Third pregnancy; third overdue baby. To say that I was ready to be done was the understatement of the year. The aches and pains, sleepless nights, and needing to run to the bathroom every 5 minutes were really getting old. Add in the winter of constant sickness, and I felt like I was barely hanging on by a thread. Dr. Bentley mercifully scheduled an induction date for me on Friday, April 5th - three days after my due date. I still hadn't had a single contraction at home. Apparently I make a very cozy house for my babies.
We had to arrive at the hospital by 6am, so my parents came up on Thursday night so they would be able to stay with the kids while we were in the hospital. Once we arrived, we began the admission process and they placed my IV and my first dose of Cytotec. Not much happened at first, so Dr Bentley placed a second dose a few hours later. I started having pretty regular contractions after that, though they were not overly strong or very uncomfortable. The kids (especially Nolan) were worried about me, so we decided to have them come and visit and see that Mom was doing fine. They were both very weirded out about my IV and were concerned with how much that must have hurt. Aside from that, I got a lot of sweet snuggles and hugs. Livi told me, "Mama, you're so brave and you can do anything." They both melt my heart.
Around 4pm, I was dilated to around 4 cm and the anesthesiologist who was on call had come to place an epidural in the woman laboring next door. Since he was there anyway, Dr. B agreed to let him place my epidural earlier than I thought, knowing my contractions were very regular and she could always add in Pitocin if things slowed down. I felt so lucky, almost like I was cheating, since my labor pains had barely begun. Dr B assured me that after Nolan's terrifying and difficult delivery, I had earned an easy one. The epidural took him a while to place - it was such a weird sensation. Normally when I've gotten them before, I've been in so much pain that I couldn't feel anything related to my back...just the mind-numbing contractions. This time, I felt a lot of pain and pressure and it took him four tries to get it placed centrally - it kept going down my right side. Even after all the repositioning, my right leg and foot became completely numb and I was unable to move or change positions without someone moving me.
By 6pm, I was dilated to 5cm, but the real progress happened around 7pm. I went from 6cm to 10cm in fifty minutes! By 8:00, I began pushing, with the help of one of the nurses holding my right foot in the stirrup because the deadened foot kept slipping and falling off. I felt no pain, just pressure, and was able to push strong and hard. Within twenty minutes, our little baby boy was born. The 10 seconds or so of waiting for that first cry feels like an eternity, but he was here - strong and healthy. The umbilical cord was loosely wrapped around his neck, but since it was not tight at all so it was not a problem. In fact, the umbilical was one of the longest Dr B had ever seen - you could practically jump rope with it! We took bets around the room to see how much he weighed. Mommy guessed 9lbs 3 oz, but was wrong! Simon Eric weighed in at 9 lbs 10 oz, measured 21 inches long, and had a head that was 14 3/4 inches, almost exactly the same size as his big brother, Nolan.
Our beautiful little boy reminded us so much of how Nolan looked when he was born. He had such a sweet little round face, dark blue eyes, and lots of dark hair. He had the same crinkled nose that Nolan had and just a perfect little mouth. His cry was really sweet - not angry, but very gentle, as if he were truly sad. He even pouted with his lower lip.
Saturday was a relaxed recovery day for us. We were so anxious to see our other kids and have them meet their new brother. They both did great, although they were a tad bit shy at first. I think they were very relieved to see that my IV was gone. (as if that was the most painful part...) Simon spent the day sleeping and recovering from his arrival, sleeping for 4-5 hour bursts, even though I offered to feed him every two hours! The grandmas and grandpas all visited, but the rest of the day was spent resting (and eating, since I was absolutely starving after not eating all day Friday!)
By the time Sunday came, we were more than ready to head home. After we both got a clean bill of health, we left the hospital to head home to our crazy crew. Mom had a delicious chicken dinner waiting for us, and it felt SO GOOD to be together.
Simon, we are so happy to have you here and we love you so very much! We can't wait to learn all about the marvelous person we know you are. Welcome home, sweetheart!
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