My Happy Ending

WARNING: This could get lengthy! (I started writing this several weeks ago and have had no time to finish. I am determined to share the story of how the little guy who was due to arrive November 4th, came home over two weeks early!)

In my last post I wrote about a Dr.'s apt. that I had on the 12th of October. I was admitted as an outpatient that day and had a slew of tests run to make sure that "Baby" was thriving, and he was. That following Friday, the 15th, I was told to go in for a blood pressure check at our small town clinic where they discovered that my blood pressure was continuing to rise. I was sent home (back to bed rest), put on some BP medication and asked to again do a 24 hour urine sample on Sunday.

Monday the 18th of October....

I got up that morning feeling really frustrated. The BP medication they had put me on was creating a whole new set of problems. While it was lowering my BP, it was also causing me to black out! I wasn't comfortable with that and decided to stop taking it on Sunday. (I knew there was no way I could take the medicine before driving myself to my Dr.'s apt. Monday morning.)

I handed in my urine sample which they tested while I was there and my protein count had doubled since the week before. My BP was once again elevated since I'd stopped taking the meds, I had gained a few more pounds and the swelling hadn't gotten any better. My Dr. suggested that we go ahead and start discussing my induction at that point. I asked a ton of questions and at the end of my appointment asked when I should come back to have my "Baby"... that's when the Dr. said that we should go ahead and do it that day.

I was a little surprised but after she explained to me that sending me home could only complicate things that much more, I decided that I needed to do what was not only best for "Baby" but for Mommy too! My husband had stayed at work since he was really busy and I truly thought if we were going to get induced, that it wouldn't be for a few days. I called him after they had admitted me and gave instructions of what to pack in the bag since I was planning on doing that that afternoon. He was really surprised too!

They began giving me pitocin around 10:30 am. When the Dr. had checked me that morning I was at a 3 so she was confident that the pitocin would get things started with no problem and it did. She came back and broke my water at noon and shortly after that my husband arrived.

The contractions were really intense from the start. I was very ready for my epidural when the time came to get it done. Since my contractions were a minute apart, it took a lot longer to get my epidural started then it had when I had DS. I was never comfortable enough to rest (much less sleep) and while the epi took the edge off, it didn't completely take the pain away like I remember from my first delivery.

Things went much faster this time around as I had expected they would. Every time the Dr. came in to check me I had gotten further along, no stalling or stopping took place that day and by 4:30 pm I was at a 10 and ready to push. The Dr. came in, the nurses set up the "Baby" station and I began what took a mere 20 minutes of pushing. At one point during labor the nurse asked me to lie on my right side because the "Baby's" heart rate was all over the place. When he was born the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and one of his little feet... which was what was causing his heart rate to be all over the board.

He came into the world screaming, turned a beautiful shade of pink almost immediately and latched on like a pro after only a few minutes! I nursed him for awhile and when I had finished they checked him all over and handed him back to us. After a very long wait, we finally had the perfect little boy we'd been waiting for!

My blood pressure stabilized almost immediately after delivery, my carpal tunnel has disappeared, the swelling is gone and I've shaved off several pounds. I feel much better now that he is here and safe. Other than a "UTI" I feel almost back to my normal self again. I don't get much done other than nursing, pumping and changing diapers but I wouldn't have it any other way!

"Baby Craftysaur" or Maddox as we like to call him is almost 4 weeks old now. He is growing like a weed and developing quite a little personality! DS is absolutely in love with him and has been so sweet and gentle. We look forward to watching the boys grow up together and feel so blessed to finally have a sibling for our oldest son. It's been a long road from TTC, to the miscarriages, to the finally positive HPT that ended in a happy ending! Looking back I wouldn't change a thing! Sometimes the best gifts are worth the wait and in this case he definitely was!

So here I am ending my final post. I appreciate every one's kind and encouraging words along the way. I will continue to follow along in the rest of your journeys and continue to pray that each of you receive the happy ending you are all working so hard for!
Best of luck to you all... Craftysaur