Well, it's about time I got back at it and updated my blog!! I'm sure that by now, you all know that our once nameless, happy little uterus renter is here! On February 23rd at 11:36 am, Aiden Henry Schaecher was born! Andy and I could never have imagined what an incredible blessing he has already been to us in the first 10 days of his life, he truly is amazing and beautiful. I also could never fathom how true the words "your life will never be the same" could have possibly been. THANK YOU to all of you who came to see us in the hospital, have brought us dinner, and have come to visit since we have been home, Aiden is a very lucky little guy to be surrounded by such great family and friends.
I thought for the official record, I would relive the adventure of his birth, you know, for historical purposes!
On Sunday, the 22nd (my actual due date), Andy and I got up to go to church at the Abbey at 9. Obviously anxious, I was on high alert for any possible sign of labor. While in church, I started having pretty bad cramp pain, but it wasn't making the rest of my stomach tight like a braxton hicks contraction, and they weren't regular at all, so I assumed I had bad gas :), and pretty much ignored them. We went about our day of a costco trip, tidying up the house, and making dinner, and I had those pains on and off, but continued to ignore them. About 7 or so, I flopped down on the couch after making dinner, and unintentionally started paying attention to these "gas" pains I kept having, and noticed that they were getting more painful, and seemingly closer together. I called my mom and asked her what she thought, and she thought they might be contractions, but probably my body was just getting ready, so not to worry. So, I was going to do that, but they kept getting worse! Andy decided to start timing them and they were happening about every 7 minutes or so, and lasting about 40ish seconds, and he said "I think these have to be contractions!" (holy smokes, reality check, this could actually be happening!!) Still slightly in denial, we made sure that everything was packed and ready to go, and taking advise from my friend Leah, I hopped in the shower, because she said "who knows when you'll get a shower again" once you head to the hospital! And once in the shower, I decided that this had to be false labor, because the contractions seemed to be less painful, and I didn't notice them as much. But, once out of the shower, they started coming more often (about 3 minutes apart), but only lasted about 20 seconds. We were SO confused!!! So, Andy decided to call the hospital to get their opinion, and they thought this probably was early labor, and to see if I could sleep through them..if not, come on in! Well, they got WAY worse, so we loaded up and headed to the hospital!!
(Me as we left for the hospital...)
So, we zoomed to the hospital and it was so surreal...you wait and wait and wait for all these months, and you think you won't ever get to this point, and then it actually happens, and it just doesn't seem real...it still doesn't seem real!! We got to the hospital a little after midnight, and it still strikes me as funny that when we walked in, the receptionist looked at us kind of funny, and said "What can I help you with?"...and I distinctly remember thinking "what do you think we are for lady??? Dinner reservations??" I mean, not to be a pill, but why else do pregnant ladies and their husbands show up in the birthing center at midnight?? Anyway...
We checked into the triage room, and the nice nurse detirmined that I was dialated to 3 cm, and that was good, but she needed to make sure that I was progressing, so Andy and I got to walk around the hospital for an hour doing the can-can, lunges, and trying to distract myself through contractions that we getting significantly worse. So, an hour later, I was at a 4, and that was good enough to check us in for good! (Thankfully, because at that point there was no way I was going home without a fight!).
At about 2:30 or 3, we got accquainted with what would be our home away from home for the next 3 days, and gave the parents and sisters a jingle to let them know what was going on. They of course, all showed up rather quickly! When we were in the triage room, the nurse asked me what my pain management plan was, and I promptly told her an epidural, and she recommended that I try and get to 5 cm before getting one. So, at 3 am, and 4 cm dialated, I thought I could definitely make it to a 5 no problemo, and that I would hold out until atleast 5 am. Well...the contractions got insanely worse...I tried the bouncy ball thing, the jacuzzi tub, and nothing worked to ease any pain or stop my from shaking (huge props and kudos to those of you who gave birth with no pain meds...amazing). I really had no idea that progressing 1 cm would be anything like it was. Well, 5 am finally rolled around and the nurse came in, and I told her I was ready for my epidural. And finally, at 6:30, I got it, and all was good in the world again! No more shaking, no more pain, and my rear end felt like it was about 10 feet wide! Somebody told me that if I got an epidural, that I would want visitors and would want to chat, and I never believed them until I actually got it, and sure enough, I wanted our families to come in and chat for a bit, and was sending text updates on our progress to a few people! Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that things would have turned from so unbearable to so social!! Andy and I were able to sleep on and off until about 9 or 9:30 in the morning (much needed for sure), and when we woke up, I was 10 cm dialated and ready to go! So, we waited for the doctor to come, and he did about an hour later...and I pushed for a guess about an hour, and at 11:36 am on February 23rd, Aiden Henry was born!!
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