Saturday January 18th, 2014 "Estimated Due Date"
Obviously, no baby. Hadn't even lost my mucus plug yet. Was definitely starting to feel like I was going to be pregnant forever. I was so uncomfortable. Couldn't sleep or join in any physical activity with my kids because my previous 89 pound body was to its breaking point.
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| Very beginning..3 weeks 6 days. |
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| 40 weeks! |
I decided on this day I was going to try and make him come. I started doing laps up and down our stairs then my calves began to hurt so I quit after 3 laps. I got discouraged then mad and decided I'd try dancing with the Kinect. Me and Gracie broke it down to a couple songs then had a nice nap. Woke up, went to the bathroom to find I had started to lose my mucus plug! Excitement set in and so after church that night me and Chance decided to break it down (get your minds out of the gutter...we danced you fools!) some more.
Monday January 20th, 2014
Danced some more, lost some more of the mucus plug, nothing out of the ordinary. Every day when I got Gracie off the bus her bus monitor would say "Oh no, Mommy's still here." Yep, Mommy's still here, thanks lady. She really meant "Oh no, Mommy's not at the hospital yet" but she's Italian and I let it slide.
Tuesday January 21st, 2014
Figured since it looked like I might be pregnant for a little longer might as well detail the van and get the car seats reorganized. 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Thankfully a good friend brought over her exercising ball that night, so my back pain was relieved quite a bit.
Wednesday January 22nd, 2014 also known as MARCUS' BIRTHDAY!
4 days "over due" but trying to soak in each painful day of our
6am- I had to get Gracie up and ready for school. While she got ready, I sat on the exercising ball trying, if anything, to help engage the baby.
7:20am- got her on the bus and off to school then came back in the house to start getting ready for our 40 week OB appointment. Contractions were still there, but still nothing consistent.
9:30am- Arrived at my appointment and by then the contractions were 10 minutes apart and 30 seconds long. I still was unsure if I was in labor. With Gavin my contractions started out minutes apart and I knew forsure I was in labor the moment I felt the first few. The nurse asked me if I was having any pain and of course I let her in on what was going on. The week before we had discussed sweeping of the membranes as our last measures at this appointment to hopefully avoid induction. The doctor came in and from what I had told her she figured I was in early labor. I asked about the membranes and if it would help move things faster so we'd have a baby today but was afraid that if I wasn't in labor that it would make me more uncomfortable, possibly make contractions happen for a little while, stall out and then end up being induced anyways. Lifes about taking risks though, right? So while checking me, which I was at a 4 and 75% effaced, she sweeped the membranes and said " I'd like you to stay around base for a while [she was a new doctor who had gotten word about me previously not making it to the hospital and she wanted to be sure I made it this time]; go walk, get some breaskfast and see how you feel in a little while. It'll surprise me if I don't see you back in a few hours". She left the room and I told Chance that we weren't getting to far from the hospital. The contractions immediately got closer and a little bit stronger, but nothing actually painful. So we came back to the house, loaded the van with hospital bags and what not, pulled Gracie out of school, went to Subway and grabbed some lunch while being asked by many "no baby yet?" to which I replied "he'll be here today". I don't think people caught on that I was in labor. I mean, I didn't look it nor feel like I was. After we ate, we decided it best to take the kids to our friends just incase this was the real deal and things moved quickly like they did with Gavin. Contractions by now were 4 minutes apart lasting about 45 seconds. We dropped them off then I realized I forgot my camera at the house. Out of everything I could have forgotten, I forgot the most important thing. We had to go back home and get it. On our way back Chance looked at me and said "See, I feel like we're doing it right this time. You know, how you see on movies they're always running around getting last minute things taken care of like this before they rush to the hospital to have the baby?" I looked back at him disgusted saying "I feel like we're doing it wrong. I want to be home." We got to the house, grabbed the camera and I quickly used the bathroom where I discovered the "bloody show". I told Chance we might want to make our next stop the hospital, because you know me I wanted to go check the mail and all. Heading back to the hospital, Chance made sure to hit every bump and pot hole that he could when I had a contraction.
Dear Staff of Aviano Air Base Medical Center, Labor &
Delivery:
We are looking forward to sharing our upcoming birth with
you. We have created the following birth plan to help you understand our
preferences for our labor, birth, and postpartum. We fully understand that if a
medical emergency occurs, these guidelines will need adjustment, and we are
flexible, but it is our hope that you will assist us in making this the
experience we hope for.
Labor:
·
The freedom to walk, move, and change positions
as desired throughout labor/birth
·
Use of the shower as desired
·
Pain medication/anesthesia only at my request- --please
NO offers
·
Hep-lock ONLY for IV---no fluids or any other
medicines running unless an emergency occurs
·
Minimal cervical checks
·
Wireless belly monitors if available. If not
then only to be hooked up minimally.
Birth:
·
I want to choose the position in which I give
birth
·
No one to touch me while pushing---i.e no one
“stretching” me so that I won’t tear. Just catch the baby!
Postpartum:
·
Wait a few minutes for the cord to be cut
·
Following birth, I want immediate contact with
baby; baby placed on my chest, parents and baby left undisturbed for one hour
following birth
·
I plan to exclusively breastfeed and would like
to begin nursing shortly after birth
·
Any newborn procedures performed after first
hour
·
All baby exams done in the presence of the
parents
If for some reason a
life threatening emergency happens I give my husband complete authority over me,
to make decisions on my behalf if I am unable to.
Thank you so much for your kind and understanding care. Your
assistance in achieving our ideal birth is greatly appreciated.
The doctor checked me to see if any progress had been made since that morning and I was dilated to a 5, 75% effaced, and -2 stationed. I requested the wireless monitors because I assured them I would not be laid up, strapped to the bed. Twice they "accidently" almost put the wired ones on me but I made sure I got the wireless. Then they came in and inserted my hep-lock IV, which was incase an emergency was to arise and they needed to give me any medication, fluids, etc. About an hour later our photographer showed up. I walked around, sat on the exercising ball, chit-chatted, peed, ate ice chips and white donuts...you know just passing time while contracting.
The entire time I kept repeating "I feel like I'm cheating labor". It was seriously no pain stronger than my 4 year old (ahem 5 almost 6 now) could probably handle. I talked through almost every contraction. I didn't feel like the contractions were doing anything to my body and honestly I didn't think we were going to have a baby today. There was even a point where the nurse came in and said your contractions seemed to have spaced out...they're 6-7 minutes apart. I said "I know, I can tell." I mean don't get me wrong, I could tell they were progressively getting stronger because I began to start moaning through them, but they still weren't THAT bad.
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| The nurse repositioning the monitors to see if that's why my contractions weren't reading consistently. |
Our photographer even was worried we weren't going to have a baby anytime soon because she said by 6pm if nothing was happening she would have to head home (she has a toddler of her own). Bummer, but completely understandable. So around 4:15pm my sister called not knowing what was going on so I gave her the 411 (I had text her but forgot she didn't have internet to receive the text). We talked for about 15 minutes and then I had a pretty strong contraction so I let Chance end the conversation. Right after that contraction, I had another. Chance and the photographer had started to shut the blinds in the room because the sun was going down and you're not allowed to have them open while giving birth incase there was a peeping tom out there. And as Chance had his back to me not paying a bit of attention, really focused in on shutting the blinds, I said "Something's about to happen. I just had two contractions back to back and that doesn't happen unless something's about to happen". No sooner than I finished my sentence, my water broke (this was roughly about 4:35pm).
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| Talking to sissy. |
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| First serious contraction. |
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| Water broke. |
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| Things just got real. |
So with a louder voice I said, "uh my water just broke". He immediately walked out in the hallway and said "her water just broke" because we know how quick Gavin came after my water broke. You'd have thought someone was giving away one hundred dollar bills with as fast as they got in my room and prepped. But still, I sat on the bed, in absolutely no pain wondering where this baby was. I wondered, did my water break and I'm not fully dilated? This was completely different. Because I wasn't feeling the need to push yet, the doctor and some of the nurses decided to leave the room. The thing is I was feeling the need to push but didn't feel like I could unless I was on the toilet. The nurse in there didn't think it was a good idea but I got my way and went and sat on the toilet. I did actually have to pee but then the pressure got worse.
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| The nurses standing around waiting... |
So I made my way back to the bed where my body finally decided it was go time. With my belly facing the back of the bed and my knees planted in the crease, kind of like squatting, I began to push. Now please don't think I was as happy here as you seen in the pictures I posted on Facebook or as pain free as I've been gloating about...because I was not. Pain was horrendous and I kept saying I couldn't do it. I started to cry because I didn't want to do it. And there was a difference in pushing this time...with Gavin my contractions were constant so there was never a moment I wasn't pushing after I started. Here, I had to work with my contractions. They weren't constant. They came and then went away for a minute then came back. At one point, I remember it feeling like his head was half way out then all of a sudden my contraction left me high and dry and I couldn't push without it. I don't think I've ever wished so badly to have another contraction.
Finally that contraction came and with a few more big pushes and me wishing they would just pull him out (but they didn't), Marcus Avery Ryan was born at 5:25pm. As the doctor, nurses, and Chance were gawking at him I face planted into the back of the bed feeling so relieved. He made no sound, just like Gavin (I'm pretty sure the med-free birth contributed to this because Jayden and Gracie came out screaming...or maybe it was because I was induced with them and they weren't ready to come out and the last two boys came on their own...). He just looked around taking everything in. I felt horrible because I didn't care to hold him right that second. They kept saying "just look down, you can see him!" or "if you'll turn over you can hold him" but I just wanted to breathe for a moment.
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| The awesome doctor who spent Marcus' first few mintues with him. He made a face at her and she mimicked it. |
Finally after a few minutes, my 8 pound 8.1 ounce baby was passed to me and again my heart grew.
Following in big brothers footsteps, before even being handed to me he had pooped in the towel. Matter of fact, there was meconium in the bag of water. Seeing as he hadn't been getting the proper nutrients in utero (scarasm), he instantly took to the boob and was a pro-nurser from the get go (I think those 4 extra days benefitted him).
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| Yep, I was hungry minutes after birth. |
Chance had planned to go get the kids and bring them up to see the baby then go home with them, leaving me and the baby at the hosptial. I was okay with this plan except I was still contracting really bad and in a lot of pain. Not to mention the hormones exiting my body turned me into a bawl bag. So we decided the kids would meet him tomorrow and we would soak up every second for now. We got to our new room and the night went smooth. Marcus slept in the plastic bin beside me and only woke a few times. The next morning after breakfast and showering, Chance ran home to let the animals out and get cleaned up then went and got the kids. I hear them coming from down the hall and after Gracie seen him she went to the bathroom sniffling. I asked her what was wrong, and she said "I'm just so happy he's finally here!" Best.sister.ever! I asked her if she wanted to hold him and instantly she jumped in the bed. Gavin on the other hand just kept pointing to him saying "baby" but he didn't want anything to really do with him or me. He was angry with me. I had someone else in my arms. I barely got a kiss bye when they left.
That night it was just me and Marcus, even though I was told I would be going home with my family. They really had no reason to keep me. I had a non-medicated, natural birth with no complications. What was the deal? Oh yeah, remember that baby boom? They were over their heads with paper work and hadn't got to mine yet. Even the next day, they didn't release me until after dark around 6pm.
Finally our family was
Fast forward one year and three months...
- Marcus is one year old.
- He was exclusively breastfed until 6 months and still breastfed until 13 months.
- He had all of his front teeth by 10 months and has all of his besides the top two canines now.
- He started walking a few days after his first birthday and unfortunately daddy wasn't there to see.
- His first word was da-da and didn't say ma-ma until he was 11 months.
- As I mentioned above, he wasn't born crying and he didn't cry for his first 24 hours of life, not even when the doctors were messing with him. But now, he loves to scream and roar at you!
- He literally was happy and quite all the time...except for at night when he was teething.
- His first two-three months of life he wouldn't sleep unless he was on mine or Chance's chest in the recliner on the couch. Then he started rolling and I was sleeping good although he was sleeping all night, so we transitioned him into the rock n play then into his own crib at 6 months where he's been since.
- He rolled over from his belly to back right before he turned one month old.
- He began crawling around 9 months.
- He would not eat baby food. Every blue moon maybe sweet potatoes but switched solely to table food by 8 months.
- For the first few weeks of life, he would hum while he was asleep.
- He traveled to the states on his first birthday.
- He's never taken a bottle. Not even with breastmilk. He went straight from the boob to a hard top sippy.
- He got pneumonia while in the states after we had been snowed in for 5 days.
- He loves to climb on anything. Dare devil to the extreme.
- He knows sign language. Thank you, eat, milk, all done, please, and more.
- He loves to sing "Let it go" "Hotdog, hotdog, hot diggity dog" VeggieTales theme song, and Baby Signing Time theme song.
- VeggieTales, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Baby Signing Time are his favorite things to watch.
- He loves to be outside.
- He has stranger danger meaning he acts like he will run from us but once he notices we're not following, he'll come back.
- He can say "da-dou" (thank you); 1, 2, 3 GO!
- He's our only daddys boy so far.
- He loves to be sung to to sleep, "Jesus loves me" in particular.
- He loves to worship in church. He even lifts his little arm.
You are such a blessing and perfect addition to our family. I didn't know how it was going to work being out numbered kids to parents...but not for one moment have we ever regretted it. Matter of fact, we've chosen to have more if God sees fit. You strengthened our faith in God when he healed you in my womb. You are a delight to watch. If that's all the rest of my life consisted of, that would be okay. You make me laugh even when I don't want to. Your personality is contagious and addicting. Raising you is so tiring, but I'd never trade one single cent to miss a moment. I love to watch your little mind work. You are most definitely a problem solver. I pray you grow up a strong and mighty man pursuing after God. He has an amazing plan for you. We love you so very much!
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| I wanted a decent picture with all of us looking and Jayden's picture in it. With 3 kids that's nearly impossible. So, I took the one image our photographer got of us all looking and edited it myself to make it look like Gavin was holding the picture. Hopefully you wouldn't have been able to tell if I hadn't told you! |
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| This is the original. |
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| He, obviously, is not a fan of cake. |
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| Birthday party! |
Birth and Newborn Photography done by Wibbly Wobbly Photography
One year family photos and smash cake session done by Randi Underwood Photography
Birthday party pictures done by myself.
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