He's here! Carson Ray Martel made his appearance New Year's Eve day.
I had been having contractions all week with nothing too exciting happening. I would have Ray check me often, but there really wasn't anything going on down there. On the 30th, I was having some big contractions which put me dilated to a 2. So we took Mady over to my parents house and packed an overnight bag just in case. Here's a picture of me that day:
Around 10:00pm, my contractions started becoming more intense. I was super excited! By 1 in the morning, I had Ray check me again. I was dilated to a 4. By 2am, I thought that maybe I should get some sleep so I wouldn't be so tired trying to get through labor. I thought about waking up Ray to make sure it was ok to take some pain killers, but I didn't. I wish I had because I completely stopped my labor.
I woke up at 9am totally bummed because my contractions were gone and I was still dilated to a 4. So I went out and did some curb walking then came back and did some Just Dance on the Kinect. It worked! At 10am my contractions started again.
Around 11am my water broke. I was determined to do most of my labor at home so I wouldn't be talked into having an epidural again. I really wanted to go natural. I wasn't against an epidural - I would get one if I really couldn't handle the pain. But I hated my epidural with Mady so I really wanted to try without. So I hopped in my tub to help with the contractions. Ray was pretty worried and begged me to get in the car to the hospital. We argued for a good 15 minutes before I complied.
I was certain I wasn't more than 6 cm dilated. With Mady my water broke when I was dilated at a 3. We went to the hospital at 3pm and then I didn't have her until just before 9pm. So I was expecting this labor to follow suit. Boy, was I wrong. I'm super glad I gave into to Ray. Otherwise, we would have had our little guy at home.
We got to the hospital around 11:50. The contractions were pretty painful but I was still able to get through them ok. They got me dressed and on the table before they checked me. When they did, I was at a 9! They hurried and got an IV in me and called the doctor. About 10 minutes later, the doctor told me I could start pushing.
He kept on saying that my body would tell me when to start pushing. However, I sure didn't feel like I needed to but he had me anyways. I remember pushing hurt and I would rather just deal with the pains of the contractions than to push.
There was a moment when it hurt so freakin bad, I kept saying I can't do this, I can't. I even tried closing my legs - more or less thinking I could just keep that kid in there. At that moment, I told Ray I was stupid for not wanting an epidural. But the doctor said he was stuck on my pelvic bone and that's why it was hurting so bad. I needed to push really hard to get him around it.
I pushed three more times really hard - screaming at the top of my lungs. When all the sudden, there was no more pain, no more pressure. And I heard my little boy cry. I looked at Ray and saw so many emotions in his eyes as he looked back at me. Amazement, joy, relief, pride, and love.
Exhaustion and relief overcame me and all I wanted was to just hold my little boy and go to sleep. I couldn't believe I had gone through that without medicine. I was beyond grateful that he came as fast as he did. There was no way I could have gotten through that if I had to feel that pain for a long time. When Doctor Judy held him up he exclaimed, "Wow! He's a lot bigger than I thought he would be!" We were all expecting a 5-6lbs baby due to the 3 weeks when he didn't grow. Can you imagine how big he would have been if he had grown all that time, not to mention if I had gone all the way to my due date?? YIKES!
They cleaned him off a little bit, sucked out some goop, and weighed him. Then finally they gave him to me. I felt such a surge of accomplishment as I looked at my precious little boy. I had done it. And he was ok! After all that scariness of him not growing, he came out at a healthy 7lbs 2oz. He was 18 inches long and was born at 12:35pm on the dot.
Ray and I sat there looking at our precious little son. I looked at Ray and said, "Well, what should we name him?" "Um, Carson?" "Yeah, it seems to fit." "Ok, Carson it is." Carson was the name Mady had picked from the start - when we first found out he was a boy. It was always "My Baby Brother Carson". Ray and I had a few names from the start - but those slowly drifted off the list and we didn't like them anymore. So we didn't have any names - I don't think we had really thought about it near the end. I know I sure didn't. But Carson sounded just right.
About 20 minutes after I had him, my family walked into my room. We had texted my parents and Ray's on our way to the hospital. I guess they were expecting it to take longer - just like it did for Mady. Cause they were super surprised to see that he was already out.
Mady was so excited to see us! She was really worried about me being in the bed with IVs hooked up to me. She told me she had a bad night because she missed me so much. She was really excited to see Carson. Although, I think it took her awhile to understand he was not in my tummy anymore.
The nurses came in after everyone had a chance to hold him saying they needed to take him to do his assessment and that while they did, they would move us into my recovery room. My family went out while Ray and I got all ready. I loved that I was able to get up on my own, walk around, go to the bathroom, and just move! I didn't get that with Mady. It was so nice.
After we were settled, the nurses brought him back to me and I was able to feed him. He latched on great. Once Ray and I were alone, we went on a walk around the hospital. I loved being able to get around after labor, instead of being confined to my bed. As we walked, everyone pretty much knew Ray and wanted to see our new addition. Everyone kept on saying, "Oh how cute!" And I just remember looking at them wanting to say, "You know, its ok to say he's not cute. He's quite ugly, actually." I hate when people say that. I know the ideas of babies is cute. But I give birth to ugly children. It takes them a few days or weeks to actually start looking "cute". So when people tell me, "Oh how cute!" I just want to say, "No. No, he's not." I mean look at him - not cute.
Ray actually had to work that night. So we were debating whether or not he should. But I told him if we have to stay overnight, might as well get paid for it. And he was actually my nurse for the night, so he would be checking over me and everything. It also meant not being able to spend New Years with him.
However, my parents and Grandparents came to spend it with me. I was pretty upset with the dinner the hospital gave me - which was tomato soup. Who does that? Who gives a woman who just popped out a kid soup? I NEEDED something hearty! So I asked my Mom to bring something for me. They brought me Papa Murphy's Pizza. Oh it was SOOOO good!
We played a game of hand and foot and talked for a bit. Then they left. Ray came in and took Carson so I was able to take a shower. Another perk of not having an epidural - oh it felt sooo good! I took Carson and tried to get some sleep. Carson, however, had other ideas.
By 2am, I had hardly gotten any sleep. Ray was my nurse for the night, coming and checking up on me. At 2 am, he came in to check up on me again. I had hardly gotten any sleep, which Ray could tell. So he took Carson when he left. He came back in around 5 for him to feed. I hadn't gotten enough sleep, mostly because hospital are so loud.
By 8:00am, Ray's shift was over and he came to my room and hopped in bed with me. About an hour later, my doctor came in. I asked if I could go home. Ray and I were so exhausted. It pays to have a husband as a Nurse because he said yes as long as Ray kept an eye on things. So after signing everything, we were out of there by 9:30am.
We came home to my Mom and my sister's cleaning my house. They took Carson and let us get some more sleep. It was so nice having my family close by to help. Hopefully we'll get to see Ray's family soon and introduce the newest member of our family.
