A Birth Story

A week ago we were in the hospital...so I figure that a birth story is in order (plus, Brennan is napping and Cate is at Eric's parents' house for the day, so who knows when I'll have free time again).

I wish I could say that it all went as perfectly as I imagined in my head. That we arrived at 7am for our scheduled induction* and that shortly after lunch I was cradling my son. I built it up in my head that way because everyone, and I do mean everyone, including my doctor and the nurses in labor and delivery, kept telling me that the second baby comes so much faster. Unfortunately, that's not how things went.

After being at the hospital and laboring for 7 hours or so (we walked around, I slept, I read, we watched a lot of TV), my contractions started getting painful enough that I asked for an epidural. 15 minutes after getting the epidural, my blood pressure dropped, Brennan's heart rate dropped, and we were a little scared. The doctor and the nurse got everything back to normal within a few minutes, but the whole ordeal pretty much stalled my labor. After 12 hours, we switched tactics, using Cytotek instead of Pitocin to help my contractions along (my contractions were very regular, just "inadequate" for pushing). Incidentally, I had to have another epidural as my other one came out. At 11pm I was at 8 cm and we did another dose of the Cytotek. At 3am, I was still 8 cm and Brennan wasn't moving any farther down. The doctor did a quick exam and also discovered that Brennan, like his big sister, was face up instead of down-- which can complicate things.

I was given two options at this point. One, I could have one more dose of Cytotek to see if it would get me into labor. If it didn't within 4 hours, we'd have a c-section. Two, I could just opt for the c-section now. Given my tired mental state, physical state, etc., I opted for the c-section. We knew we had tried everything, my body just wouldn't go into labor. Which is pretty much what happened with Cate until she decided to cooperate at the last minute. My doctor thought this was a good idea too given that I was low on energy and even if we got to the point of pushing, wasn't sure how much energy I'd even have to push.

So off we went to the operating room and at 4:13am, Brennan Michael arrived.
He had great Apgar scores (a 9 and a 9) and used those lungs of his to cry for a good ten minutes after birth. While being stitched up, I had to be "knocked out" a bit to help with some issues I was having, but I got to see Brennan before hand and when I woke up, he was placed in my arms. Later that day, so many family and friends came by to meet him. Cate handled everything like a champ and loves her little brother. She was proud to give him his present at the hospital. I love the way her "handwriting"/tracing looks. Honestly, the recovery from the c-section has been easier than the recovery I had with Cate (yes, it really was that bad with her). I'm totally in love with the new man in my life. We got to come home on the morning of the 26th and Santa came that afternoon while Cate took a walk with my dad (more on that in a later post). Brennan's going home outfit was the same as Cate's, only with brown and tan dots as opposed to pink ones.

I am so proud of both of my kiddos. Eric helped me commemorate becoming a mama of 2 with this bracelet:
He is the most thoughtful hubby in the world! And he was awesome throughout the whole labor, operation, recovery process.

So now that we're home, my adventure of being a stay-at-home-mom for the next 8 months begins. I kind of cheated today since Cate is at her grandparents and it's Eric's first day back to work. But the one-on-one time with Little B has been great (and so has the sleep). Brennan is a rockstar at breastfeeding and sleeps pretty well at night too. He's a little confused on his days and nights, but we're not exhausted. And if there's a silver lining to the whole c-section thing, it means I get two more weeks of paid leave at work before my paychecks stop coming. But the best thing is just being at home with my family, having Brennan right where he belongs.

~Melody :-)

*Someone I know asked me if I'd do the whole induction thing again if I knew it would end in a c-section. I thought this a rude question at first, but given the ask-er, it wasn't too surprising. And in response, yes we would. Because of some issues I had after delivering Cate, we knew we'd be induced sometime between 39 weeks and my due date unless I went into labor. Could I have waited until due date? Yes. The only "convenience" factor of our induction was that we would possibly be out for Christmas, but there was no guarantee. Anyway, it all could've ended up the same, even on the 27th (my original due date).

The Best Christmas Present Ever!

After 21 hours of labor, failure to progress, and a c-section, Brennan Michael Riggs arrived at 4:13am on 12/23. He's 7 pounds even and 20 inches long.

Daddy couldn't be prouder!

Big sister Cate is in love with him (she kissed him and said "I love you, Brennan" without any prompting when she first met him).

And Mommy is happy to be a family of four.

A slightly more specific birth story to come later. For now, we're taking it easy and resting up for discharge this weekend. We might be home for Christmas. But I'm completely content and at peace if we're not. We've decided that Santa Claus comes the night mommy gets home. Thankfully Cate is young enough she won't know the difference.

Merry Christmas!

~Melody :-)

Happy 1 Week Cate!

Most of you already know...and I've said it before...that I'm an impatient person at times. Once Cate was considered full term, I wanted her here. I was jealous and upset when my due date passed and still no Cate while it seemed like every other pregnant woman around me was giving birth.

This time last week I was in my impatient mode. I had been at the hospital for almost 24 hours, had had my water broken 8 hours earlier, had been on pitocin (the labor inducing drug for 6 and a half hours), and had had an epidural 3 hours earlier...and was still only 3 cm dilated. The doctor upped my dosage of pitocin to the maximum amount and had said we'd be discussing a c-section if I didn't begin making progress. I was so frustrated and tired, I took a nap. When I woke up 2 hours later, I was at 9 centimeters and time just seemed to speed up from there. The nurse began preparing the room for delivery and before I knew it, it was time to push. And then Cate was here. The picture above is one of the first pictures we took of Cate. Eric took it on his cell phone to send to anxious family members in the waiting room and anxious friends across the country.

Now that she's here, I just want time to slow down (except for the recovery part...I'd be happy to get it over with quickly but am willing to be patient and do the things I need to do in order to recover...I know it will be a weeks-long process). I can't believe my baby girl is already a week old! Where did the last week go? I know time is going to fly and the words of Kenny Chesney's song, "Don't Blink" couldn't be truer right now. Eric and I are soaking in every little moment with her.

While Cate can't really control smiles yet, every once in a while, her facial muscles cooperate and she does smile. I tried to capture one of these smiles today (though it was kind of hard to hold her and the camera).
And in the spirit of soaking up every minute, Eric took a little video of Cate with the hiccups. The TV only seems loud...I promise it really wasn't. Her little hiccups are adorable though. :-)

Labor of Love

We'll admit that we weren't all that optimistic as we headed to the doctor AGAIN on Monday afternoon. We knew that there was a chance they would schedule an induction, but who knew when that would really be. After an ultrasound though, the doctor determined that Melody's fluid level was too low and they told us to go get our bags and head to the hospital for an induction.

The first 12 hours were spent "getting ready" for the induction since Mel was still only at 1 centimeter. At 7:30 am Tuesday morning, the doctor broke her water. The progress was slow going at first, but after the epidural and an afternoon nap, Melody was at 9 centimeters by 5 pm and ready to push around 7:30. She pushed for a little over an hour and with a little extra help from the doctor (since Cate was looking up when she should have been looking down), our beautiful baby girl was born. She weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Below is a picture of her getting checked out by the nurses right after she was born.



And here is a picture of her safe in Daddy's arms. Of course the doctor and the nurses let Mel hold her first, but it was a rough delivery, so while they stitched mom up, Daddy and daughter got to bond for a little bit.
We moved up to the recovery room around 11:30 that night (after Cate's grandparents, great-grandmothers, and aunt Kristin and great Uncle Ed got to meet her). We were all exhausted, Cate included.

We've taken a lot of pictures of Cate already and can't seem to get enough of her. This is one of our favorite pictures, captured by Eric in a moment when Cate was surprised.

After being in the hospital since Monday evening, we were discharged yesterday around 3:00. Here is a picture of Cate in her hat and sweater, all ready to go home.

We love our little girl and God has truly blessed us with a miracle. She was worth the wait, even the extra 9 days. We are excited to be at home with her (although our first night was a little rough...but we're getting there). We appreciate all of your prayers and support throughout this entire pregnancy and hope that you'll continue to pray for us as we take on the awesome responsibility of raising Cate. We'll put up more pictures soon.

~Eric and Melody