I wanted to document my pregnancy and Blake's birth so I don't forget the details.
Austin and I decided our family was not complete and wanted to have another child, but I decided to run one last marathon first. Since it had been over 5 years since Kai was born, I had no idea if I would be able to get pregnant and how easily it would be, but I knew that my family was not complete and I was ready for another baby, more than ready, which was a feeling I wasn't sure I would ever have again.
I ran the Eugene marathon, was overjoyed with my performance and ready for a baby. I stopped running in order to have my best chance of getting pregnant and miraculously, a few weeks later I found out I was pregnant. Austin and I really could not even believe it at first, that we could get pregnant so fast and so easily. I think our little Blake was just waiting and waiting for me to be ready for him and when I was finally ready, he wasn't wasting any time.
The next 40 weeks were just as I had remembered... hard. Being pregnant is hard! We decided to not find out if our baby was a boy or a girl, we wanted to be surprised in the delivery room, but we couldn't help but think about the pregnancy and how it was the same or different from the girls' and if that meant we were having a boy or a girl because of the differences. First being that my sickness was different. I was still very sick, but with my girls I constantly threw up and with Blake I only threw up a few times, but was very nauseous all the time! Second being that Blake was breech from my first 20 week ultrasound and at every OB visit thereafter. Other than those two differences in the pregnancy, I still had the same discomforts, pains, sleeplessness, heartburn etc.. that pregnancy brings, so we really had no idea if baby was a boy or a girl.
I knew that I wanted to have a natural birth with Blake, but I was scared to death about it, so I read a great book and a lot of reading online to help me prepare. I was not going to have a Doula or Midwife, so I tried my best to prepare on my own, but I was nervous and didn't know how I would really react when it came game time. I continued to run, even up until the day before delivery, I wanted to be healthy, and fit during the pregnancy. Every Dr. appointment went great, Blake seemed to be growing well, with good a good heart rate. I did many of my Dr appointments virtual, where I did a video chat with the Dr and performed my own blood pressure, urine test, and fetal monitor. It was very convenient since we live so far from the Dr. office.
As I approached 36 weeks, baby was still breech, and the decision was made to do a procedure called a version, to try and turn him around so he was head down. I was so nervous, I heard it was a painful procedure and didn't even work a lot of the time, and sometimes would even result in an emergency c-section. I had nothing to lose, if I was going to need a c-section for a breech baby anyway, then I decided to at least try the version. Austin and I went to the hospital when I was exactly 37 weeks, Christmas Eve, baby and I were monitored for a while, I was given some medication to relax the uterus, then a couple Dr's stood on each side of my stomach and literally pushed the baby around from head up, to head down. It was very uncomfortable, but didn't last long, and the baby was successfully flipped. We were so relieved and happy that I didn't need to do a c-section for a breech baby.
At my 37 week Dr. appointment I was dilated to a 1-2, and I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable every day with a lot of contractions, even hours every night. I was really going crazy with little sleep and a lot of labor activity. Every day I thought I was in labor and I would time contractions, but nothing ever got too intense for me to actually go to the hospital. At a few days shy of 39 weeks I had a routine Dr appointment and was told that I was dilated to a 3, but the baby was still very high. I pretty much started crying right there because I was just miserable from lack of sleep and constant contractions. The Dr said it was time to induce me, if I wanted to, at 39 weeks and Baby would be fine to do that, he was concerned about how far we lived form the hospital and my sanity! Although, I really thought I would go into labor over the weekend while waiting to be induced on Monday morning. I called my Mom and being the best Mom that she is, she and my Dad took a flight the next morning to Seattle in order to help out and be with the girls when Austin and I went to the hospital on Monday.
Come Monday morning, I still had not gone into active labor so Austin and I went to the hospital to be induced. I was dilated to a 3+, but baby was still high and my water could not be broke until he dropped more, so I was started on pitocin. Immediately my contractions increased and everyone figured I would have a baby within no time at all, the nurse even got the delivery table ready for the Dr, she said we would all be eating lunch by 12:00. Austin and I walked the halls of the hospital over and over and over, I rocked and bounced on a deliver ball... my contraction were every couple minutes, but they were not intense. My pitocin continued to be increased and I continued to walk, and bounce, but the contractions were still not painful. I was checked around 3:00 in the afternoon and had not progressed at all, still a 3+ and baby had not dropped at all. The Dr still did not want to break my water since the baby was so high and if I didn't go into labor, then I would need a c-section, but they also couldn't increase the pitocin anymore because I was having contractions every couple minutes. They decided to increase the pitocin just one more notch and see if that would do anything. Within only 5-10 minutes my contractions started to get stronger and painful. I had hard labor for about 2 hours on the birthing ball, but I had an amazing nurse that helped me get through each contraction and Austin for support. I just can't describe the feeling of actually "feeling" labor, although it was extremely painful, I could feel him dropping lower into the birth canal, and I felt a connection with my body and my baby. Giving birth is just so amazing and miraculous, and I wanted to be a part of it all. Just after 5:00, it was time to see how I was progressing, and I told Austin jokingly that I was probably only dilated to like a 5 and had hours more of labor, but if that were true that I wouldn't be able to handle it much longer, the pain was taking it's toll and I didn't now how much more I could handle, the contractions were just so intense. The Dr. declared the I was progressing, the baby was dropping and I was dilated to a 5! I just about died, when she said that. She did say they could break my water now and that should help move things along faster. As soon as she broke my water, and walked out of the room, I had a huge contraction. The nurse told the Dr to immediately come back in and she said I was now completely dilated and I could push with the next contraction, which didn't take long. Within 3 very intense, huge contractions I pushed the baby out and as he was coming out, Austin declared to me that it was a baby boy, and as soon as the Dr turned him around to see, he peed all over everyone! Sure enough, we had a baby boy!
Blake was crying and crying and it was the best sound to hear, he was perfect and I was overcome with immediate love for my baby boy. Within 22 hours we here headed home with our baby to have him join our family. Tyler and Kai loved him so much and were so excited for their baby brother, even Kai, who wished for a girl, loved everything about him and just kept saying, "I can't believe he is our baby, and we don't even have to give him back and he is staying with us forever"
Blake is such a blessing in our home and we all love him so much, we are grateful for a happy, healthy baby!
Here are a few pic's from the last 7 weeks since Blake was born.
