Spencers Birthday

So.... here are all the fun details (mostly for my own personal reference - since a week from now it will all be a big blur!) But for anyone else who cares about birth stories....here was Spencers!

Dr West scheduled me for an elective induction a week before I was due. Why? Because I asked him to! No medical reason, just the very strong need to not  be pregnant anymore along with intense fear of a stretch mark showing up or a 10 pound baby coming out! So we went to St Lukes at about 730 am on Wednesday. Here I am ready to get in the car:

My "birth plan" if you will was to tolerate contractions as long as I could and then get the epidural. I was hoping that the 'relief' of the pain medication might make me feel euphoric afterwards and therefore curb off the intense baby blues I had last time. I have to say - it worked beautifully!


By 8 am I was set up in the labor and delivery room, hooked up to my antibiotic (since I carry group B strep I had to have 2 doses before baby was delivered) along with the pitocin to start up some contractions. It all went very well and I was chatting with Gabe and we caught up on celebrity gossip via some very useful trashy magazines. I felt the contractions but they weren't bad at all. Dr. West came in and broke my water I think around 9:30. On TV when they break the water usually the woman starts writhing in pain, so I was prepared to feel super bad contractions after that - but really they stayed really tolerable until about 10:30. Then they intensified, got closer together, and lasted longer. I started to not be able to talk or keep my eyes open with each one. But still I thought - its not so bad yet. Well...at 11:15 or so my pitocin was at the highest dose and those contractions were THE DEVIL.  I asked my nurse to check me and she said I was at a 4. HELLO. I thought I was at least a 9! I asked if I could get into the tub for a while, but because I was on Pitocin I had to be monitored constantly - so said - yup lets get that epidural asap! And boy was it a good thing :) Notice the smile on my face. Ahhh. EPIDURAL.

By 12 I was blissed out on being numb, and most of the swearing had died down. Gabe was nursing his fingernail scratches and the nurses were starting to come in rather frequently to check the monitor. I knew what that meant - baby wasnt tolerating contractions well. They had me flip from side to side for a few minutes, and then Dr West came in and checked me. I was a 7 in between contractions and a 10 during them. (Every time a contraction ended apparently my cervix closed up again a little bit. ) I expected him to say, well page me when you feel that pressure and we'll start to push. But instead...he put me on oxygen and kept his hand on babys head - while watching the monitor like a hawk. He never left my room again. The heart rate was dropping and staying low. All of a sudden our room had like 12 people in it. Teams of Nurses, respiratory therapists and other people. I knew things were serious...

Dr West was so calm that I guess we didnt really understand the severity of the moment until he matter of factly said - I know you arent completely dilated but lets have you push (he had to hold back my cervix each time - so that was fun. hallelujah epidural saved the day!) I pushed through one or two, and he again very calmly said - we're having a baby with the next contraction - he has to come out now. (keep in mind he hadnt even crowned at all yet!)

But unbelievably - with the next contraction Dr West Somehow Vacuumed our entire baby out. There was no delivery of the head - wait, small push, delivery of the shoulders moment. It was just You are having him NOW. ALL OF HIM.  And so we did.

And the cord was wrapped around his little neck 3 times. It was stretched out so thin, that the cord looked about 1/2 the size of a normal thickness. He was basically hanging himself with each contraction and cutting off his air supply. Dr West unrolled that cord so fast like a lasso! And baby started to cry the cutest little cry! He had the most adorable little face - and I think the first thing I said when he came out was - HES SO CUTE! It was shocking because well, we all remember Brigitte's smashed face and misshapen head :) And he was LITTLE! And...best of all...he had some nice soft fuzzy black hair. Prayers get answered. Here we are admiring our handiwork:

They cleaned him up, and we all started to realize the severity of what had just happened. When the heart rate goes that low, and stays that low - they usually have to do an emergency c-section. Dr West basically had his hand up there holding up the head to keep the heart rate up because we knew he was pinching the cord somewhere - but we didnt know where! So scary to have it around the neck! Here he is showing off his vacuum bruise. It was completely gone by the time we came home.

Thankfully, all was well, and our little guy came out slightly faster than expected but healthy and adorable. He peed all the way over to the isolette after he was delivered - so we suspect that had he held it in before he got weighed he might have rang in at 7lbs exactly. But he lost an ounce of fluid making him 6lbs 15 oz! Hes an entire inch longer than Brigitte and half a pound lighter. She really was a little bowling ball - and he is so long! There are moments when he looks similar to her - but I actually think he took on more of my genes than gabes this time around! He has my ears and long fingers and toes. And his adorable nose - all his own. No idea where that one came from!

Spencer is the MOST laid back baby ever. He only wakes up to eat, and other than that he spends his time doing 'drunken smiles'. He only cries when he thinks hes starving to death, and even then he doesnt really get worked up. What a complete miracle!!!! Brigitte was so demanding, so high strung, so LOUD - that I almost went crazy. Im so thankful that he is mellow - because I still have a toddler to deal with and I dont think I could cope with two wild ones. 

Brigitte has done pretty great with the baby. Not so great with everybody else. For the most part she ignores Spencer except when he cries and she yells OH NO- WHA HAPPENED? She has given up sleeping at night, takes short little naps, and has severe separation anxiety from me. That has been the hardest thing to deal with so far. Feeling soooo guilty that my first baby feels abandoned, and that she is throwing tantrums and being so awful that its hard for anyone to help me deal with her! My parents have been staying with us to help out, and they are counting the minutes until they can leave! We are all drained from trying to get her under control. She is still so young and I know she doesnt understand whats going on. I am thankful she isnt trying to smother the baby - but boy do I wish she would sleep for more than 4 hours!!!! I think I would have a severe meltdown if I didnt have help with her. There is NO WAY I can function on zero sleep with a tantrum throwing toddler and a newborn at the same time. How does anyone do this???

My poor little Brigitte. I know she will come around. 

So happy to have our little family of 4! Its so fun to say KIDS instead of just baby! Spencer was the dream pregnancy and is the DREAM baby - we feel so lucky to have him here!