wingsofsong
My 3 little loves <3<3<3
Member since 1/09 7395 total posts
Name:
Maureen
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The long awaited arrival of our second son, Declan Thomas
My due date was 11/24 (Thanksgiving Day). For about a week and a half prior to that, I had been 1cm dilated, but nothing else was going on. The day before my due date, I saw the OB and same thing. The following Tuesday, when I was 40w5d, I went in for another visit with a NST. I was still 1cm, sono showed that fluid levels were great, baby was active, and after being monitored, it was determined that Baby was perfectly healthy and I was not even having any inkling of a contraction! At that point, my doctor said he could induce me starting with Cervadil the following night, and then pitocin. I asked him if I could wait it out a bit being that Baby looked to be perfectly fine, and I just felt maybe he/she just wasn't ready yet. He said he was perfectly fine with that, and told me to come back every 2 days for a NST, and if I got to 42 weeks, they would have to induce me at that point for the safety of the baby. So I continued to wait. I went back Thursday 12/1, at exactly 41 weeks, and was 2-3cm and the monitor showed some contractions! I had been feeling a LOT of Braxton Hicks that day, so I thought something might be stirring up. Baby still looked perfect, so the wait continued. When I woke up the next morning (Friday, 12/2), I felt 2 noticeable contractions while getting ready for work, but they were about 12 minutes apart and really not painful, so I went to work. I had a meeting in the morning, and when I walked in, my principal asked me if I'd had any progress (she was so excited for me and was waiting so anxiously for this baby and knew I was going to the doctor the day before). I gave her the update and she was so excited. So, we had the meeting, and I had 2 contractions during it. Afterwards, my principal came up to me and asked if was having contractions because she could see it on my face. I told her I had 2 during the meeting, but they were really mild, and I wasn't in any pattern yet. Well, she insisted I go home, so I did.
For the rest of that day, I continued contracting about every 8-10 minutes. Then, I took a nap around 5ish or so, and after that, everything seemed to stall. I was going like 45 minutes without a contraction. So, my husband and I decided to take our son and go out and do some shopping, hoping that the walking would stir things up again. Things did pick up a little while we were out, and I started to fall into a semi-regular pattern again, but still the contractions weren't awful. So, I went to bed that night. Around 3:30AM on Saturday morning, a contraction woke me up and from that point on, they were getting stronger and were consistently every 7 minutes for a little over an hour. So then, I woke up my husband, called my sister to come over to watch our son, and then called the doctor. He said to head to the hospital so he could check me out. I took a shower and got all our stuff together, and once my sister got to our house, we headed out. Got to the hospital around 6:30AM, got checked in, went into an exam room, and the doctor came in a checked me and I was 5cm! So they admitted me. By 7:30, I was in a room and he checked me again and I was at 6cm! At that point, he broke my water. He said there was a slight brown tinge to the water, indicating the presence of a little meconium. He said it was nothing to be concerned about, and was just a sign of maturation since I was so overdue. Because of this though, I had to keep the monitor on constantly, which meant I couldn't walk around, which is what I had wanted to do. So I was stuck in the bed, which, of course, basically stalled my labor. Around 9:30 or so, he checked me again and I was still at 6cm, and my contractions were only 5-6 minutes apart. He said ideally, they should be 2-3 minutes by that point, and offered me pitocin. I said I wanted to wait it out a little if I could. He said no problem, he'd write the order and whenever I wanted to start it, just let them know. So, I tried everything I could- changed my position in bed, dangled my legs over the sides with my legs spread apart, got up to pee a few times and did some squats in the bathroom, you name it. Nothing was working, still no further progress. So finally around 11, I said I'd start the pitocin. Things started to pick up really quickly after that. My contractions got a lot more intense and were coming about every 2 minutes. After about 40 minutes of that though, I was only at 7cm. The contractions were pretty unbearable, so I asked for an epidural. The anesthesiologist was there in like 5 seconds, and she got to work right away. I was sitting on the edge of the bed and told me to hunch over so she could put the needle in. As soon as I did that, I said "Oh my God, I need to push." So she finished in literally about 15 seconds, and the doctor came to check me right away and I was 10cm and ready to push! I pushed through 4 contractions, and out came Declan Thomas, weighing 9lbs. 3oz. It was such a quick and easy delivery, despite his size!
I used a different practice this pregnancy than for my last one. I was with Complete Women's Healthcare (which I chose based on the glowing recommendations from lots of LIF ladies!). I loved all 3 doctors during the pregnancy. Dr. Dilena was the one who delivered my son and he was phenomenal. He is so calm during delivery, he told me EXACTLY what to do while I was pushing, he was so encouraging and made it so easy. Anyone who is with this practice, you will be in great hands!!
Of course, just like when I had my older son, the nurses at Winthrop are fantastic! The delivery nurse I had was so fun, kept things lighthearted, but was so supportive and kind. Same goes for the maternity ward nurses. I love that hospital and can not say enough about them!
Our older son, Kieran (22 months old) has taken such a liking to his baby brother, it is so sweet! We came home last night and had a very smooth first night at home. I feel so blessed with our new addition and he just fits right into our family so well! I am so excited for Kieran to have a brother to grow up with!
Thank you, as always, to all you ladies who helped me on this wonderful journey. And I wish all the best to those still awaiting the arrival of their bundles of joy. Savor every second of your pregnancies, and know that the prize at the end is like no other!!
Here are a few pics:
Declan Thomas:
Kieran meets his baby brother for the first time:
Me with my 2 boys:
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