Gavin's Birth Story

Sunday, August 19, 2012:
After a fun weekend of a family of three, we headed to the hospital for our induction at 10:00pm.  Grandma Mealy arrived earlier in the day to stay with Brennan.  Surprisingly, the day seemed to go by quickly as we tried to finish chores around the house and spend one-on-one time with Brennan.

After checking in, I'm given a dose of Cytotek at 11:35pm.  At that time, I'm measuring 2cm dilated and 50% effaced.  I turn down the offered sleeping pill, thinking I'm tired enough to fall asleep without it.  I can change my mind and take it until 2:00am.  Shortly after the cut off, I begin to regret my decision!  The excitement, nerves, beeping of machines, and uncomfortable bed is keeping me awake!

Monday, August 20, 2012
5:30am: My vital signs are taken and I'm offered a "light breakfast."  I was ecstatic, thinking I wouldn't be able to eat for the entire day!  Perhaps this is an advantage of having a female OB with young children, or maybe just a new trend.  Either way, I enjoyed my toast and juice.

6:30am: Time for my IV for fluids and Pitocen.  I warned the nurse that I was very anxious about the IV due to having a failed attempt during intense contractions with Brennan.  It turns out my anxiety was justified.  Two nurses and four attempts later, the IV is finally successful.  Apparently, I have "valve-ly veins" and people with fair skin typically have difficulty with IVs.

7:15am: Officially hooked up to Pitocen.

7:30am: 3cm and 50% effaced.  The OB explained that I've responded beautifully to the Cytotek.  Adam had stepped out to grab breakfast and wasn't present at the exam.  The OB offered to break my water, but I was hesitant to do it so early and wanted to discuss it with Adam before deciding, so I declined her offer.

10:45am: 3-4cm, 50% effaced, and his head is dropping.  The nurses are impressed that I'm not more uncomfortable during the contractions, asking if I have a "high pain tolerance."  So far, all I can feel is slight tightening and I'm not bothered at all.  Time is spent standing, swaying, talking and playing cards with Adam.

11:00am: The OB breaks my water.  There is particulate meconium, which she explains is not uncommon.  There will be additional staff in the room at the time of delivery to make sure there aren't any difficulties with his breathing.  Also, he'll be suctioned immediately to make sure that he doesn't inhale any of the meconium.  I'm measuring at 4cm.

1:05pm: 4-5cm, 70% effaced, 0 station.  I'm starting to feel more of the contractions, but nothing horrible.  As time passes, I have to pause our card game and breath through the contractions.  We debate when would be the best time to ask for the epidural.  At one point, I ask Adam, "What am I waiting for?"  While the contractions are tolerable, I don't want to wait until I'm extremely uncomfortable before asking the epidural.

2:15pm:  Epidural is administered.  It's much stronger than I recall with Brennan's birth.  My legs feel very heavy and I need assistance from the nurses to change my position as I can't control their movement.

4:00pm: 6cm.  I'm turned onto each side for 30 minutes to help lower his head.  I'm able to sneak in a cat nap.

5:00pm: Due to the amount of fluids I've been given through the IV, the OB drains my bladder.  After a check of my progress, she asks if I'm ready to have a baby.  I didn't initially realize she meant now until she said I was ready to push!  The room fills with medical staff and I'm prepped for delivery.  Meanwhile, we all joke and laugh with each other.

5:10ish pm: I push 3-4 times during each contraction, needing to know when to push since I can't feel any pressure.  Between contractions, the joking and laughing continues.  There are also comments about his hair.  I feel like I'm surrounded by cheerleaders, encouraging both me and Gavin.  His nose and mouth are suctioned with a tube after his head is delivered.

5:24pm: Welcome to the world, Gavin William!  I'm able to help pull him out and lay him on my chest.  Again, his nose and mouth are suctioned before he's encouraged to cry.  He looks perfect, and just like his big brother!  I'm cleaned up, Gavin is assessed, and Adam begins to announce his arrival to family and friends.  He's perfect, handsome, and the answer to many prayers!

Happy Birthday, Gavin William!

We are thrilled to announce the birth of Gavin William Swartz!  Gavin was born on August 20, 2012 at 5:24pm.  He weighs 9lbs 6oz and is 22 inches long!  Gavin has a head full of dark hair and he loves to snuggle!  We are absolutely smitten with him!

Stitches

After a slip in the tub, Brennan received his first (and hopefully only!) stitches.  He fell while standing to get out of the tub and hit his chin, causing a deep gash.  Surprisingly, he calmed down relatively quickly.  We quickly covered the cut, got him dressed and headed off to Urgent Care.  The Nurse Practitioner did not feel comfortable doing the stitches due to the location of the cut and his young age and sent us to the Emergency Room.

Brennan did a phenomenal job at the Emergency Room!  Other than the painful numbing shots into the wound, he remained still and content during the procedure.  He was such a big boy and we are so proud!  Before leaving, he enjoyed a blue popsicle for being so brave.

The stitches will be removed within 4-6 days, just around the time of Charm's arrival.  We were told that they could be removed by his pediatrician or at the hospital.  Again, due to his age and the location of the wound, the pediatrician's office will not remove them, explaining that they won't numb him or hold him down.  We're assuming we'll still be in the hospital with Charm, so while he's visiting his baby brother, Brennan will have his stitches removed.

While on our way to the hospital, we told Brennan that we were going where Mommy and Daddy were going to get his baby brother.  This lead Brennan to tell others at the hospital that we were at "Baby brother's house!"

39 Week Appointment and Next Steps

Charm and I had another successful appointment.  Everything continues to look good and he's measuring at 39 weeks.  I'm 2 cm and thick, but his head is lower than previous appointments.  We talked again about induction, but didn't finalize plans at the appointment.

After much discussion and weighing the pros and cons, Adam and I decided that an induction on August 20 would be the best option.  While it's not waiting until our official due date of August 23 as we originally planned, we felt the pros outweighed waiting 3 days.  Some positives of an August 20th induction include: A more rested Mommy, allowing more time for Adam to spend at home, guaranteed preferred doctor at delivery, and a shared birthday with Grandpa Mealy!  We can't wait to meet our new little man! 

38 Week Appointment

Everything continues to look good with Charm!  This week's statistics:

~ 142-146 heart beats per minute
~ Head down
~ 1-2 centimeters; high and thick
~ Measuring at 39 weeks

Again, the topic of induction was discussed.  Our plan remains the same: wait until 40 weeks and see where we are naturally before committing to an induction plan.  The OB I saw today, the doctor I saw with Brennan's pregnancy and the beginning of Charm's pregnancy, explained a recent viewpoint of a prominent OB/GYN association.  The thought is that, instead of waiting for spontaneous labor, they support induction at 39-40 weeks, decreasing the likelihood that the baby will be too big to be born vaginally if s/he is overdue. 

Big Boy Room Update

Brennan has done an excellent job transitioning into his new room!  After several days of sleeping on the floor, we believe he now has the idea that he's supposed to sleep on his bed.  He's fallen asleep in his bed at nap and bedtime for several consecutive days!  We've discovered that giving him a book or two to look at after our typical bedtime routine is beneficial.  He'll look at the books, recite the words, and sing for a while before heading to dreamland!

37 Week Appointment and Sprinkle

Charm and I had our 37 week appointment today.  There aren't too many changes to report.  I'm "definitely" 1 centimeter, but still high and not thinning.  He's still head down.  The OB asked if we were planning on an induction.  While we're not "planning" to be induced, I'm not completely opposed to it if I'm not making progress.  The induction would not occur any sooner than 39 weeks, and we'd prefer it to be as close as possible to 40 weeks if it's going to happen.  Our plan is to see how things progress and go from there.

I had a wonderful "sprinkle" (aka, small baby shower for a non-first child) over the weekend with a small handful of guests.  It was a great time, with delicious food, fun games, good conversation, and great company.  Having others around to celebrate Charm's upcoming arrival makes me even more excited!

Brennan has been able to feel Charm's hiccups and thinks they are hysterical!  He giggles every time Charm jumps!