Better late than never!

I have been reading old stories in my blog, and I realized that I never wrote about the day Gage was born. I wanted to write a post about it so that I wouldn't forget ANYTHING, and apparently I forgot. I suppose now is a better time than never!

I worked all day, came home and cleaned the house, and finished getting all our bags packed for the big day! All day long my customers would ask "You're still here?", and I would smile and say "Yep, I'm still here!". I couldn't imagine the thought of telling anyone I couldn't do their hair and to tell you the truth, it kept me from driving myself crazy thinking about what the next day would have in store for me.

Thursday, February 26, 2009
11pm~ We checked in the hospital to begin my induction. I had been dialated to a 1 for about 3 weeks, so I talked my doctor into inducing me. My Mom and Dad met us there and we headed upstairs to my room. The nurses gave me my gown and we were ready to go! We began filling out paper work, which took what seems like forever.

Friday, February 27, 2009
12:05pm~ We recieved a call that our very good friends had their baby at 12:03! When Teneal and I found out we were pregnant, we never expected to have our babies on the same day. She had been in labor the entire day before, and he didn't get here until a little after midnight on Friday! How neat is that? Gage and Aaron will surely be best buds ;)

1am~ I finally had all my paperwork done, and the nurse started my IV. I asked her, very nicely to not "dig" in my veins. She did it anyway. After the 3rd try, she finally got it. This was by far the worst part!

2am~ I recieved my first dose of Cytotec. The nurse told me that it would probably be a while before anything started happening, but she was wrong! I started feeling contractions within about an hour.

3am~ I had started having quite a few contractions...about 2 minutes apart. My parents were both still there, and we had been up talking. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, but by this time I was wishing I could.

5am~ I had started having more contractions, and was given some pain meds in my IV...not a good idea! Gage's heartbeat dropped dangerously low, and nurses started coming from every direction. The pain meds knocked me out almost instanly, but I can remember waking up every few minutes thinking "why are all these people surrounding me". My Mom and Michael were both standing at the foot of my bed with their eyes glued to the monitor. The looks on their faces were not good. At one time I heard the nurse say, "it will take about 2 hours for the medicine to get out of the baby's system and he should be fine. Until then we just need to watch them both closely". By this time, I was starting to get nervous. What would I do if something happened to my baby because I asked for pain medicine?

7am~ Gage's heartbeat came back up to normal and I told Michael to get the nurse to call for my epidural. She told me minutes before that he wouldn't be here until noon, but I wasn't waiting. I WANTED IT NOW! Dr. T came in to give me my epidural and a few minutes later I was sitting up in the bed putting on my make-up. Those things work miracles, huh?

Throughout the day I progressed fairly quickly and things were going pretty well. I was on oxygen most of day because Gage's heartbeat kept falling. It seems like I asked the nurses every 10 mintues if he was okay. They told me yes every time, but looking back I wonder if they ever doubted. Things sure seemed fishy a couple of times.

We had LOTS of friends and family in and out all day, and at one time my nurse told me the waiting room was completely full. It meant so much to Michael and I that so many people cared to meet our sweet little baby boy! My best friend Jodie had finally arrived to be with Michael, my Mom, and I during the birth. I asked her to be there with me so that she could take pictures.

3 pm~ Dr. T came in and checked me and I was at a 9. He assured us that we should have a baby in just an hour or two. My epidural had stopped working on one side, and the pain was almost unbearable. From that point on, Dr. T never left my side. He was there for probably 4 hours without leaving. He honestly gave it his all to cure my pain, it just couldn't be done. Why would anyone choose to have a baby without pain meds? I can't imagine what it would be like.

5pm~ At this point, I still had not progressed any further, so Dr. T decided to give me my Pitocin. Early in the day, they had decided I wasn't going to need any, so they put it off. He mentioned to me that a c-section was probably my best bet at this point, but I wouldn't have it! I was going to have the baby one way or the other WITHOUT a c-section. A little hard headed, maybe? Little did I know, this was a battle I couldn't win.

6:30pm~ Dr. T checked me one last time, and I still had not progressed ANY. I was having contractions every minute, and they were starting to get the best of me. He finally talked me into a c-section even though I had my mind set not to. I cried hysterically and said goodbye to my Mom and Jodie. I wanted Mom to be there so bad, and it broke my heart that she would not be able to see her Grandson be born. I know it meant so much to her. Michael got into his scrubs and off we went. If you know my husband, you know that an operating room is not the place for him. Have you ever heard the term "a bull in a china closet"? Yeah...that's him. They told him the room would be a sterile environment and not to touch anything blue. I died laughing! He was bound to break something!

6:45pm~ We finally made it into the operating room and they got me prepped for surgery. Things went REALLY quickly and I kept hearing the doctor and nurses talking. I couldn't tell what they were saying but I knew he was coming!

7:04pm~ Before I knew it, I heard my sweet baby boy crying! He was healthy as could be! I can remember starting to cry myself, because the much anticipated day had finally come. I would be holding him in my arms in only a few minutes! Michael brought him over to me after they cleaned him up and he was even more precious than I thought! Daddy was certainly proud!

Michael was absolutely precious that day (just like everyday). He stood beside me all day long and held my hand telling me how much he loved me. I wasn't able to eat anything until the baby was born, so he didn't either. I told him several time throughout the day to eat something, and he would say "I'm not eating until you can". Wasn't that sweet of him? I'll never know what I did to deserve such a wonderful man to share my life with, but I'm glad I did!

Gage is 6 weeks old today, and it seems like only yesterday I was living this story. The day will forever be in my heart as the best day of my life. He is such a doll, and a sweet little boy! Mommy loves you buddy!!