I’m am absolutely over the moon, in love, in awe, and incredibly tired. Our son, Miles Parker Loveless, made his way into this world, 3 days late, on Thursday August 6, 2009.
Wednesday night, Joe and I were relaxing on the couch watching So You Think You You Can Dance, when I started to have contractions pretty regularly. Joe was keeping track of them using the stop watch ap on his iPhone (That should be the next Apple commercial: In labor? there’s an ap for that.) They were about 4 min apart for over an hour but weren’t getting any stronger. I didn’t feel like they were really doing anything so we decided to just go to bed.
At around 5:30am I woke up because my water broke. I jumped out of bed and yelled to Joe. They told us in Lamaze class that it could be a gush of water or a trickle…this was definely a gush! Joe got our things together while I did my hair and put on make-up (obviously the contractions still weren’t causing me any significant pain). I grabbed a banana to eat on the road and we were out the door.
The day before, at my doctor’s appointment, they did a sonogram and found out the baby was pretty big. He was measuring 10lbs but the nurse informed us that they could be a pound off in either direction. The doctor explained to us the complications this could cause based on my pelvic exam. He suggested we do a c-section but left it up to us to decide.
I was super relieved at that option because it put to rest all my nerves about labor and delivery. I felt like having a c-section was something I could wrap my brain around. Joe and I were both in agreement that this was the best option for us. I no longer felt like I was going to have a panic attack at the thought of delivery. And I felt like it was safest option for my baby. I hated the thought of there being complications, forcing us to do an emergency c-section.
When we got to the hospital, we didn’t know if our planned c-section was still an option. We went into triage and everyone was so great. I was having contractions 3 minutes apart but they weren’t very strong still. The nurse asked me a series of questions, including, “When is the last time you ate?” I informed her of the banana I had in route. Apparently, you can’t have any food in your stomach for more than 6 hours before you have any type of surgery. We would have to wait at least 6 hours before they could prep me for a c-section. Ugh. The interesting thing is that even after having contractions all night, having my water break, and waiting 6 more hours with contractions 3 minutes apart, I still was not dialated at all! If I didn’t have the c-section, who knows how long it would have taken for this little one to come!
When enough time had elapsed for the stupid banana, they took me to be prepped and had an anistisiologist come talk to me about pain medication options. I opted for the epidural – which did not hurt at all! It all happened so efficiently and quickly. The nurses and doctors were amazing. We were in good spirits the whole time and joked around with everyone. I was super calm and just so excited to meet my little one! Joe put on his scrubs and they wheeled us into the operating room. Within minutes, Miles was out, crying away and they even let Joe put the camera on the other side of the sheet and video him seconds after he came! Everything was so surreal. They cleaned him off and came and laid him on my chest. My sweet baby boy! Joe stayed with him the whole time while they sewed me up and soon we were back in recovery.
It was a really great experience all in all. We stayed in the hospital for 3 nights and soaked up every minute with our little guy. He ended up weighing 8lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches. Even though he was smaller than projected, I wouldn’t do anything differently.
He is perfect. And I love being his mom. i will write more soon but for now he needs to eat!
The State Of Cate 