The Nitty Gritty

So, as promised, I wanted to give a detailed account of the day Carson was born so it can forever be in my memory book.  If I've learned anything the past month as a mother of two it's that my brain is pretty much mush these days so if I want to remember anything, I better write it down!  (Not to say that I'd forget my son's birth or the sheer joy I felt on that day, but the details....that's another story.)

A little about the pregnancy:

I've heard people say that you start showing much faster with the second child and, in my case, that certainly was true!  I feel like I started wearing maternity clothes right off the bat out of necessity rather than excitement (with Griffin I think I went out and bought something from the Liz Lang section at Target immediately just because I  could finally buy those cute clothes and have a reason for it.)  Not only did I get a "bump" much faster this time around, that bump just kept growing and growing and growing.....or so it felt.  I seriously felt like the size of a small house by the end of my pregnancy.  Other than my size, this pregnancy was pretty similar to my first.  No morning sickness, no real problems or scares (thank you Lord!) and didn't even get the zombie-like lack of energy in the first trimester this time around.  I did, however, start having trouble sleeping towards the end there.  I'll also mention that I had quite the love affair with Fruit Loops cereal during this pregnancy.  Now, they have always been a favorite, but I was a little worried that Carson was going to come out with a slight resemblance to Toucan Sam. 

Anywho...I kept telling my midwife that I thought I was going to deliver early this time around.  I really felt like that baby was going to come at any moment.  The entire last month I went to bed thinking that this could be the night!  haha.  So wrong I guess.  But since I kept telling her this, and since I delivered fairly quickly the first time around, she suggested that we go ahead and schedule an induction.  This way we'd be able to arrange for someone to keep Griffin and not have to worry about that.  I was more than happy to agree to this, so we decided to induce at 39 weeks.  Yay!  We scheduled the induction for April 25th.  I went in for a check the day before and all systems were a go for the next day!  I was suppose to go home and wait for the hospital to call me and tell me when to come in. 

Delivery Day:

I had very little faith that the hospital would call (with Griffin I ended up calling them because I was so antsy) but I made sure my cell phone was on ring and right by my bed that night.  Sure enough I got a call at 5:38 that morning!  The system actually worked and they wanted us there to check in at 8.  We showered, got dressed, finished packing a few last minute things, went in and gave our sweet G man a kiss and headed out the door!  (I should mention that Boo and Papa were staying with us and were in charge of Griffin for a few days.  So nice not having to worry about him and knowing that between all of his grandparents, he would get plenty of love while Chad and I were preoccupied.)

Okay, so the next few hours looked something like this:

• 8:15am - we arrived at the hospital for check in (a little late due to morning traffic). We got there in plenty of time to fill out a few forms and wait around for a good while!
• 9:15am - we got into the delivery room and settled in for the long haul.  We had no idea what to expect as far as how long we would be there or what the day would look like.  I just know we were both antsy to get the show on the road and meet our little man!  Once in the room I changed into my gown, answered a million questions so the nurses could fill out the paper work, got hooked up to all kinds of machines that would monitor me, the baby and pump all kinds of fluids into my body for the next few hours.  I had to have 2 bags full of Penicillin because I tested positive for Strep B...not harmful to me or Carson as long as I had this pumping through my veins!  Luckily I had my iPad with me and was content to kill time while communicating with the outside world through Email and Facebook.
• ~12:00pm - somewhere around noon my midwife came in and broke my water (SUCH a strange and uncomfortable sensation...am I peeing in the sheets or is that my water breaking?)  After she did that I was hooked up to Potocin - the magic meds that induce labor.  According to the machines I was already having contraction prior to this, but I couldn't feel a thing.  The Potocin would really get things going though and after an hour or so I was starting to feel those contractions, but the pain was still very manageable.
• 1:00pm - my mom and dad came to the room and brought a delicious Chick-fil-a lunch for themselves and Chad.  The heavenly aroma filled the room and I sat and watched them enjoy their lunch as I enjoyed some ice chips.  Meanwhile, the contractions are getting stronger and stronger so I decide to go ahead and ask for my epidural before the pain becomes too bad (lesson learned from last time).
• 2:00pm - Mom and dad went to the waiting room and the weird but oh-so-wonderful anesthesiologist came in and gave me a gigantic shot in my back that would bring me so much comfort!  After the shot Chad and I decided to rest as much as possible for the next few hours.  We turned the lights down low, Chad laid down on his bench, I got comfy in bed and we watched some "Friends" DVD's.  I think we had extra good nurse/midwife care those next couple hours because they wanted to come in and watch Friends with us.  Everyone seemed to linger when they came in to check on us.  haha.
• 2:30ish - I think my midwife (Barbara Snuggs) came in around this time and checked me.  She said I was about 4cm.  She didn't want to check me very often because of the Strep B, so I wasn't sure when our next update would be.
• 4:20pm - Barbara comes in again to check my progress.  She said sometime about my cervix being completely thinned (which means nothing to me) and then proceeded to tell a rather lengthy story about how a DIY hardwood floor project she was doing at her house.  While she was telling the story she was pulling a little table over to the bed and folding it out.  When she was FINALLY done with her story I asked her how many centimeters I was dilated and she said, "Oh girl, you're 10.  We're getting ready to push!"................SAY WHAT?!?!  Chad and I looked at each other, totally shocked and excited.  I called my mom in the waiting room to give her a heads up.  I think Chad called his mom as well (they were dropping G off at our friends Cliff and Erica's house and heading to the hospital).  A few ladies came in with all of the goodies needed to take care of Carson once he was out, the delivery nurse came in and grabbed one leg while Chad grabbed the other and we started to push. 
• 4:35pm - ....and then we stopped pushing because Carson was HERE!  Fastest delivery ever!  I was seriously in shock.  I couldn't feel a thing which was quite strange.  Since I had just gotten the epidural a couple hours earlier, the drugs were still in full force.  When Barbara told me to push I just made a face and a sound and pretended to push, not knowing if it was doing any good because I was literally numb.  Guess the sound and the face worked because our sweet little Carson just made his way out.  Hallelujah!

The next few hours (heck, the next few days and weeks) were a blur.  Our delivery room was soon filled with family, all anxious to see the new arrival.  We had fun seeing everyone pass him around, waiting for their chance to hold him.  We watched him get his first bath and go through routine tests and check...all to discover that we had been blessed with a perfect, healthy baby boy. 

Once the visitors headed home for the evening we waited in the delivery room for quite some time before we were able to get to our other room (can't remember what those rooms are called to save my life right now...I know they have a name...post delivery rooms?) Anyways, there was a shortage of those rooms at the baby factory and we were getting tired and very anxious to get up there and get settled in for the next 2 days. I think we finally made it up there around 9:30pm or so. Phew, once the excitement of the day had worn off Chad and I realized just how exhausted we were!

The next day we were so excited for Griffin to come to the hospital to meet his baby brother!  We weren't sure how it would go and didn't want to put too much pressure on Griffin, so Chad's parents brought him to the hospital, but then gave us some special time as a family of four to introduce the boys.  I wish I could say it was a sweet, sentimental moment but it pretty much consisted of G being really excited to sit on the hospital bed and play with the buttons.  Haha!  He was a little interested in Carson, gave him the obligatory kiss and attempted to sit still for .5 seconds to "hold" his brother but none of that lasted very long. I was quickly reminded that G is just a spunky, energetic 2 year old boy who doesn't really have the desire to be "mommy's little helper"....and we are totally fine with that!

By the time the 2nd day rolled around we were definitely ready to check out of the hospital and get home to resume our "normal" life.  Or to find out what our new normal was going to look like.....still not sure we know the answer to that yet, but we're getting there!

All in all, the delivery was better than I could have ever imagined.  Carson made it easy on us and we are hoping that he will continue to be an easy going kid.  So far he seems to be and we are so thankful for that.  He is fitting in seamlessly and we are really getting use to being a family of four.  We are so blessed!