It has taken me 3 weeks to blog about our dear boy's birth but better late than never.
During the last week of school I could feel Matthew was on his way. I was hoping to make it to the end of the school year, but Matthew had other plans. I'm glad because summer came a few days early for me!
On Tuesday, June 7th I managed to work my way into the McKitrick Teachers vs 5th grade All-Stars kickball game. I was told I was not allowed to play, so we determined 3rd base coach would be my spot. And I did coach 3rd base, but somehow found my way into short-stop/shallow left field. Of course I didn't run... I just stood there and all the balls that came to me I caught. No harm, no foul. I didn't even kick really, except the deep bomb in the bottom of the last inning. I had a pinch runner. For some reason, all the teachers and staff felt that my involvement in the game would trigger labor. Coincidentally, I did go into labor that day, but certainly not because of anything physically taxing in that game.... that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
After school I met with my sub for next year and finished taking down my room and readying things for summer... just in case I didn't make it back in to school. I was tired at the end of the day, and started having mild contractions... I think I told Janice I didn't feel right. I decided to take our class pet, Vinny the Guinea Pig, home just in case and he needed a trip to the vet to take care of a cyst before he headed to his summer vacation home. So already feeling hot, dirty, tired, and sore from a long day it was off to the vet. On my way there my pregnancy brain realized I didn't have an appointment but thought I'd pop in anyway. I rubbed my pregger belly and told them of my immediate need to make sure Vinny was cared for today. They graciously decided to squeeze me in, but it took 2 hours to find time in between other patients. So while I waited at the vet until 6:30 I started having contractions. I was so exhausted I didn't bother timing them, in truth I didn't know if they were the real deal.
When I finally headed home all I could think of was getting a nice shower and laying down on the couch... and maybe a check on the timing of the contractions. I walked in the door to the smell of Maggie's diarrhea, a byproduct of the bone Alex saved and fed her after cooking Boston Butt at the firestation. My gigantic belly and my heightened sense of smell made cleaning up her mess 1 of 2 nearly impossible. I left the mess in Alex's bathroom for him to clean up. I took a shower, finally feeling good, and came downstairs to find Maggie's ass had exploded once again. I thew her out of the house, cleaned it up again, and finally sat down at 8:00 after a long day.
I started timing my contractions and they were about 11 minutes apart, then 7 minutes, then 9 minutes, then 10. The intensity was to the point I had to concentrate on my breathing to get through them, but I still wasn't convinced these were the real thing. Alex got home from his job around 10:30 and we went to bed at 11:00 because I told Alex I needed to sleep for work in the morning, to which he said I was nuts. I honestly thought that I was just tired and exhausted and if I went to sleep all would return to normal in the morning. We slept for a while, contractions waking me about every 20 minutes, then at 1:00 I woke with strong contractions 4 minutes apart. These contractions were more intense and were coming really close together, increasing to 3 and 2.5 minutes, then back to 4 minutes. We called the OB around 2:00 but through an issue with her page, she took almost 45 minutes to call back. When we finally spoke to the dr. she told me what I described sounded like real contractions and I could come in or wait... whatever I was comfortable with. Around 3:15 Alex and I headed to the hospital. Of course I only had 2 contractions on the way there, and I was sure I would get there and they would laugh at my rookie mom self and tell me to go home.
They admitted me at 4 cm and told me I was definitely in labor and would get to stay! By 5:30 I was given my epidural so I was about 12 hours into labor contraction-wise. They told us to get some sleep and rest up because we would need it. Alex's heeded their advice... I was all over my phone texting everyone I knew. My mom left what was to be her last day of work before she retired, too excited to do any work, and I was so happy to welcome her into the labor and delivery room. My labor didn't progress much past 5 cm so they gave me pitocin to increase the strength of the contractions.
All smiles in between contractions
Around 10:30 I started having pressure, which eventually became pain. I was feeling contractions, which the nurses and anesthesiologist told me I could fix with a push of a pain relief button. They added some extra meds and said I'd feel better in 20 minutes. 20 min later I felt worse, so they gave me new meds, telling me I'd feel better in 20 minutes. This 20 minute cycle continued for 2 hours and I was in intense pain, crying and balling up during each contraction. The pitocin they gave me to intensify the contractions worked and I felt everything. I quickly moved from 6 to 9 cm, at which time they decided to redo the epidural. The catheter had come out of the epidural space so all the meds in me were not doing their job. Once I had my second epidural I was feeling good, only pressure of contractions but no pain. I finally slept and was at 10 cm for an hour and a half while we waited for our baby to work his way through my pelvis. I pushed for 20 minutes, some of the greatest anticipation moments of my life. At 2:36 on Wednesday, June 8th, the most precious thing I have ever seen was placed on my chest. Matthew Alexander Moran was born, weighing 6lb 7oz and measuring 19.5 inches. He had a top-notch set of lungs and great color.
There are no words to describe the next hour. So many people came and went, checking on and cleaning Matthew, working on me, our new family adjusting to all the emotions and beautiful sights of our new baby.
The next two days were tiring, but great. Our hospital stay was as good as it could be... we ate like we hadn't had food in weeks, and every time I thought I'd get a minute to myself someone would come in needing something. Breastfeeding was underway, and Matthew was already quite the snuggler. We came home on Friday and our home is forever changed!
Matthew is over 6 weeks old now and he is changing so fast. He spends longer stretches of the day awake and looks all around at the things in the room. He coos a little and is starting to anticipate routines. He interacts more with the people around him. He is becoming strong and can hold his head pretty well, even sits in a Bumbo. Last night he slept in his longest stretches, only waking me once at 2:30 and then slept until 7:30. It was great and then he had a nice day today because he was better rested. He still has some cranky times, like when he is gassy and trying to poop, but hopefully the crying has peaked and he is on his way to being a more comfortable and content baby. We have been able to get out of the house a few times, which he does pretty well with. We have been to Frisbee twice, a couple playdates, and over to friends' houses. The picture below is Matthew looking at his favorite spot on the wall. A lamp casts a shadow that he will stare at for quite a while... very fascinating!
