Welcome to the world my little Reiner! We are more than excited to announce that our little man has arrived.
Here is a little run down of how he made his entrance.
July 1: The beginning of my day was amazing. I had a doctors appointment where the doctor told me that baby sounded good but wasn’t quite ready. He was head down but his head was able to be moved from the outside which means he wasn’t engaged yet. Measuring at 41/42 weeks in fundal height and only being 39 weeks, my doctor wanted to schedule an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid around baby. She also suggested we schedule an induction for the morning of July 8. Knowing baby still could come at any point, we weren’t scared about scheduling an induction. It is amazing how far medicine has come that we can schedule a baby birthday in advance. At this point in my pregnancy pain was a state of being for most of my day and knowing that I at the most had just a week left before I got to officially meet my handsome boy was a big sigh of relief. The rest of the day was pretty normal. I was running after a toddler, well the best waddle I could do, I was getting last minute items ready for the hospital trip and relaxing as best I could, whether opening my hips up on an exercise ball or laying in a reclining chair. After another exhausting day of this pregnancy journey, we all went to bed.
July 2: In the wee hours of the morning I was getting up for my many bathroom trips and hoping I could get at least some sleep in between them. I had just got back into bed, gotten comfy, closed my eyes, and bam!! I felt a pop that hurt me in a way I had never felt before. So I jumped up and I checked to see if my water had broken. With no gushes or leaks I went to pee just in case. And just as I thought.... nothing. I woke my husband and told him about what I just felt. He immediately said we should go in to the hospital. I calmed him down and said I can’t even say for sure what I felt or if it could be my water breaking since I had nothing to show for it. I continued to monitor for any signs of leaking. But to be honest and a little tmi, pregnancy is full of aches pains and fluids that can make you feel as if your water has broken. I did feel that I had some fluid but still no contractions. It wasn’t too much longer that I gave up and tried to go back to sleep. While I did fall back asleep, it wasn’t for very long. The contractions started. They were about ten minutes apart. Within an hour an a half they went from ten minutes to five. As I made my way down the stairs stopping for each contraction, hubby was gathering all the goodies we needed to head to the hospital because IT WAS BABY TIME!!!! Finally making it down the stairs I’m going over the list out loud to make sure we weren’t missing anything. As the contractions got more intense I found myself doing squats with each of my breaths and using the kitchen island for support. I’m sure it looked so funny as my head was bobbing up and down while trying to breathe and tell my husband he needed this and that in our bag but whatever works ya know?! I waited until he packed the car and made a “dash” that was very slow to me to the passenger seat in between contractions. As I sat on the towel I caught my husband smile out of the corner of my eye. Our baby boy is coming and he couldn’t be more excited to meet him. Through all the hustle and bustle of getting me and our stuff in the car he was definitely living in the moment and embracing all that is this pregnancy journey to meet his son for the first time. As he drove slowly over the bumps and down the dark empty roads to the tiny hospital where we had Freya, it all seem to hit us at once. Between the breathing and pains we would look at each other and say “we are going to have a baby! He’s coming! I love you!” Knowing it would be a while for me to eat since I would have an on call doc and not my midwife, we wanted to stop at the McDonald’s nearest the hospital but to our surprise it was closed.
We made it to the hospital:
Jesse dropped me off at the entrance and I walked in through a contraction. The Er was quiet and the nurses asked me about how I was feeling. I told them about how close my contractions were and breathed the best I could. I denied the wheelchair knowing that walking could help work this baby out and lord knows I wasn’t up for another 29 hr labor like I had with my first. As I walked the corridor to the maternity ward the nurses were talking to me and we had some good belly laughs about turning down the wrong hallway and having to turn around to go just one more down. She announced there was a live one coming meaning I was having pretty close and decently long contractions. Once back I was checked and was already at 4cm dilated and my water had already broken, but i still didn’t have a gush or trickle like everyone else I know. But it was real! We were having our boy!! I remember waiting for meds with my first but this time I wasn’t waiting. If i could have them I was going to get them. I received all the usual admitting care and then they gave me the IV meds. Man I slept great after they kicked in until BOOM!!! I woke up in a hurry. I can’t explain the way I felt. It was a pain I’ve never experienced. They checked me again but this time I was out of bed because I couldn’t lay down in this pain. I was at 9cm and fully effaced. Baby was at a -1 position which basically means he was still high in the canal. They administered the spinal tap where i felt my legs go warm and numb. I was instructed to push to see if I could get him down more after a while. Then the unimaginable happened. His head wasn’t face the correct way. His nose was pointing to my hip bone. At this time I started to feel more and more of my legs. I wasn’t numb to anything anymore. I can’t believe the amount of pain. Man. I know I scared my husband. I looked at him and repeatedly asked him to help me. I needed anything to help me. The anesthesiologist was consulted and said there wasn’t anything he could do for me. So I was gonna do anything and everything to get him out to make this pain stop. I started pushing on my own with just my husband. It was a very emotional and intimate intensity between us. We were having to just go for it. He looked at me and said no matter what we will do this. Me and you will do it together. (I’m tearing up just writing about this. He is my everything. My rock and will always be there for me no matter what the circumstances). I was scared but with each contraction we took a deep breath together and I pushed as he counted to ten. We continued this for over an hour and a half. The doc came back to check our progress. Baby had not moved. He was still floating high. They gave me a choice. I could continue this path we were already on with the pain and him not moving and facing the fact that I could tire out or we could do something different. I looked at my husband. He really was the only person who i trusted to talk to about it all. He and I through the crazy strong every two minutes or faster contractions, decided not to stress me or the baby anymore than needed. I opted into an unplanned ( non emergency) c section. They brought another anesthesiologist in to talk to me about the epidural they would give me for the procedure. I signed all the papers and braces myself for the next step. Bent over and sitting on the side of the bed they inserted the spinal catheter and medication. I laid back in the bed and waited for the pain to subside. It didn’t take long and I could breath again and stopped screaming at every contraction. I swear I echoed through the entire hospital but it was just us there at that point. They prepped the OR and me for the surgery. My husband got some cute scrubs along with a hairnet that matched mine. I was wheeled out first but before I was taken away he held my hand kissed my lips and my head. He said I’ll meet you in there. Remember we are doing this together. Don’t be scared. I’m right there with you the entire time. Then he asked if he could watch the surgery and see Reiner come out. Of course I said yes as long as I didn’t see a thing. Lol I don’t want to see what my insides look like. He met me in ther after a while and all the staff seemed to be in with us. They all were so calm and in great moods. This seemed to calm me down and Jesse held my hand. As I was in and out of consciousness I heard you will feel some pressure now. I swear I was waiting for it and heard a cry. I asked if that was our son. It was and I never felt any of the pressure they told me I would. I felt relief. He was here and healthy. He even peed on his pediatrician upon entry to the world. I remember Jesse leaving me to watch and learn about how c sections were done and be with our son on the other side of the OR. They escorted my husband and Reiner out to our maternity room while they finished me up. I fell asleep a few more times while all around me smiled and sang songs. It was such a wonderful experience even though it wasn’t quite the birth I was expecting. After being looked after for a while they finally took me to see my beautiful baby boy. This was the first time I laid my eyes on him and I couldn’t have been more ready. After hearing him but not seeing him I didn’t ever want to let go. They continued to check on me and explain the importance of communication between me and the nurses for pain management and to advise me on how the next 24 hrs would go. It wasn’t a pretty sight with me hobbling around and crying in pain but I managed to walk, use the bathroom, and nurse Reiner. Eating chicken tenders for breakfast every day was the highlight haha but in all seriousness this recovery was way worse than with my daughter. On our last day in the hospital I was well enough to opt I to going home. Many visits were made by my doctor, Reiner’s doctor and our nurses to ensure we were in fact ready to leave.
Over the next week we were lucky enough to have family still in town to help out with our big adjustment at home. Since our daughter was a grumpy Gus the entire time we were in the hospital it wasn’t a shock that home life would be difficult. We are still in and out of moments where we are losing our minds but it is becoming a new normal for our family. We just make sure to take the time to remind ourselves it isn’t just us getting used to a new baby and we encourage our daughter to love her new baby brother. It also helps that she’s pretty laid back just wants attention when she wants it. We are able to spend some one on one time with her daily and I can’t tell you how much I need that just like she does.
I am still recovering from it all but the doctors say all is well and looking great. I am only about three weeks postpartum now but feeling better and better every day. Freya is keeping me active and I think that’s the secret to recovering quickly. My body isn’t bouncing back like all those celebrities trick us into thinking is the norm and I am just fine with it since I’ve been blessed enough to carry two beautiful healthy babies. PCOS hasn’t defined me and will not define me. I have now been able to beat it twice. The struggle will always be there but knowing that I have come so far and become stronger for it will always be my driving force telling me I can do anything.
Thank you for your support and love while on this pregnancy journey!! Continue to watch my little grow with me as I continue this motherhood journey with now two loves of my life!!
