Labor and Delivery

These are old pictures, but it's such an important event that I couldn't leave it out of the blog. So here are some pictures so ya'll (yep, we say that here in Texas) can get and idea of what it was like.

At 35 weeks I thought for sure I was going to have the baby any day. I felt a little stressed and worried as I waited and kept checking to see if I was having contractions...as if I wouldn't know! By 37 weeks it still hadn't happened so I gave up trying to "will it" and started to relax. At 37 wks 5 days I was having tummy problems so Daniel and I walked to the grocery store one night to get some milk of magnesia. The 40 minute walk there and back was a great way to relax and Daniel took this picture of me all bundled up when we got home.

This is me the next day. I had my 37 wks 6 day appt with my OB/GYN and I was still at 3cm. She said it could happen any day, or it could take a while. She said "I'll see you next week... or sooner!" Well, that was no guarantee so we decided that if he didn't come by 40 weeks that I would get induced, just so we could have something to look forward to.

We were lucky to be in the middle of Christmas break so no seminary for us! So the next morning, (at exactly 38 weeks) we got to sleep in till 5:30! Daniel got up to get ready for work while I lounged in bed till 6. When I got up to use the bathroom my water broke, just 5 min before Daniel left for work- great timing! I didn't have any contractions but I called the hospital and they said to come in. So we grabbed the hospital bags and got to the hospital around 7 am.

I was admitted, they showed us to our room, and hooked me up to all of the IVs. I was induced around 8:30 to get things rolling. Daniel and I played Skipbo and Phase 10 thinking it would take a while for the contractions to start. Daniel even left the hospital to go get something from work a few blocks away, but just after he left the contractions started and they were progressing fast and hard. I was already starting my Lamase breathing when the nurse came in and said that it wasn't time for that yet. She said I didn't need to start breathing cuz you save the breathing for when the contractions get a lot harder than they were. And here I am thinkin' "they're gonna get harder???" I was planning a natural birth, but when Daniel came back we decided to get an Epidural, and man, it was amazing!! It felt like I had stepped into a hot tub - all relaxed and soothing. It was so great that I fell asleep!! I totally zonked out! I hadn't slept that well for 8 months!


I had brought two of my own pillows and my veggie tales blanket from home and I was sooo cozy. I slept through of my contractions and watched as the monitors spiked and dipped and I didn't feel a thing. In between snoozes my nurse would check me and around 12pm I was at 7 cm and then around 1:45 I was at 10 cm...yah, totally slept through the transition phase, Saweeet!


Around 2pm I started to feel some pressure and my nurse said it was the urge to push so they started to get things ready. Unfortunately I couldn't push because my doctor was busy with another lady down the hall so I had to endure the pressure. Luckily Daniel was right there. This is me enduring the pressure. :)


And this is Daniel feeling so happy that it's me and not him.

Meanwhile the nurses are starting to get everything all set up around me, and finally an hour later, at 3 pm, my nurse said I was allowed to start pushing even though the doctor wasn't there yet. Because of the drugs I couldn't feel what was going on, but apparently Daniel could see Ethan's little head after a couple hard pushes. Around 3:25, after a handful of pushes, my nurse said "Whoa, stop, he's coming out and we need to wait for the doctor!" My doctor finally came ten minutes later and after a push, Ethan was born at 3:42pm. It was amazing! Through out the delivery I wasn't quite aware what was happening, I kept looking at Daniel hoping he would give me a play-by-play or something but he just looked at me and smiled. Now, 4 months later I still wonder at the idea that I'm a mom and that this actually happened.


I hope this doesn't gross anybody out, or offend anyone with the full frontal, but I love this picture. It is our first touch. Right after he came, the Dr. gave him to me. He was all slick and wiggly and screaming so much that his little jaw was vibrating. I remember thinking how cute he was. I had wondered throughout my pregnancy what he looked like; he had moved alot inside of me, I felt his hiccups and how he responded to different foods I ate, but I was always wondering what this thing inside of me looked like. And at that moment when the doctor gave him to me the concept finally hit home that it was him. I finally saw his face and he had the right number of fingers and toes and he was healthy.


He was in the birth canal for so long waiting for the doctor to come that his ear lobe was folded down and he had a little bruise on his head, but other than that he was perfect!!

Daniel was able to cut the umbilical cord right there without getting into scrubs or anything! He had to use two hands to make sure he didn't miss or something. He was kinda nervous I think, but everything happened so fast it's hard to believe, but we are so grateful the nurse was able to take some pictures for us.

The nurses took him to test him and wrap him up to stay warm.

Here's me with the mommy glow in my cheeks, and Ethan really liked being bundled up so he had stopped crying.

Here's a close-up. He looks a little beat up and swollen but who wouldn't right? And you can totally tell that he has my nose, even from the very beginning.

This is my OB/GYN Dr. DelaGarze...she was absolutely amazing!!!

Here's Daddy Daniel, he's so proud!!


Here's Daniel calling the family a few minutes after he was born. I was still workin on stuff and the doctor was still there looking after me.

They left us with Ethan for a while after getting everything cleaned up, I was even able to nurse him a little bit, then a nurse came in to put the antibiotic drops in his eyes and to weigh him. You can see in the picture he's a 8lb. .09 oz. baby, they rounded it up to 8lb 1oz. After that they took him away to have his first bath which gave me a chance to move from the labor and delivery room to the post-pardum room upstairs.

When they brought him back he was all clean and bundled up and in his little clear box.


I changed his diaper for the first time! He was sooo little and fragile and his poo was black, but he slept through it and I loved it!! I was changing my own baby's diaper instead of one of my niece's or nephew's or friend's baby's. It was a whole different feeling knowing he was mine.


While he was unwrapped I took this picture. You can see the device on his right ankle. That was just in case anyone tried to walk out with him, the alarms would go off and the building would shut down...pretty cool stuff.

This is Daniel taking a nap that evening on his little pull out chair/bed thing.


Ha! This is totally me as a mom..."what's that in his hair?" or "let me get that speck off his face first." Poor kid. Luckily he was so lethargic from the delivery that he didn't care.


We had just got his digital camera a week before, so Daniel was still getting used to it, hence the out of focus-ness. But it's still cute. Ethan is still a snuggler.


He was so little! I still can't believe how cute he was. :)


This is Daniel's first time changing his diaper, he was such a pro!


I love this picture! I was so tired and gave Ethan over to Daniel, but not without getting Daddy as comfortable as possible, feet up, pillows under each arm and his head and even the remote control on his lap for easy access. You might be thinking what a sweet wife I am, but to be honest it was more for me than for him, I was trying to make sure he didn't have to move and accidentally drop Ethan, or if he accidentally fell asleep then the pillows would still support Ethan. I was so paranoid about something happening to the baby. Sorry I was so annoying Hun!


Late that night our best buddies Sarah and Michael came to visit with SUSHI!!! I couldn't eat it while I was pregnant and I LOVE sushi so she brought me some. It's just like her to be so wonderfully thoughtful and generous. She knew I liked it and brought it to me at the earliest possible moment so I could have some. She also put on an amazing baby shower for me and made some food that was sooo delicious. All the ladies in the ward still talk about how good it was!! Seriously though, Sarah is the best, she gives the best advice and has the greatest sense of humor. Daniel and I go over there all the time for laughs and Michael's BBQ goodness. And even though she was pregnant with her own baby at the time of the shower she didn't tell a soul so that it wouldn't take away from my spotlight. Her fifth child and only boy, David Phillip, was born on April 3rd.

This is Michael holding Ethan.


Michael gets the glory of the first thumb-sucking. Ethan totally has Daniel's long fingers and toes, instead of my stubby ones. :)


This picture is not the most flattering, but I want you to get a sense of what it was like at 3 in the morning. I totally could NOT sleep. I didn't sleep AT ALL the first night. I was too worried about him. I had to have him in the room and every time he moved or whimpered my ears perked up and all my attention and energy was on him. And I just loved looking at him, but this is us, me and my son, up strolling in the wee hours.


Meanwhile, here is Daniel conked on the sofa chair.


This is the next day after a much needed shower. I love this pictures because he is all curled up!! That's what he must have looked like inside of me...he's so precious!!


We left the hospital Monday morning and came home to a clean apartment and decorations. Sarah and her girls had broken into our place and cleaned everything...like I said, she's amazing!


Finally baby is home!! Thus we reach the end of a most wonderful and sacred experience, at the same time beginning a wonderful new life. To be continued...