Liam Thomas Baker
July 23rd, 2008 @ 11:43 pm
8 pounds, 4 ounces
20 inches long
Our precious, beautiful baby boy was born on July 23rd at 11:43pm. He weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 20 inches long.
I was supposed to be induced on Wednesday 7/23, but woke up that morning at 5:30 with contractions spaced about 5-15 minutes apart.
By 6:30, they were 3-7 minutes apart and getting stronger. I decided to take a shower and get last minute things ready... during my shower, I had 13 contractions, so I knew this was it!
We drove to McMinnville and went to Dr. Barker's office for a check, I was 3cm dilated and about 80% effaced (HUGE progress from our last check!) and we were sent to check in at the hospital.
This was wonderful news, as I had not been making any progress on my own, and Dr. Barker was concerned I was going to be a "hard induction". To go into labor in my own was an answer to prayers.
We checked in to the hospital at 11:30am and I was given a low dose of Pitocin, which they kept increasing throughout labor. The IV stick was horrific, it took 3 blown veins before they had Dr. Barker try, and he was able to get it on the 4th poke.
Within a couple of hours the contractions were pretty intense, okay, HORRIBLE, so I got my beloved Epidural. Ohhhhh how wonderful the Epidural was! I couldn't even move my legs, which isn't supposed to happen, but sometimes does.
I could still feel some pressure and some mild discomfort, but it was hard to tell when exactly I was contracting. We were able to have family in our room to visit for quite a while and it was wonderful.
By 8:00 pm, I was 7cm, 90% effaced, Epidural was decreased so I could start to feel contractions and so I could use my legs when it was time to push. I was in HORRIFIC pain, visitors had to leave at that point. I was sobbing and just miserable. I wanted the lights out, the room cold and a washcloth over my face so I didn't have to look at anyone. Tom was so comforting and let me crush his hand with every contraction. He kept me calm and made sure I was as comfortable as possible.
At 9:00 I was checked again and was ready to begin pushing... I was BEGGING them to let me push. I could feel some contractions but sometimes I felt pressure and thought I was contracting but I wasn't, so Epidural was decreased some more. Contractions slowed down a bit, so Pitocin was increased again.
I started pushing at 9:00pm and it was the most intense pain I have ever felt. The pressure of the baby's head was just unbearable and my arms hurt from all the IV pokes, so it was hard to grab onto the handles bear down. I mustered up every bit of strength in me, and pushed like a crazy woman. It felt like every time I pushed, he would move down, then back up. I begged Dr. Barker to just reach in and pull Liam out of me!
Liam was Posterior position, so instead of being face down, he was face up AND he had his arm up over his face (yes, ouch!), so Dr. Barker went in with his hands and pushed Liam back up and turned him around (Double ouch!).
Once that was done, Liam was able to get into the proper place in the birth canal and, after 2 hours and 45 minutes of pushing, our most precious miracle was born. Tom got to watch him come out, and cut the cord. It was amazing!
They laid him on my chest and he was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.
Baby Liam had some bruising on his forehead and head from being in Posterior position on the birth canal. He also swallowed some fluid and blood, which is common, so he had to have his lungs suctioned. I tore down to my bottom, and had to have a repair done. I also couldn't pee on my own at all, so I was kept in the hostpial and finally released with a catheter. The catheter was removed on Monday 7/28, and I still couldn't urinate on my own, so I had to self-catheter every 4 hours or so. I then developed a minor bladder infection that went away with some antibiotics. A tough recovery, but our little man is so worth it!
Tom and I are so blessed! We waited for so long for this miracle, and we adore him more than we ever thought possible.
