Josiah's Arrival
Well, this will be long and detailed - I don't expect anyone to read all of this, but it's for my record. Some of you may have read Austin's post from the day Josiah was born at 4am, but this will be a little bit more detailed of an account, and continue for the first few days of Josiah's life.
Everday Morning: Wed, 4/13 Mom, Austin and I went to the Dr for our weekly checkup. This was going to be the last one as we were to decide if we were going to go natural or pick an induction date. The appointment was at 11am and the doc told me I was at 1cm, which was a drastic improvement from the previous week, but not enough to get things going soon. So the doc did a 10 second procedure to see if it would kickstart contractions. She said if it worked, then in the next 12-24 hours, I would start having contractions, and from there start dialating more, and then it would be a more natural process. Then we walked down the hall to get a sonogram of the little guy, and we could see his face and he was sleeping with his hand in front of his mouth - precious! The tech said he weighed about 7 pounds, and was doing fine.
Contractions Starting: About 12:30 we headed to Cheddars for lunch. I wasn't feeling up to eating due the immense amount of pressure brought on by the recent procedure, but knew I needed to so I got salad and baked potato. At 1:30 Austin headed to work, and Mom and I went to run some errands. We went to see my boss to drop some stuff off, then to get my nails done (for the first time in months, but planned on before I went into labor), then to Whole Foods for Mom to get groceries. By the time we were in Whole Foods the pressure was building stronger, and about 15 minutes into shopping the first contraction hit in the produce section! A few minutes later we were on another aisle, and here came another one! We decided we should head home, and I probably shouldn't drive. We got to my house about 3:45 and after realizing I had 2-3 more contractions quickly, Mom started timing them, just so we had an idea where I was starting - 7.5min apart! After 30 min of this, Austin came home from work. Within 3 more contractions I was ready to get in the tub to see if they would slow down or at least lessen the pain. The pain lessened for a while, but the contractions kept coming stronger and closer together. Austin called our doctor's office and the nurse said to go ahead and go to the hospital. We waited about 30 more minutes while I dried off and tried to rest and Austin frantically packed his hospital bag (mine had been in the car for 3 weeks).
To the Hospital: At 5:20 we were in the car and the contractions were consistently under 3 min apart and getting hard to deal with naturally. I knew I'd be getting an epi and was told to get to the hospital about 45 min before you can't take it anymore so the nurses can get me ready and call the anesthesiologist. Austin did 80 most of the 6 mile drive to the hospital with Mom following closely. Medical Center McKinney has valet parking for emergencies so I was driven up to the door, put in a wheelchair, and Austin and I headed to the second floor to have a baby! When we got there, no one knew we were coming. Come to find out the hospital AND our doctor were never informed I was going into labor. They found me a bed to scream in, and contractions are now nearly 2 minutes apart. Nurse came in to check me and I was at 3cm. She left for quite a while and finally came back to start my IV. After almost an hour later a phlebotomist came in to draw blood - WHAT??? I was hacked because she had to draw blood and get the lab results back before I could get an epi - this process would take an additional half hour. Finally the love of my life came in, not Austin, but the anesthesiologist. It took just a short while to give me the epidural and about 2 more contractions for it to kick in - then I was happy and ready to prepare for the labor. Up to this point Austin was rubbing my back and Mom was holding my hand helping me breathe, focus, and count through contractions every 2 minutes.
Josiah's Here: Nurses came and went over the next several hours. My doctor showed up when I hit 4cm and broke my water, waited a half hour and realized that wasn't helping me dilate naturally so they started the potocin drip. Austin's mom arrived around 10:30pm. And we pretty much just had a party until midnight with coffee and anxiousness. At midnight, I was at 8cm, and about an hour later it was time to get ready to start pushing. Austin stayed in the room and was quite a trooper! I pushed with each contraction for 45 minutes, but thanks to wonderful drugs, felt very little of it :) At 2:18am on Thur 4/14, out came Thomas Josiah Crow at 7 pounds 13.6 ounces and 20 inches long! Austin video taped his first 5 minutes of life, and it makes me cry each time I watch it! I am so glad he got it on video!!! They immediately put Josiah on my chest and I was able to keep him there a few minutes until the nausea set in. That was the last time I held my son for several hours.
Here Comes the Pain: My body was not wide enough for his giant 13.5 inch head and so it took about 45 minutes for the doctor to stich me back up. Afterwards, Mom and Beth came back in the room to see their new grandson. Austin went down to the nursery with Josiah. With each continuing contraction to minimize the uterus came sharp, pulsating pain from the stitches. Mom held my hand and watched me flinch each time until the nurse finally put drugs into my IV to knock me out. All of this while trying not to throw up on anyone. By far, the worse part of the entire process.
The Hangover: When I came to about 7am I opened my eyes to see Austin beside me, he hadn't been to bed all night. I asked him what happened, where Josiah was and then mentioned I could see my toes. I was still in a delivery room instead of recovery because there was an influx of babies and 3 other couples also spent extra time in their rooms before being moved to a recovery room. Breakfast came, and then the sweet nurse came to see how I was and if the drugs had worn off. I wouldn't be allowed off my catheter or the IV until I could prove I could walk myself to the bathroom. With a couple of numb toes and Austin's help, I was able to make it, so the cords came off. Josiah was wheeled back in later and I was able to hold him again!
Breastfeeding - The Next Fronteer: This is NOT as easy a it looks! It was painful and discouraging when I couldn't get him to latch. Austin had given him his first feeding in the nursery the night before by bottle and he drank about 5 CCs. Now it was my turn and it took about 5 days to get the hang of it. Although it is financially better, and certainly healthier on baby and mommy, it is highly time-consuming! But I'm getting it.
Hospital Stay: Both our moms were at the hospital each day for several hours. We had visitors left and right and were happy to see all of them! The first was our two preachers, Jerry and Shawn who came Thur morning and prayed for Josiah and us. On Friday morning my doctor came in to tell me my anemia was much worse and my blood count was low (oh yeah, they had drawn blood 2 more times). She recommended a blood transfusion but I told her I wasn't exhibiting any serious signs so she wanted to monitor me for one more day before she would release me. I got up and put on my own clothes and freshened up some since I could walk around now that the previous night nurse knew to up my pain dosage for my stitches.
New Release Party: Sat morning we were excited to finally be going home, as Austin hadn't left the hospital the entire time we were there. I got a shower and new clothes and a beautiful outlook for our new life to begin! The Barcrofts arrived at the hospital that morning along with our moms, and Toph & Marnie arrived around noon and all helped load stuff, me and Josiah into the car. We had 4 vehicles following us home and this time Austin drove the speed limit (maybe a little under!). At home, we got settled in as more family started to arrive: my dad, grandad, brother, uncle, aunt and cousin (Wilsons) all showed up to take a peek at the new arrival. Laura Barker came as well, and she will be around all the time! This was truly a great time, and we have the pictures to prove it (although not with the camera we had at the hospital, because somehow that didn't make it into the car). Beth stayed the night after everyone else left to make sure we didn't need anything for the first night at home.
Thanks to all who helped that week!
Everday Morning: Wed, 4/13 Mom, Austin and I went to the Dr for our weekly checkup. This was going to be the last one as we were to decide if we were going to go natural or pick an induction date. The appointment was at 11am and the doc told me I was at 1cm, which was a drastic improvement from the previous week, but not enough to get things going soon. So the doc did a 10 second procedure to see if it would kickstart contractions. She said if it worked, then in the next 12-24 hours, I would start having contractions, and from there start dialating more, and then it would be a more natural process. Then we walked down the hall to get a sonogram of the little guy, and we could see his face and he was sleeping with his hand in front of his mouth - precious! The tech said he weighed about 7 pounds, and was doing fine.
Contractions Starting: About 12:30 we headed to Cheddars for lunch. I wasn't feeling up to eating due the immense amount of pressure brought on by the recent procedure, but knew I needed to so I got salad and baked potato. At 1:30 Austin headed to work, and Mom and I went to run some errands. We went to see my boss to drop some stuff off, then to get my nails done (for the first time in months, but planned on before I went into labor), then to Whole Foods for Mom to get groceries. By the time we were in Whole Foods the pressure was building stronger, and about 15 minutes into shopping the first contraction hit in the produce section! A few minutes later we were on another aisle, and here came another one! We decided we should head home, and I probably shouldn't drive. We got to my house about 3:45 and after realizing I had 2-3 more contractions quickly, Mom started timing them, just so we had an idea where I was starting - 7.5min apart! After 30 min of this, Austin came home from work. Within 3 more contractions I was ready to get in the tub to see if they would slow down or at least lessen the pain. The pain lessened for a while, but the contractions kept coming stronger and closer together. Austin called our doctor's office and the nurse said to go ahead and go to the hospital. We waited about 30 more minutes while I dried off and tried to rest and Austin frantically packed his hospital bag (mine had been in the car for 3 weeks).
To the Hospital: At 5:20 we were in the car and the contractions were consistently under 3 min apart and getting hard to deal with naturally. I knew I'd be getting an epi and was told to get to the hospital about 45 min before you can't take it anymore so the nurses can get me ready and call the anesthesiologist. Austin did 80 most of the 6 mile drive to the hospital with Mom following closely. Medical Center McKinney has valet parking for emergencies so I was driven up to the door, put in a wheelchair, and Austin and I headed to the second floor to have a baby! When we got there, no one knew we were coming. Come to find out the hospital AND our doctor were never informed I was going into labor. They found me a bed to scream in, and contractions are now nearly 2 minutes apart. Nurse came in to check me and I was at 3cm. She left for quite a while and finally came back to start my IV. After almost an hour later a phlebotomist came in to draw blood - WHAT??? I was hacked because she had to draw blood and get the lab results back before I could get an epi - this process would take an additional half hour. Finally the love of my life came in, not Austin, but the anesthesiologist. It took just a short while to give me the epidural and about 2 more contractions for it to kick in - then I was happy and ready to prepare for the labor. Up to this point Austin was rubbing my back and Mom was holding my hand helping me breathe, focus, and count through contractions every 2 minutes.
Josiah's Here: Nurses came and went over the next several hours. My doctor showed up when I hit 4cm and broke my water, waited a half hour and realized that wasn't helping me dilate naturally so they started the potocin drip. Austin's mom arrived around 10:30pm. And we pretty much just had a party until midnight with coffee and anxiousness. At midnight, I was at 8cm, and about an hour later it was time to get ready to start pushing. Austin stayed in the room and was quite a trooper! I pushed with each contraction for 45 minutes, but thanks to wonderful drugs, felt very little of it :) At 2:18am on Thur 4/14, out came Thomas Josiah Crow at 7 pounds 13.6 ounces and 20 inches long! Austin video taped his first 5 minutes of life, and it makes me cry each time I watch it! I am so glad he got it on video!!! They immediately put Josiah on my chest and I was able to keep him there a few minutes until the nausea set in. That was the last time I held my son for several hours.
Here Comes the Pain: My body was not wide enough for his giant 13.5 inch head and so it took about 45 minutes for the doctor to stich me back up. Afterwards, Mom and Beth came back in the room to see their new grandson. Austin went down to the nursery with Josiah. With each continuing contraction to minimize the uterus came sharp, pulsating pain from the stitches. Mom held my hand and watched me flinch each time until the nurse finally put drugs into my IV to knock me out. All of this while trying not to throw up on anyone. By far, the worse part of the entire process.
The Hangover: When I came to about 7am I opened my eyes to see Austin beside me, he hadn't been to bed all night. I asked him what happened, where Josiah was and then mentioned I could see my toes. I was still in a delivery room instead of recovery because there was an influx of babies and 3 other couples also spent extra time in their rooms before being moved to a recovery room. Breakfast came, and then the sweet nurse came to see how I was and if the drugs had worn off. I wouldn't be allowed off my catheter or the IV until I could prove I could walk myself to the bathroom. With a couple of numb toes and Austin's help, I was able to make it, so the cords came off. Josiah was wheeled back in later and I was able to hold him again!
Breastfeeding - The Next Fronteer: This is NOT as easy a it looks! It was painful and discouraging when I couldn't get him to latch. Austin had given him his first feeding in the nursery the night before by bottle and he drank about 5 CCs. Now it was my turn and it took about 5 days to get the hang of it. Although it is financially better, and certainly healthier on baby and mommy, it is highly time-consuming! But I'm getting it.
Hospital Stay: Both our moms were at the hospital each day for several hours. We had visitors left and right and were happy to see all of them! The first was our two preachers, Jerry and Shawn who came Thur morning and prayed for Josiah and us. On Friday morning my doctor came in to tell me my anemia was much worse and my blood count was low (oh yeah, they had drawn blood 2 more times). She recommended a blood transfusion but I told her I wasn't exhibiting any serious signs so she wanted to monitor me for one more day before she would release me. I got up and put on my own clothes and freshened up some since I could walk around now that the previous night nurse knew to up my pain dosage for my stitches.
New Release Party: Sat morning we were excited to finally be going home, as Austin hadn't left the hospital the entire time we were there. I got a shower and new clothes and a beautiful outlook for our new life to begin! The Barcrofts arrived at the hospital that morning along with our moms, and Toph & Marnie arrived around noon and all helped load stuff, me and Josiah into the car. We had 4 vehicles following us home and this time Austin drove the speed limit (maybe a little under!). At home, we got settled in as more family started to arrive: my dad, grandad, brother, uncle, aunt and cousin (Wilsons) all showed up to take a peek at the new arrival. Laura Barker came as well, and she will be around all the time! This was truly a great time, and we have the pictures to prove it (although not with the camera we had at the hospital, because somehow that didn't make it into the car). Beth stayed the night after everyone else left to make sure we didn't need anything for the first night at home.
Thanks to all who helped that week!
posted by Footprints of a Crow at
10:18 PM
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