Graham Isaac Allen, 4/12/14

So...I realize it has been ages since I've written on here. I kept meaning to, because I love reading other people's blogs but life was just so crazy! I barely put up pictures on Facebook. However, we just had a life changing event happen for our family so I figured this is as good a time as any to pick it up again. The life changing event is the tiny person sleeping right across from me right now. His name is Graham Isaac Allen and I wanted to write about how he got here. I wrote out Kate's birth story really soon after having her, just because I had a lot of down time in the hospital when she was on the bilirubin lights, but I actually loved the fact that I wrote it so soon. I remembered all the details perfectly. So I wanted to make sure to do the same thing this time around.

Graham's due date was April 18th. Kate had come early so I wasn't sure if we'd have that same experience again or not. When they started checking my cervix at doctor's visits I was already dilating more than I had with Kate and on top of that, Graham was super low down (thanks for that baby, that was so comfortable :)), so I was kind of thinking he might be early too. My doctor was actually really worried he would come when she was on vacation this past week! But Graham timed it perfectly. I had been having cramping and slight contractions all week long but Friday was when they started to get a little more regular, about 20 minutes apart, and that was the day Dr. Savage got home. I also lost my mucous plug that day. I went to work and was having contractions the whole time but nothing painful yet. When I got home they kind of stopped. So Chance and I decided to go to sleep while we had the opportunity! Then at about 4 am or so I woke up with what felt like more "real" contractions. Having felt them before, I could tell a difference between these and the slight ones I'd been having at work. They were about 10 or 15 min apart and at that point I was wide awake, too anxious to sleep. They started getting a little closer together and I told Chance that things were probably happening for real :). At about 6 am I called my sister Heidi, who was going to watch Kate for us. She didn't answer (which actually turned out to be a good thing, I'll explain later), so we called Chance's brother Joseph who was our plan B. That was pretty funny cause Joseph was totally out of it when Chance called and said we needed him and he just said, "Yeah, yeah, okay, well, I have a really busy day but I am totally fine to be your plan B" and Chance was like, "Dude, that's why we're calling you!" Haha! Joseph still wasn't really understanding so we called Chance's friend Kurt who came through and came over and stayed with Kate. A couple minutes later we get a call from Joseph and he says, "Dude! I was totally not getting that! Of course I can come help! You gotta wake me up and say Anna's having the baby today!" Hahaha! So Joseph came down and took over for Kurt and was able to watch Kate all that day for us. So we headed to the hospital at about 7 am and my contractions are 5ish minutes apart (it's so hard to know exactly when is the right time, even if you've done it before!). We get there, get checked in (I was so glad I'd already registered beforehand) and when they checked me I was dilated between a 4 and 5 and contractions were still happening so they said I was good to stay! My nurses were AWESOME, even better than with Kate, and I had good ones with Kate. They were so on top of things and very involved with how I was doing and feeling and what I preferred. I felt very well taken care of! When they asked what my plans were and I said I was hoping to do it un-medicated again, they actually switched me over to a room with a tub and birthing ball to help me out. Chance's mom showed up to help and then in the midst of all this, they came in and said, "There is a girl here for you, named Heidi should we send her back?" Turns out Heidi had woken up in a panic before even checking her phone, and said she just knew that I needed her! I do not think that was coincidence at all! Then she looked at her phone, saw the missed calls, tried calling us, and then just decided to come to the hospital! She felt so bad that she had missed our calls (her phone was accidentally on silent) but actually, it was amazing because she ended up staying and helping us the whole time at the hospital! She and Chance's mom were LIFESAVERS during labor. Not only did they help me immensely throughout it all, but Chance really appreciated the support. So basically, we just got to work with the whole "labor" part of it. I would say this part was easier than with Kate (easy being a very relative term, haha) because I didn't have to be on pitocin and my water had not broken. So I was able to get in the tub and just move around a lot more in general and I also had a bigger break between contractions and was not leaking the whole time! The exercise ball was probably my favorite position. I would sit on it and hold Chance's hands while Debbie and Heidi pushed on my back through contractions. I've learned that I love to be touched when I am in labor so having three people to help me was amazing! I progressed well through all this and not too much later Dr. Savage showed up. She was also so wonderful, really supportive and involved. When they checked me and I was at an 8 we decided to break my water to speed things up more. This is where the whole experience kind of did a 180. After breaking my water, Graham's heart rate dropped significantly. We kept moving around, trying to get a good reading and it just stayed low. So they put an internal monitor on his head to make sure that his heart rate really was that low. When he came out we would realize it was because the cord got around his neck when we broke my water. When they saw that it was so low there was serious talk about a c-section. To be honest, the idea of a c-section has always scared the crap out of me but in that moment I did not care, I said, "Do whatever you need to to get him here!" although I'm pretty sure I didn't say it that clearly, as I was well into that hazy, intensely painful part of labor. It is really the weirdest feeling, you feel so inwardly focused, but so overwhelmed by what your body is just doing on it's own and while you are hyper-aware of everything going on and what people are saying, you can't seem to open your eyes or form full sentences. It's such a crazy place to be in. I would say the biggest reason I chose to try for an un-medicated birth is the sense of empowerment it gave me. At the same time, birth is one of the most empowering experiences, no matter how it happens for you, so I guess I really don't have a good explanation for my decision besides it was very personal and something I just wanted to do. I would say this part of labor was harder this time around and I think the main reason for that is that we were all so worried about Graham and how he was handling things. Chance says this part was so scary for him because he felt very helpless, not being able to do much but just watch and worry. He sent out a message to family asking for prayers and we honestly believe those prayers were answered immediately because right about the time he started getting messages back that people were praying was when they turned me to a different position and Graham's heart rate picked up a bit. It was still on the low end but they decided to have me try and push him out as quickly as possible. Pushing was a B*@#&. Honestly, I don't swear, but I just sat here for a while trying to come up with a better way to describe it and I can't! It was harder this time around I think. When people describe the "ring of fire" I didn't really understand because I didn't feel that with Kate, but holy cow, I felt it this time. It's as if you have a cut that stings and you have to pry it open! Only even more intense than that! I'm probably giving a horrible case for un-medicated birth, but even with that description, it was still one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced. Like I said, hard to describe or do justice. It's like when you are in the middle of it you kind of think, "I am insane, why the heck am I doing this!" but then once you are done it is all so worth it. It is the best high ever. Anyway, I was kind of pushing on my side/back because that seemed to be where his heart rate was good. After about 10 minutes of pushing (felt like hours) he was out! I just sobbed. I think I cried harder than I did with Kate because everything had been much more stressful. He was very purple when he came out, which was scary, but he got pink fairly quickly. They also took him to the nursery and put him under an oxygen hood which helped him out a ton and since then he has been great! He weighed 7 pounds 9 oz. and has a lot of dark hair like Kate! I got lucky and only had a tiny tear, so I feel better than I did postpartum with Kate, when I had an episiotomy. I'm walking around and everything much more easily, which is a nice surprise. We already have so many thank yous to give to people who have been so loving and helpful already! We feel very well taken care of and loved! We are just in love with this sweet boy and we will keep you updated!