Gavin's Birth Story

If you were ever wondering how to make time pass by as fast as possible, just have a baby! Then time will fly by so fast you won't even know what day of the week it is. I had every intention of writing this blog post the week Gavin was born, but each day has passed and I just haven't had the energy to do it. Finally in the last few days I have started feeling just tired and not completely delirious. I wanted to write about Gavin's birth story while it was all still fresh in my mind so I would not forget all the amazing details.

Gavin George Prusse was born on October 28th at 8:16 pm, weighing 7 pounds even and 19 1/2 inches long. Everything went as well as it could have gone, and we could not be happier with our sweet little Gavin. That is the quick version, now for those who want, here are all the details.

As most of you reading already know, on October 16th Sam and I went into labor and delivery because I had not felt him move hardly at all that day. It turned out that he was just fine, but I had high levels of liver enzymes in my blood, with blurred vision, headaches and some high blood pressure. We never actually figured out what it was the I had, but it could have been preeclampsia or something similar called Hellps Syndrome, or possibly colestatis in pregnancy, which is when you have high bile acids from your liver in your blood. All of these things could be dangerous to the baby as well as me and after a few days in the hospital the plan became for me to plan on being induced at 37 weeks no matter if not earlier. I must say that I kept a pretty positive attitude while I was there. Sure I felt a little sorry for myself at times, but I felt blessed that I was in good hands, Sam was able to stay every night with me, I had a lot of wonderful visitors and kind nurses to keep me company. My work was awesome in covering for me while I was trying to make things work for my long-term sub. I was able to finalize my grades as it was the end of the first quarter at school and everything seemed to be coming together. We were surprised on October 25th, after 10 days in the hospital that they were going to let me go home for two nights until I would be induced on the 27th. It was a much needed boost to my mood and helped me feel a little more prepared for when the baby came.

So that Monday and Tuesday Sam stayed home from work and basically did all my nesting for me. I was told to just rest and not do anything crazy. I didn't have much energy to do anything anyways. It is amazing how being basically on bed rest for 10 days can really suck the life out of you. Just trying to walk around Target for last minute baby items was more than I could handle.

I was very anxious as we went to bed on Monday night and asked Sam for a blessing. My nerves were calmed and I was able to sleep and make it through Tuesday. I had to go in for blood work Tuesday morning, then do a non-stress test, then to see my doctor where I was checked and was told I was dilated to about 1 1/2 cm and about 60% effaced which was good news since I really had not signs of labor at all. The plan was made that I would be called to come into labor and delivery between 7:00 and 9:30 pm that night. Sam and I went back home and I took a nap while he worked on things at home. We went out to dinner hoping that while we ate we would be called in. Well 7 pm came and went, then 8, then 9, and then 9:30. We were told that if we did not get called by then we should call them. So I called and talked to the charge nurse and she told us they were super busy and to just go to bed and they would call us when they had a room. Uh... sure I will just go to bed and relax, yeah right. At this point my anxiety was so high and all I wanted was to just get this process started. Well we finally decided to go to bed about midnight and then of course about 20 minutes later, we got the call to come in. This was it! It was finally happening.

Last pregnancy picture at 37 weeks

We arrived at the hospital at about 1 am. The nurse that helped us was actually the nurse that helped us on the 16th when we originally came in. She got me started on a pill they implant into my cervix to start the dilation process. She started my IV and hooked up the heart and contraction monitors. Sam made himself comfortable on the couch and I tried my best to get a few hours of sleep with all those things hooked up to me. I probably slept about 3 hours. I had to have one more dose of medicine, and by 8 am and a very restless night, I was ready to be induced with pitocin.

My body took really well to the induction process, almost too well. I started having contractions about one minute a part so they had to turn down my dose. At this point I was finally feeling the contractions and thought, yeah I can do this, this is not so bad. I was talkative and felt confident. Then about an hour after being induced they came in to break my water. Well, about 15 minutes after breaking my water my outlook changed fast. The contractions came on so fast and strong that they started taking my breath away. I had wanted to hold off on the epidural as long as I could so I could get up and walk around but at that point I had zero desire to walk around or do anything. I tried hard to relax and listen to the hypnobabies birthing day affirmations I had brought but it actually only made me more annoyed than anything. I had said that I wanted the epidural before the contractions brought me to tears, so when I started crying Sam helped me call the nurse in and within 5 minutes the anesthesiologist was in there to give me the epidural.

Can I just say bless that man? The epidural was seriously not bad at all. He was quick and the numbing shot was actually the worse part, like a quick bee sting. Once I got the epidural I felt great and was so happy I did not try to endure the contractions. This was really when the waiting game began. We just had to wait for things to progress.

I had asked my sister Rebekah to come and assist me in my labor, and she showed up around 2 pm. A very weird thing started happening where I could feel nothing on my right side, but I could feel almost everything on my left side. I started feeling the contractions really strong on my left and it started becoming unbearable. Around this time the nurse also realized that the baby was face up instead of being face down. This was causing me to have more painful contractions than normal and for them to come in irregular patterns. I would get 3 to 4 in a row and then a few minutes of a break. They hoped he would turn face down on his own by having be lay on my side with a big blow up "peanut" between my legs. Thing of a big oblong exercise ball. At first this was not so bad, but after a few hours of laying with that thing, it started hurting my back so bad I had to take a break. After a while, even after pushing the epidural button to up my dose, I was feeling contractions in my left side so bad that I was in horrible pain. They called the anesthesiologist back in and he upped my dose. After that I felt nothing. I was so numb I could not move my legs at all. It was slightly hilarious, slightly uncomfortable, and very difficult because I had to move from side to side so many times. It took the nurse and one other person to move me at all because I was such a dead weight. The epidural made me get the shivers so bad that I could not stop shaking and I felt freezing cold. For the next few hours I just laid there huddled in blankets trying to talk to Sam and Rebekah to pass the time.

Waiting all day...

Finally around 7 pm they checked me and I was dilated to about a 9. It was almost time to start pushing.  About the same time I got hit with a terrible stomach ache and nausea I thought for sure that I would throw up. The nurse gave me so medicine and loosened the monitor bands on my stomach and I was able to relax. My doctor had come in twice to turn the baby so he was face down, and after the 2nd try he stayed put and I was ready to push.

At first pushing was not so bad. My epidural had started wearing off just enough that I could feel the contractions again. The nurse was really experienced and helpful and gave me good instructions. Sam and Rebekah were right there, literally supporting me and helping me count. After about 30 minutes though I started feeling discouraged. I definitely stopped trying to talk to anyone at this point and in fact I was really emotional and I was afraid that if I let my emotions overtake me I would hyperventilate or something. It was all I could do to just focus on each wave of contractions and give all I could to pushing. I didn't have energy for anything else. Sam was so sweet and kept trying to be really encouraging, but I kept telling him to not be too sweet so I could stay focused and not get too emotional.

Finally my doctor showed up which was really the ultimate motivation. Seeing her there meant that this was about to happen. I really like my doctor a lot and I felt like she fit with my personality. Between her, and Rebekah and Sam all telling me to push as hard as I could I felt the motivation I needed for that last hard part. I actually used a mirror to see him as he was coming out, which sounds kind of gross and strange (and kind of is) but is incredibly helpful. I would totally recommend that to a first time mom giving birth. To see his head crowning was so amazing and helped me push even harder.

Finally after about an hour of pushing I was able to get him out. Can I just say that there is no better feeling in the world than when that baby comes out of you. It literally and emotionally was this huge weight that just left me and the reward was that sweet baby they put on my chest. With that last big push he really kind of flew out, so much that Sam thought he would fall on the floor, but of course he didn't. Those first cries were the most amazing sound. The whole thing was such a blur. They put him right on my chest. He was covered in white and crying loudly, which is the best noise you could hear. I was still pretty numb, so the after birth was nothing to me. As my doctor worked and everyone was bustling around me all I could do was just focus on my sweet new little baby. It was literally the most amazing experience I have ever had. As tired as I was I felt this amazing high and felt so proud of myself and this new little human that I brought into the world.

First Family Photo

We had a good hour of skin on skin time and Sam was able to hold him as well. Then they wheeled me up to our room where we had family waiting to see him. I remember feeling so proud, like I wanted everyone we passed in the hallways to see this perfect little human that Sam and I had created. For the next 24 hours, I felt this unbelievable amount of happiness that everything went so well. I am so grateful that I had trusted my gut and went to the doctor early and that I didn't have any complications arise. I am so grateful that even though I had to be induced at 37 weeks, with no labor of my own, that my body responded so well to being induced. I am so grateful that things went as well as they could be. Overall, I was in labor about 12 hours with pushing for about an hour, which is about average for a first time delivery. I am so grateful to have had Sam and Rebekah there to support me and help me through this amazing process. Mostly I am so grateful for little Gavin and for the amazing gift it is to be his mother. I am so in love. I can just stare at his face all day. Time is moving so fast and I don't want to forget this sweet time when he is so new. Welcome to the world little Gavin. You are loved beyond words.

Brand new in the hospital

Ready to come home from the hospital

Picture overload of Gavin