Liam
So, about a week ago I met this guy…. And it was totally love at first sight. I’m not ashamed to say that he already has me wrapped around his little finger, and I jump at his every whim. He has handsome dark hair, dreamy dark eyes, and the sweetest, most kissable lips.
William Walter, our little Liam, entered this world on Monday, January 4th, at 1:06 p.m. His amazing birth followed a textbook labor, and I couldn’t have asked for things to have gone more smoothly.
I spent the day preceding the big day wrapping up some details on the nursery — hanging the crib mobile and making the letters of the baby’s name to hang on the wall. After dinner, I started cleaning up the kitchen, and found that I couldn’t stop. I had to clean the living room, tidy up the playroom and Lily’s room, too — even organizing her bookshelves. I didn’t know the true meaning of “nesting” until that evening. Finally satisfied with the state of our house, I headed to bed at 10. At the same time, Bill declared that he was heading out to fill the car with gas. “Why tonight?” I asked. “Just in case,” he said.
Just after midnight on the morning of the 4th, I woke to my water breaking and alerted Bill, who hadn’t even gone to bed yet. After some discussion about whether or not my water HAD actually broken (not always as obvious as it is in the movies), we called the on-call OB while we waited to see if contractions would ensue. They soon did, and the OB told me to head down to the hospital when I felt ready, if the contractions seemed to be growing more intense. Wary of the time it would take to get my parents to our house to stay with Lily, plus transit time to the hospital in questionable weather conditions, we didn’t wait around too long.
At 3 a.m. in the hospital observation room of Labor and Delivery, the nurse confirmed that my water had broken, and my contractions were monitored at 3-4 minutes apart, and I was 3 cm dilated. The nurse admitted me and offered an epidural, but I decided to wait it out, since I know the epidural can sometimes slow labor.
By 7:45, the contractions had gotten strong enough and close enough together that I was ready for the epidural. I was around 5.5 cm at that point. The contractions were getting intense, though still tolerable, but I wasn’t getting much of a break in between. And my delivery nurse had warned me that the anesthesiologist had to do a C-section at 8, so I could either get the epidural right then, or wait for over an hour for the C-section to be over. I asked for the epidural, and the anesthesiologist and the resident who would give it were there within minutes, and kind of in a hurry.
This is where my lovely labor story gets a little less lovely. I was fine for the numbing shot, but when the resident started to insert the epidural needle, I started feeling some (not too bad) nerve pain near the site. This made me panic a bit, and I had a little “episode” of falling blood pressure, profuse sweating, and lightheadedness. Bill was fanning me and patting me with a cool washcloth, but they couldn’t let me lie down in the middle of the procedure. So I told them I had to stop, and they asked if I was sure, and I said yes, maybe I could try again after their C-section. They were gracious, I was embarrassed, and they told me it was fine and they would be back later.
I should note here that I had ZERO problems with the epidural during my first labor. I just get a little high-anxiety around needles, particularly when they are angled at my spine. So I guess I just flipped out a bit.
At 8:45 a.m. I was given staydol through my IV for my anxiety (which feels like the equivalent of a couple of glasses of merlot), and I got the epidural with no problems. The resident had it in within seconds this time, and I didn’t feel it at all. Within minutes, I was no longer feeling the intense contractions, and I felt fantastic.
RIght after the epidural was in, my doctor arrived. He said that, even though I had a leak of amniotic fluid, there was a pocket of fluid that hadn’t broken that might be blocking baby from descending (he was still at -2 station). So he broke my water to help move things along.
Around 10:30 a.m., I was 7 cm, 90% effaced. I was resting comfortably, and trying to nap, but too excited. Bill was trying to catch a snooze on the couch.
11:30 a.m.: 9 cm, 100% effaced. Still waiting…
At 12:45 p.m., I was fully dilated and effaced. My nurse said, “Let’s try a couple of practice pushes and see what kind of pusher you are.” Apparently she was satisfied, because she had me push through a couple of contractions while we waited for my doctor. He arrived shortly and coached me through 3-4 more contractions.
Liam was born at 1:06 p.m. Bill cut the cord, and my son was immediately on my chest, where he stayed for the next hour while we stared at him in amazement. How lucky we are to have experienced this second little miracle addition to our family.
Here are some pictures of Liam’s first moments:
And here is Liam at four days old:
