My whole pregnancy with Drew has seemed surreal. Maybe it's because I had the girls and we stayed so busy the whole time that there was not time to dwell on what was to come, only what was going on! Whatever it was, the week after Anthony and Holli's wedding Keith and I were hit with the realization that wow, we are going to have another baby. And so we got to work...we washed clothes, worked on the Murphy Bed, got a nursery ready and all that fun stuff.
Keith went with me to all my early appts with Drew and once they became routine, meaning only getting belly checks, he didn't come to those appts. But at 37 weeks, I made him start coming with me again b/c I knew I would be checked and with the girls that brought on a lot of questions and I tended to freak out and I needed him to be there to make sure I heard everything correctly. At my 37 week appointment we were surprised to be told I was already at a 2/3 and the doctor really did not think I'd make it to my due date. Drew also was extremely active and his heart rate was elevated so we had to do a stress test/heart rate monitoring on him for 30 minutes. He checked out just fine. As we walked out of the doctors office, Keith kind of had this deer in the headlights look...he never asked any questions but more or less just sat there and looked a bit freaked out! I guess it got even more real at that point!
Thankfully I made to it to the 38 week appt. My cervix was still very high and when it became obvious to the doctor how badly it hurt for him to check me he simply stopped. He said I was still probably at a 2/3. Induction was scheduled for July 1st. He forbid me from going to the girls games in Fairfield but told me I could go to the tournament that weekend in Arp. A fair compromise I suppose. I still felt fine but I do try to follow doctor's orders most of the time at least. :)
Turns out, Drew had pity on his Daddy and didn't decide to arrive prior to his induction day. Keith's worst fear was that I would go into labor and not be able to tell him and we wouldn't get to the hospital on time. :) So at 4:30 on Wednesday morning July 1st, Keith and I headed to the hospital to meet our baby boy. Before we left, we took one last belly picture - and yes, I measured again. I had a 41 inch round belly - same as I had with Ava. I'm pretty sure I sported that big belly for the last 3 months of my pregnancy! :)
We got to the hospital, checked in and got settled in our room. They immediately got the IV in and started monitoring Drew's heartbeat. Drew was extremely active and would not be still. The nurse said they needed a good 30 minutes of consistent heartbeat readings before they could start Pitocin. They chased him around my belly for a good 30 minutes before he finally was still, he must have decided to take a nap. So they got a good 30 minute reading only to want to get a spike in his heart rate before the started Pitocin - poor little man couldn't win. Finally, they started meds at 6:45 and I measured at a 2/3.
I told the first nurse Dr. Luzietti told me to request my epidural as soon as they started my Pitocin b/c I had no wish to have my water broken without my epi. There was a shift change at 7 and I had to ask again for the epi. The anesthesiologist showed up at 8:30 and I was so relieved. The nurse was there helping and I told Keith to go grab his chair so he wouldn't faint onto the floor when they gave me the meds and the nurse told him he could leave if he wanted...and he didn't even hesitate! Walked right out the door! :) Mom actually showed up a few minutes later and so I didn't have to hug it out with a complete stranger. Once the epi was in, literally as soon as he finished, Dr. Luziette walked in. Shew! Just in time!
Dr. Luzietti checked me and I was at a 5 already and he opted to wait to break my water to see if it would break on it's own. He promised to come back at noon...so the waiting game began...
At 2 pm, I was at a 9 and 75% effaced. They kept telling me when I felt pressure to push to let them know and I kept telling them they'd just have to tell me when to push and I'd take care of the rest! :) at 3 pm, I was 100% effaced and at a 10. But no urgent need to push, so they quit checking me and told me to keep them posted. :) Dr. Luzietti called about 4:30 and asked them to check me and they decided it was go time. I had a couple practice pushes and then was told to stop. Dr. Luzietti showed up and 10.5 hrs of labor, 1.5 pushes later, Drew Bennett Hays was born at 5:06 pm. He was perfect!
It has been five years since I had had a baby and in those five years things have changed! Immediately after Drew was born, they placed him on my chest and proceeded to clean up the room and me and Drew and I just hung out. I kept waiting for them to take him and weigh him and all the standard stuff they did with the girls. Finally, the room was clean, I was clean and things were looking back to normal and still Drew was in his birthday suit. Not that I was complaining but wasn't sure what was going on. Finally, Keith asked the nurse and she said they like to leave us be for two hours after birth for skin to skin, nursing and bonding...so that's what they did!
Two hours would have been right at seven which is shift change for the nurses and we wanted to make sure we got a picture of Drew with his nurse. So she came back in a little early and did his measurements and weight, cleaned him up a bit and took a sweet picture.
To me, he did not look that big. But then again, I was a big baby at 10 lbs 13 oz so an 8 lb baby is not so big to our family! No matter his size, he was perfect!
Keith and I were up and ready to go home by seven. Dr. Luzietti came by and finally the pediatrician came around 10. We got our discharge papers and headed home by 11.
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