We are loving life with our new little man. He is such a blessing and wonderful addition to our new family! We are loving every moment with him and cannot believe that our lives didn't involve him just eight days ago!
We are still deciding who exactly he looks like. When I saw him for the first time, I was blown away by how much he looked like my baby pictures! I didn't think he would look so much like me as a newborn. I thought for sure he would look much more like his daddy. But, I know newborns change so much and he is not done growing into what he will look like. Brian has already said that he has changed at least four times since he was born!
Here are a few pictures of our little man:
One of the first family photos - Tristan, 12 hours old!
Proud new Uncle T!
Proud Grandpa!
G'ma & G'pa George & Grama Candy & Papa!!
Lovely Grama Candy with her sleeping grandsons!!
Admiring the adorable Tristan!
Daddy & son exhausted after some memorable days!
He loves to fall asleep in the funniest positions! (Two days old)
And now for the birth story... (Just to warn you, it's pretty long!!) All I can say, is that nothing about his birth went the way I thought it would. As a planner, I thought I knew exactly how things would play out. Oh, how I was mistaken :) 1)He would come early, before his due date, 2) I would go into labor in the middle of the night and we would go to the hospital and have him the next day, 3) I would be in labor for 6-8 hours, much like my Mom's story with me. Well, here is how it really went:
As I mentioned in my previous post, I went over my due date and had to be induced on Saturday night, 5/15 (#1 idea didn't happen). We went into Providence Hospital at 8pm and immediately started the induction process, a 12 hour induction medicine. Our doctor told us it probably wouldn't put us into labor that night, but would definitely get us started. So, Brian and I settled in for a good night's sleep as my contractions started mildly.
The next morning, things still hadn't progressed very far, so I was given something else to start the labor process (thus, #2 above didn't come true). This time it was a three hour medicine, sure to start things. After not much happening, our doctor then decided that we needed to start Pitocin. That is when things definitely started happening, and fast!
Traci and Dresel visiting before the Pitocin started!
Lincoln also stopped by for a visit and immediately wanted to jump into bed with me!
After feeling contractions for three hours and realizing that I couldn't go any longer, an epidural was much needed! I had heard what Pitocin does to a body, but didn't fully realize the intensity until I experienced it for myself - WOW!! Getting the epidural was the hardest part of the whole experience. Not feeling the shot itself, but having to still myself through three contractions while getting the shot. By the point of getting the epidural, I was in so much pain that I couldn't control my body from shaking and moving. Holding still and being calm was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But, getting the epidural helped out in so many ways!!! Moral of the epidural story - if you think you're going to get one, don't wait as long as I did! I wanted to see how long I could go, but should have gotten the epidural a long time before then!!
First of all, it gave me the release from pain that I was hoping for. Secondly, it allowed my body to relax enough that I went from 3cm to 9 1/2cm right away! I was shocked that it happened that quickly! We immediately called the parents and told them he was coming soon! Oh, how I was mistaken once again:)
My body wasn't quite ready to start pushing yet, so we waited about three hours until it was ready. Meanwhile, I enjoyed the pain-free time and tried to relax. But I also felt bad that all of our family had been called and were in the waiting room, hoping for good news soon! I also had it set in my mind that he would be born on the 16th. But alas, birth doesn't always follow a plan, which I should have figured out by then!
At 10pm, we were told that it was time to push. We called my mom in for extra support and were so excited to meet the little man soon! But, we weren't prepared for what would happen over the next two hours.
As much as he wanted to come and meet us, there were many complications that stood in the way. First of all, he was ready to come, but his head wouldn't fit all the way due to my "crooked" birth canal. Secondly, with every push, his heart rate would drop dramatically. And thirdly, the doctors discovered that there was meconium in utero that could be making him sick. They also discovered that I had a high fever, maybe due to the all the stress that our little man was experiencing.
So, after two hours of pushing, they decided that a C-section was needed. Immediately, I was wheeled into an operating room. During this whole time, I was extremely out of it, exhausted and by that point didn't care how he came into the world, as long as he was healthy and okay.
At 12:28 am, after only a few minutes in the OR, Tristan was born! My first glimpse of him from across the room was complete adoration! My first thoughts were - I couldn't believe how big he was (although he measured on the average side), I was so thankful for how "normal" he looked considering everything he went through and I also couldn't believe how much he looked like me!
After he was born, the doctors realized that his umbilical cord was wrapped around his head, which made for his heart rate dropping. Another good reason for the C-section! They immediately took him to have blood work done in case he had ingested meconium. They put him on antibiotics through an IV in his hand (poor guy), just in case, although a few days later the results came back that everything was okay!
What an experience! Although it sounds so traumatic, in the end I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. As crazy as it sounds, I'm thankful for the experience of going through labor the way I did. I guess I got to experience the best of both worlds! But my doctor did tell me that my body is not designed to go through that again and next time we will schedule a C-section from the beginning!!
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