazy intense!

· There is plenty of time to get pain medication

I was asking for something, anything, to help with the pain, but they don’t give epidurals and things like that until you’re dilated to at least 6. So I kept asking and asking and I wasn’t getting anything cause they didn’t think I was dilated enough. Then they checked and I was at a 10 so it was too late to get anything!

· Pushing can last up to 3 hours

This is the only “normal” part of labor for me; I was pushing for about an hour and a half. I was completely and totally spent by this point and barely found the strength to get through the next contraction. But by the end, our beautiful baby boy was born!

My labor was horrible, it really was. I said at the time that it was like “hell on steroids” but that was an understatement. It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life and way worse than I expected. My mom who has the most horrific labor story I’ve ever heard says my labor was way worse than hers, so I’m not exaggerating.
Thankfully, when I was getting induced before the contractions hit, Quinn and I invited my parents over because we thought we had time to kill before the pitocin kicked in, and they were there and helped when labor started. Quinn and I originally didn’t want anyone else there, but as amazing as Quinn was, he just doesn’t have 6 hands. For hours, Quinn was holding my hand and pushing on my hips, encouraging me and helping me to stay calm and breathe while my dad rubbed my back and my mom rubbed my legs (for some reason my legs killed during labor, also not normal). I am so thankful to have such wonderful supportive people in my life; I couldn’t have gotten through it without all of them. My husband is amazing, he was exactly what I needed him to be the entire time, I’m so lucky to have him in my life!

My parents went to the waiting room while I was pushing. After Dainen was born, Quinn and I had over an hour just us then my parents came to see him real quick before going home. It was not the labor and delivery we had planned (not that I’m shocked that it didn’t go according to plan) but it worked out. Mostly I’m glad it’s over.

Labor and delivery was horrible, but so worth it to have our sweet son here! Dainen is so mild and cuddly. He is just such a sweetie! He never cries for no reason and usually the only reason he cries is because he’s hungry. He was such a hungry baby the first few days, since then he’s slowed down a little. He’s even getting better at sleeping at night already! He got up to eat every 2-3 hours last night and then went straight back to sleep. We love our little boy!!! He’s absolutely adorable and we are just loving being parents =).

Here are some pictures of our hospital stay and of our sweet little son: