Monday, May 2, 2011

Introducing Baby Harvey




Born April 29, 2011
4:54pm
8lbs. 12oz.
20 inches long


Thursday, April 20th : At my doctors visit I learn I'm 3 cm dilated & Doctor H says he'd be surprised if I last a week and that I definitely won't make it to my due date (May 1st).
Thursday, April 28th : At my appointment a week later. Doctor is surprised that I made it this far, still only dialated to a 3 - 3.5. He tells me we'll induce on Sunday, my due date, at 8am. Sweet.

Friday, April 29th:
6:15am
Ryan gets up to get ready for work & to be up with Wendy so I can get a little extra sleep
7:30am Ryan leaves for work which means I wake up and waddle to the couch to be up with Wendy
7:35am Okay, something feels a little different. Maybe my water broke. If it did, it's a VERY slow trickle. I tell myself it probably didn't.

8:30am I start to have contractions that get steadily more and more uncomfortable.
10:30am Okay, maybe my water DID break. I mention it to my mom on the phone. She says I should go and get checked, but I don't want to spend the whole day at the hospital just to be sent home.
She talks me into going anyway. "Okay, I'll drop off Wendy in about an hour. Then I'll go." I tell her. "In an hour? What do you have to do?" The laundry. Vacuum. Go to the bank to deposit a check so I can pay the bills. Pay the bills. Finish packing a bag for me. Pack a bag for Wendy. Get Wendy's old infant carseat out of the garage (just in case this is the real deal). "Heather, I will do your laundry and vacuum and go get clothes for Wendy if she needs them. Just go," she tells me. Adrenaline kicks in and I do everything on my todo list anyway. I start to get a little anxious, my hands start to shake as I scramble to get everything done. Wendy senses my anxiety and says, "Mommy, you're scaring me." I stop what I'm doing and I just hold her for a while. I get choked up thinking this is our last moment together with her as my baby.
11:30am I leave my house with a bag for me, a bag for Wendy, and an empty infant carseat in the car. After a quick stop at the bank, I go to my aunt Ruth's house to drop Wendy off with my mom there. I tell my mom & Ruth I haven't texted Ryan yet because, knowing him, he'd be too excited and leave work and drive all the way home for nothing. (I wanted to make sure my water broke before I told him) They convince me I need to text him.
12:00pm I drive myself to the hospital.
In the car alone, I think to myself, "What if I do actually have him today? Won't this be a funny birth story."
12:15pm I arrive at hospital, go up to the 3rd floor. My nurse, Liz, shows me to my nice room in the the new maternity ward and gives me a pink gown to put on.
12:30pm Ryan, on his lunch break, finally calls me back and I tell him where I am. I can hear his voice get excited. I tell him not to leave work until I find out if my water broke.
12:35pm I get checked and find out I'm dilated to a 5.5 - 6, but the test to see if my water broke comes out negative. They check again a couple minutes later and the paper turns blue= my water HAS broken. I KNEW it.
12:40pm I call Ryan and tell him the good news. I tell him not to rush, go home, take a shower, pack himself a bag and come on over to the hospital. The nurse laughs at me because she thinks I should have told him to rush.
1:00pm A nurse comes in and tells me how incredibly busy they are in the maternity ward today. The anesthesiologist has been running around from room to room, c-section to c-section, and he's almost to my room. If I want an epidural, I should have it now. I think, "This is CRAZY! I haven't even been here an hour. Ryan isn't here yet. My contractions don't even really hurt yet." But I want an epidural and if I have to get it now, that's what I'll do.
1:30pm The anesthesiologist walks in. "How are we doin' in here?" He asks. "Great!" I say with a smile. "Great?" He checks a clipboard, "You ready for an epidural?" My nurse answers for me, "She's dilated to a 6, she's in a lot of pain, she's ready for an epidural," then she whispers to me, "Honey, you're in a lot of pain." She had my back.
1:35pm As I'm getting the epidural it hits me that nobody is here. Not Ryan, not my mom. I get a little worried that I'll be alone when the baby is born. I stop feeling proud and independent that I've come this far by myself and start to feel a little lonely.
2:00pm Ryan walks in the door. I instantly feel relieved. We laugh about how fast this is going compared to the 13 hours we spent in the hospital before Wendy was born and watch the Royal Wedding (it's the only thing on every channel on this Friday afternoon).
2:45pm They break my water (the tear in my sac is up high & they need to break it down low). Nurse Liz says that's the most water she's ever seen. Awesome! I knew this was just a bunch of water weight. And the more water weight I lose the more weight I lose.
3:30pm My mom shows up. I'm dilated to an 8 but the baby hasn't dropped enough.
4:00pm My mother-in-law shows up. I get turned on my left side to help the baby drop.
4:40pm The nurse comes in and says the doctor has a c-section at 5pm. We all assume she's telling me this to let me know the doctor is coming to my room after the c-section. "So the doctor is going to come in here and we're going to have this baby by 5pm." WHAT? That's in 15 minutes. I pushed for almost 2 hours with Wendy.
4:45pm The doctor comes in. I get turned from my left side to my back. The nurse says, "Hey Doctor, look at this. She hasn't even pushed once yet." I hear the doctor say, "Oh wow, the head is almost out already." WHAT?!
4:50pm During my pushing the doctor tells me to stop. The mood in the room changes. Every0ne gets really quiet and the doctor starts making fast, jerky movements and calling out orders for the nurses to hand her things. I don't even have time to get nervous before things are okay again. Apparently the cord was wrapped pretty tight around my baby boys neck and she had to cut it off.
4:54pm After pushing for less than 10 minutes, my son enters this world and gets placed on my tummy. I feel like I'm dreaming. Everything is wonderful.

* This is my "I love epidurals" face.




asft



*i LOVE the genuine happiness on Ryan's face in this picture.










* proud parents.

Thank you to my aunt Ruth who took these priceless pictures so my mom could be there for me instead of trying to experience the birth of her grandchild from behind a camera. I love them.

Ruth, you (and your camera) are invited to the births of all my future children.


Link

14 comments:

Melany said...

awww these are such adorable pics! ruth, you and your camera are invited to my future births as well...nope, that won't be awkward at all haha.

i LOVED reading your birth story! not enough people post birth stories these days, those little details are important! that last pic of you guys is so beautiful! honestly these are the best hospital/birth pics i've ever seen!

i wish i could come see the little guy and i would bring you cookies.

Lana said...

Oh Heather, I love all the pictures! You look beautiful in the pics, too, pretty impressive for a chick giving birth :) Harvey is so stinking cute! I hope all is going well with Wendy getting adjusted to having a baby brother. And I hope Harvey is sleeping at night for you!!

whitneyingram said...

I had to swallow the lump in my throat. I get emotional about births, especially the birth's of my friend's babies.

I am glad all went well and Harvey came quickly and safely.

Congratulations to you, Ryan and Wendy Lou.

whitneyingram said...

BTW, you should have seen all the happy faces at Chad and Jordyn's reception as we all got the text that you had your baby boy. It really added to the happy feeling we all had anyways.

Jill said...

You are on the ball to have already posted your birth story! I'm impressed. Also Impressive is how gorgeous you look during and after labor. Wow. And Harvey is a cutie too. Congrats!!!

Beth said...

Love your birth story....But while reading it I cannot beleave that I let you drive yourself to the hospital!!!

Thanks Ruth for taking the pictures so I did get to enjoy the birth of my 2nd grandchild.

Beth said...

Oh I forgot to mention how beautiful you look...while giving birth!!

Lynsey said...

Seriously so precious. He is a little cutie! And that is pretty crazy you drove yourself!

jenn (+ will) said...

i am in love with your story and the photos. how the heck do you look like a supermodel while giving birth? i need to come visit soon!!!

Shannon said...

Seriously. Those photos are truly priceless. I'm teary just looking at them. Congrats on the newest little Williams!!! He is so very cute. Hope you are doing well!

Ruth said...

I was going to say how this was the most calm I have ever seen anyone be while givving birth. Like way relax. But then I realized that I have only been to one other birth besides my own. i guess I'm dramatic.

J, J and B said...

So crazy you did so much of your morning alone before the baby came!! I can't believe how EASY it was!! Wow. Congrats!! He's super cute. And how lucky to have Ruth there taking those amazing photos!! They're so priceless. You look so beautiful too. Unfair!!

Tanekaientertainment said...

Dude that was awesome i felt like i was there... lol. Harvey is gonna be the man. Congratulations you guys we miss the heck out of you... Cant wait to meet the little man.

Tanekaientertainment said...

Dude that was awesome i felt like i was there... lol. Harvey is gonna be the man. Congratulations you guys we miss the heck out of you... Cant wait to meet the little man.