Samuel Leonardo: Birth and first month

Disclaimer: In case you missed the title, this blog talks about Samuel's birth. If you don't want to read about childbirth, I'm sure there are plenty of funny memes on your news feed to keep you entertained. Otherwise, read on ;)

At my 36 week ultrasound, Samuel measured 5 lbs 13 ounces (49%) and so my doctor didn't see any medical need to induce early. However, since I had gestational diabetes he didn't want me to go too far past my due date. So my due date was Friday Jan. 31 and my induction was scheduled for the day after, Sat. Feb. 1. Something I learned quickly is that once you become pregnant, people suddenly think it's a green light to offer their personal opinion on every choice you have to make(and I've discovered now that Samuel's born, it's even more so.) That being said, some people are against induction but I have no problem with it; I think modern medicine is amazing and without it my life wouldn't be the same. Along with that, I have had several key experiences that caused me to have a lot of trust in my doctor and if he didn't think I should go very far past my due date, then by golly, I agree ;)  (The irony is that it didn't really matter anyway)

So the night before the induction, I was so nervous/excited I could hardly sleep. Imagine a little kid trying to go to sleep on Christmas Eve. Now multiply that by about 1 million. I couldn't wait to meet my baby boy!!!! I was supposed to call the hospital at 5am for confirmation. I called and the nurse told me to call back at 10:00. So I did and she told me that four other women had come into the hospital in spontaneous labor and I would have to call back at 1:00 to see if they could fit me in. At 1:00 I called back and they said the labors were still ongoing and they rescheduled my induction for Tuesday Feb. 4th. I thanked the nurse, hung up and bawled. And bawled. I was so excited to meet my son and now I had to wait three more days. Was I over reacting? Of course, but try telling that to a 40 week pregnant woman with crazy hormones. To make it worse, when I stopped by the grocery store later that day I ran into someone I knew and they said "You STILL haven't had your baby??" Towards the end of my pregnancy my sister-in-law asked if I felt like I wanted to punch everyone and I've got to admit that day in the grocery store it took some restraint ;)

So that night I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep and without a warning, my water breaks at 11:30pm. I call Michael's name and he must've known what was up because he came dashing in from the other room. I was oddly calm as we got ready to go since I'd had our hospital bags back for over a month. Michael was scurrying around in a frenzy even though there was nothing to do but get in the car. It was a pretty comical soon-to-be-dad moment. And on the drive to the hospital we're cracking jokes that the nurses would think we were faking it like "Emily Johnson? Aren't you the girl who called in three times today?" So on the day I was supposed to be induced, Samuel decided to start making his way into the world. I guess he didn't like taking no for an answer ;)

I gave birth to Samuel without an epidural, so you can imagine the fun times we had that night ;) I know you're thinking "Wait, wait, I thought you were all for modern medicine?" And I am. I think it's amazing and going in to the hospital, I wasn't entirely sure I was going to have a natural birth. I told the nurses that's what I wanted but I would let them know if I changed my mind. Growing up, my mom was always telling us how bad epidurals were(she gave birth to eight children. Amazing!) but really my decision had nothing to do with what she or anyone else wanted. It was solely my choice and maybe with my other labors I will have an epidural, who knows. Do you want to know what really pushed me to decide to go natural? It's pretty funny: I was watching What to Expect When You're Expecting and I cried when the character without an epidural gave birth to her daughter. Yes, crazy pregnancy hormones strike again. But it was then that I thought that I wanted to experience the pure joy and relief at the end of a painful labor and hold the baby that I had worked so hard to bring into this world. Silliest reason ever? Probably, but there it is.

So, during labor, I had Michael write down what was happening and at what time, because I sure wouldn't be able to remember all this information otherwise!At my 38 week appointment I was 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced. When I went into the hospital I was 4 cm and 100% effaced. They hooked me up to a monitor and my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart but relatively no pain. In fact, I had been periodically experiencing the same sensation for a few weeks but never even recognized them as contractions. The next three hours passed and Michael and I watched a Jim Gaffigan stand-up comedy DVD that we had borrowed from a friend. Towards the end, my lower back started to ache and I just assumed my body was uncomfortable sitting in the same position so when the nurse came back in I asked if I could be unhooked and walk around for a while. By 3:00am I was having normal contraction pain and continual increasing pain in my lower back. I asked the nurse about it and she said it sounded like I was having a lot of back labor and it was unfortunate because it was one of the most uncomfortable ways to labor. Lucky me.

By 5:00am I was having painful contractions and as I was leaning over throwing up into the toilet, I thought of Mary--the mother of Jesus--and how I could now truly understand how sad it was that no one would let her in while she was in labor and riding on a donkey. Random thought, I know.

At 5:20am I was 8 cm dilated. Then I labored for an hour with painful contractions. Checked again at 6:20? Still 8 cm. Let me tell you, that has to be the most discouraging thing. I was thinking, "Are you kidding me? All that pain with NO progress?" Soon after, my body started uncontrollably shaking. The nurse assured me it was normal but it's a weird feeling to not be in control of what you're body is doing. I threw up a few more times and by 7:15 I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. At this point, the contractions were, to put it gently, excruciating. I would squeeze Michael's hand through each one and he later told me that at one point his thumb was purple lol. I was pushing for a little over an hour and at one point, Samuel's heart rate was really low so they put me on oxygen. After 9 1/2 hours of labor, the sweet little guy was born at 8:53am. He weighed 7 lbs 13 ounces, 20 inches long. Of all days, he was born Feb. 2, which is always Groundhog Day and was also Superbowl Sunday. He is the Seahawks' lucky charm.

Whew, did you make it through that novel? :) Samuel is now 1 month old! We won't have his current height/weight measurements until his 2 month appointment. He likes being held constantly--especially with his head against your chest, hearing loud white noise(vacuum, blender, faucet), listening to music and is captivated by Dr. Seuss' artwork. He also likes his binky--Thank Goodness since we waited until he was a month to give it to him. He does NOT like being naked at all which includes getting dressed, diaper changes and baths. He also doesn't like having his nails trimmed but I quickly learned to do that while he's sleeping ;) He is already very vocal, can roll to his side if you put him on his back, holds up his neck for quite some time and is starting to show little smiles. We love our little Samuel Leonardo! <3