Feel free to skip this post if you like. It will be long. I wanted to write up the details of Spencer's delivery and this is as good a place as any to save it, and who knows, maybe some people will be interested.
Spencer's due date was January 22nd. They tell you all these things about what to look for to tell you the deliver is imminent. Dilating, effacing, the baby dropping, etc, etc. Looking at my pictures from 36 weeks to 38 weeks, he dropped somewhere in there. I carried him low all pregnancy, so I couldn't believe he could get any lower, but indeed he did! Aside from the backache it gave me, I'd say that was fantastic because I had so much less distance to push when he it was time for him to come. We had a bit of a crazy Christmas and New Years. I was 37 weeks pregnant January 1st, so full term, but two weeks before that we headed down to Las Vegas for Christmas and on to Phoenix for a family reunion over New Years. Bill and I were worried that he might decide to come in one of those places, but we needn't have bothered. He was perfectly content to wait. I'd been dilated to a 1 for a couple weeks and had progressively gotten more and more effaced, so I knew my body was ready, but he certainly came when he wanted to.
Tuesday the 19th I started having contractions late in the evening. I'd been practicing the Hypnobabies method for the last couple months, so was excited to get going using the techniques. They really helped me to relax and I was able to deal with the contractions just fine. They were pretty constant anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart for about 5 hours, but I decided I didn't want to go to the hospital at 2AM in case I got sent home for some reason. Instead I tried to get a bit of sleep, figuring since they had been so steady that they would continue and I'd have a baby in the morning. I honestly didn't think I'd be able to sleep. Turns out I could and the contractions totally petered out. I was so disappointed! They definitely didn't feel good, and now I'd had a taste of what they were like and wasn't nearly as excited to have him!
Fast forward two days. Nothing happened in between except for making and eating super hot yellow curry Wednesday night that didn't have any effect at all. Thursday night came and I had the same curry and headed out to my Young Women's activity, going bowling at BYU. About the time I arrived, 7PM or so, I started having contractions again. They weren't super close together, maybe every 5 minutes, so I just continued to go bowling. I actually got a pretty good score for me, 112 or something like that. :) Apparently labor is good luck for bowling. I came home and called my mom just to let her know things might get started again and we might be calling her in the middle of the night. The contractions got a little closer together and harder at around 9:30PM and I started somewhat timing them, or at least consciously thinking about them. Timing contractions can be somewhat pointless I feel, since they can go on for quite awhile without anything actually changing. My mom told me that at some point they would ramp up and I would just know it was time to go to the hospital. That time came about 12:30PM. I had probably 5-10 contractions right in a row only a minute apart. I started shaking all over even though I wasn't cold. What a weird sensation.
Bill and I headed out to the hospital and they put us in a room with monitors on. They wanted to see if I would dilate more, so they observed me for an hour. I was at a 2 when I came in, and hadn't changed after an hour, but they were nice enough to let me stay awhile longer. After close to 2 hours, they checked me again. I had just gone to the bathroom, and right after that had the same thing happen where I had a bunch of contractions in a row and started shaking. When they checked me I was at a 3, so they admitted me. It was about 2:30 or 3AM. We got put in this super nice room. Can I just give a shout out to Orem Community Hospital. What a great place to deliver a baby! They are so wonderful. I won't deliver anywhere else if I have more babies in Utah. Anyway, I got checked in and just kept contracting. Bill played some cards with me and I tried sitting on the birthing ball and then on the bed, then walking around. I wanted to have this baby natural if possible, but I was really just open to whatever happened. The contractions felt different from Tuesday. They were in my lower stomach and back like Tuesday, but I also had pain coming from underneath that was similar to gas pain. Sorry if that is too much information. Essentially they just hurt a heck of a lot more than Tuesday's and despite all my Hypnobabies tools, I was getting to the point where I couldn't relax anymore. I was dilating, but super slowly, and each time I dilated another centimeter it seemed like I had a bunch of those huge contractions and then shook all over. Not exactly fun. I finally decided at about 5:30AM that I was done with all this and asked for an epidural. I just couldn't imagine going another 9 hours with these level of contractions. I took a shower in the meantime and that helped, but dang, those contractions were heavy duty!
I got my epidural at 6:30AM and I don't think they could have done a better job. My legs felt tingly, but I could feel them and I could move myself around. I felt the contractions as pressure, but no pain. It was perfect. My midwife came in at that point and broke my water. She wanted to see if that would help me keep going even though I got the epidural, which could slow things down. We waited another hour, but I slowed down, so they started me on a bit of Pitocin. Things went at warp speed from there. We had decided not to call my parents in the middle of the night and instead called them when I got the epidural. They came over at 8 or 9AM and sat with me so Bill could sleep. He was so amazing all night long! He would apply counter pressure on my back during the contractions and I swear that's all that got me through at the end. Those contractions were crazy! So I talked to my parents and Bill slept while the Pitocin got in my system. I totally started shaking again. I'm sure it was because things sped up so fast. It was weird to be shaking but not feel the contractions, but know things must be happening. Sure enough, they checked me about an hour later and I was dilated to a 10! I had been at a 5, almost 6 when they gave me the epidural. My midwife had been floating around the whole time, though not actually in my room since I had gotten the epidural. She came in to supervise the pushing process. This is where it was amazing. The epidural was light enough that I still felt some pain pushing, but I was totally okay with that. I started pushing at 11:05AM and Spencer arrive a mere 15 minutes later at 11:21AM! It was fantastic! If I can have that kind of delivery for my future children, I will be in heaven. And knowing how long this one took and how it felt, I might go longer without an epidural or not do one at all. I was totally okay with it, but if labor was shorter, I might not feel a huge need.
I ended up with a second degree tear, so I had to get a bunch of stitches, but I didn't even feel it happen. They brought out a mirror so I could see what was going on while I pushed, and as weird as that sounds, it helped out SO much! It was so amazing to see him born. They plopped him on my stomach after wiping him off a bit and I got to say hello, then they took him over to get cleaned up a bit and my midwife took care of me. I have to give another shout out to using midwives for a delivery. The tone in my room was just fantastic the whole delivery. The nurses were wonderful, my midwife was wonderful, and it was just so personal and fun to be there. They made my delivery all the better because they were so supportive. After I was stitched up and Spencer was weighed and all that good stuff, they brought him back over and put him skin-to-skin on my chest. It was so amazing to finally get to meet him and just look at him while he laid there. He totally recognized my voice and calmed right down when I held him and talked to him. It was a precious moment and one I will not soon forget. Now I know what they mean when they talk about bonding with your child.
It took Bill and I a couple hours to decide what we were actually going to name him. Months ago we had narrowed to Spencer, Luke, or Lucas, but had no idea what he would really be named. Luke is a special name for us because Bill always had a friend growing up named Luke. Different boys, but always the same name. I've liked the name Spencer for years, though I don't have a particular reason. It's just a good name. Lucas was an extension of Luke that we kind of liked. We looked at our baby for a couple hours before finally deciding he was a Spencer. So Spencer William it is. Spencer because it fit him, and William after his dad.
Of course I think he's perfect in every way. He has Bill's cleft chin and mouth, my family's ears and shape of face, my toes and toenails, and who knows what else. We still can't decide what color his hair is. I think it's light brown for the moment, but when it falls out and comes back in I bet it will be blond. As much as he looks like Bill, and he REALLY does, I pulled out my picture album and one of my first pictures could totally be him. We'll see what he looks like as he gets bigger, but for now all I know is he is my little handsome man and I'm so glad he's here. After 14 hours of labor, we were so glad for his safe arrival. Oh, and did I mention the best part? Spencer was my birthday present this year. Best birthday I've ever had.
