The Christensens: June 2013

Michael is just a little over 1 month old now and he is just an angel. It has taken me this long to feel good enough to get his birth story written but I didn't want to wait any longer because I don't want to forget anything.

A few days before he was born (the Wednesday before to be exact) my sister took off a few days of work and came to stay with us. This was such a blessing! She was hoping I would go into labor while she was there so she could see little Michael and help out with Dane. We just barely made it! On Friday night (April 26th) I was feeling a little down and everything was hurting so Laura pretty much pushed us out of the house for a date. I didn't really want to leave but once we did I was sooo happy we did. We decided to go to the movies (and eat a lot of popcorn...well, at least that was my plan) and we saw Oblivion. It was an exciting movie and helped me take my mind off of the contractions I was having. I had been having contractions like this for a few days so I didn't think too much of them. However, by the end of the movie they were getting stronger and were about every 5-6 min apart so I started to pay attention. We didn't get home till about midnight and we went strait to bed. I didn't want to worry Aaron so I told him to sleep but I couldn't. At around 2:00am I decided to call the doctor and let him know the contractions were getting stronger and were every 4-5 minutes apart and that I had lost my mucus plug. He told me to go ahead to the hospital. Now, even though I was pretty sure early labor had started I still wasn't convinced because it felt completely different than it did with Dane. I wasn't having back labor! Hallelujah!

I went in and woke Aaron up at around 2:45am on Saturday morning. He was groggy but jumped into action. He decided to take a shower and I gathered some final things into our bags. We were so lucky that my sister was there because we were able to just wake her when we were leaving and we didn't have to call Aaron's mom in the middle of the night to come over. Laura just stayed with Dane until Linda came the next morning. Oh, how that boy loves his Auntie Lala.

We drove down to HOAG and arrived at around 3:30am. It sure was nice not having to deal with traffic. The nurses took us to the triage room to check me and monitor the contractions. The labor and delivery floor was soo quiet. Hardly anyone was there. When she checked me (4:30am) I was at a 2 and the contractions were about 5-6 min apart but then everything pretty much stopped progressing. I was still having contractions but they were getting farther apart and much less intense.

At 6 am I was checked again and was still at a 2. Everything seemed to slow down and I really think it was because I was told to lay down and stay still for monitoring. When ever I would stand up the contractions would start up again... and so would the pain. I thought they were going to send us home but Michael's heart rate dipped a few times while they were monitoring him so they decided to admit us. They admitted me at 7am so they moved us over to our labor and delivery room. They let me progress naturally and checked up on us every once in a while.I was so excited knowing that we were getting so close to holding our little Michael.

We set up our room and Aaron went to the car to get our bags. This time around I brought not only a pillow but my own blanket and I was sooo much more comfortable. That is when I started walking around to get the labor going. I also used the birthing ball. Aaron decided to run to the cafeteria to get some breakfast for him self and while he was gone a doctor came in and broke my water. That was at 8:45am. The contractions got much stronger and closer together but I was still managing the pain just fine. Wow, is there a difference between back labor and normal front labor! At 11:20 I was checked again and I was dilated to a 4 but still really posterior.

Now, about every 30 minutes or so my nurse would come in and ask if I was ready for my epidural. I kept saying no because I still wasn't in a ton of pain. But shortly after they checked me at 11:20 she said she wanted to start a Pitocin drip. I was really scared of getting it and didn't really want to but she assured me that it would be a very small amount just to speed up the contractions. So I agreed to let them start that and then she told me if I didn't get the epidural now that I might not be able to get it. I seriously think I was scared into it this time. With my delivery with Dane no one ever said anything like that. It really matters who your nurse is and her philosophy on delivery I think.

So, at about 12:00pm Pitocin was started and then shortly after that I got an epidural. Oh man did I freak out while getting the epidural this time. I think that I didn't freak out the first time because I was in sooo much pain that I welcomed it. This time I was still able to breath through the pain so I was able to think about exactly what was going on with the epidural. Aaron and the nurse tried their hardest to talk me down and relax me but I think I got down right mean during it. Live and learn. (oh and I should mention that my anesthesiologist was a giant! He was 6'9"! I asked him where he got his clothes from and he said he flies to a different country to get his clothes altered. Must be nice.)

Then we spent the next 2 hrs relaxing and watching a dumb movie (The Fantastic Mr. Fox) and snacking. Well, Aaron was snacking and I was starving. I did sneak some snacks while no one was watching, hehe. At one point I requested that they turn my epidural down because I was completly numb and couldn't even move my feet. My last time I was able to move my legs and I was feeling a little claustrophobic not being able to. So my giant anesthesiologist came back in and turned it down. I was checked again at 2:10pm and was still at a 4. At that point I turned to my other side and I felt something move/switch positions and looking back I think that was Michael changing positions just enough to make things really speed up. About an hour later I started to feel uncomfortable and at about 3:40 I was in a lot of pain. I told the nurse about the pain and she decided to check me. She was acting very calm like she thought it was just because the epidural had been turned down and she was sure I was probably only at a 6-7. But as soon as she checked me her eyes got really big and she said "Woo, your in pain because the baby is crowning! Don't move, don't push!". At that point she called the doctor, set up the delivery table, and called for a baby nurse. Doctor A. got there really fast and I started pushing at about 3:50.

Michael Paul Christensen was born at 3:57pm (3 pushes later)! He had a full head of dark black hair and he looked gray. Funny how babies look gray when they are born. We had to stimulate him a little to get him to cry more and then he pinked right up. He looked just like Dane but had Daddy's nose. He weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 20.5 inches long. I had some minor tearing so Dr. A stitched me up while they were checking Michael out and Aaron was right by his side.

When Michael came out Aaron and I were very emotional. I'm wondering if I was sooo much more emotional this time because my epidural had pretty much worn off? And when I say that I know I didn't feel everything but I sure did feel a lot. It was a really special moment for both of us. I grabbed my baby and put him right on my chest (all gooey and everything). Aaron cut the cord and it was a thick one! We spent about 2 hrs in that room doing skin to skin time and then we were moved to our recovery room at around 6pm.

It was such a beautiful sunny day and we had a nice peaceful night. Michael slept and nursed and was very calm. I actually got some sleep that night. When I would look at him I would just be amazed at how beautiful his hands and and fingers are. He has such long finger nail beds. His face is his daddy's and I love it. But his dark skin and hair are mine and I like it (even though I know it will be gone soon).

The next day was Sunday and it was a quiet day for us. We only had had three visitors: Nana and Dane, Cory and Gissel, and The Walks. Cody Walk was in town and took some awesome pictures for us and Stacey brought us a snack bag that was a life saver later that night. Speaking of food, HOAG has the best menu of gluten free foods! I ate a ton and really liked their gf lasagna.

Michael passed his hearing and jaundice test and we were released from the hospital on Monday at 1pm. We got home and I hugged and kissed Dane a ton. It was nice being home. Braden & Jodee & the girls came to visit and we had fun chatting with them. I'm excited for Michael to have a cousin so close in age (Berkeley is about 2 months older).

Going home pictures...