Birth Story Malachi

My due date came and went. My inlaws did the same. The came down to see Malachi be born, but of course he was stubborn. We waited and I had contractions the whole time they were here. Well not real contractions, just braxton hicks, but of course I didn't know what real contractions felt like at the time. The left Monday morning, Tim stayed home with me and planned on returnign to Work Tuesday. We went to bed and for the first time in a week I didn't have Braxton Hicks before bed. We just fell asleep, exhausted from our visit and all the wondering when Chi would get here. I woke up at 1:36am to pee and because I had a horrible headache. I was also having contractions, although I thought they were just Braxton hicks again and I was annoyed. I was really tired, more tired than I had been my whole pregnancy, even with the anemia. So I took tylenol and went back to sleep. The contractions kept waking me up and I would think I should do something about it, but then I woudl fall asleep again instead. I finally woke myself p at 5:00am, just before Tim's alarm went off. The contractions were very strong, and only 2 minutes apart. I told Tim he wouldn't be going to work that day, and had him go and get me Sonic, because I was hungry and knew you couldn't eat once you got to the hospital.

When Tim got home with food the contractions spread out. I went the whole day with my contractions going between 2 mintues apart and 20 minutes apart. We kept going on walks around the neighborhood. I would walk up the curb and down the curb. Then we would go home and take a nap. I remember the house smelled os bad, like a dead rat because we had poinsoned the rats right before this day and one had gotten stuck in the wall. It was so gross.

We went had Subway for lunch and went for another walk. Eventually it got to hot to walk outside so we walked around Walk-Mart. After walmart we went to the hospital. I had been putting it off all day because I was scared to go, I knew once we got there it would be real and I didn't want that. I hate hospitals, I hate pain, I hate doctors. But of course I had to go. I called Jaci to let her know I was there, and called my mom. The nurses checked me and I was still only a 2cm dialtion. They sent me to walk around the hospital. I walked and walked and the electricity went out because of a really bad rainstorm. The contractions got pretty strong after this and I went to my room to take a shower while Tim went home for something, I don't remember what. The nurse put in my IV after that and not too much later I got my epidural. It was around 5:00pm when I first got to the hospital. It was 7:30 when I got my epidural. It hurt like hell, it was a horrible experience and freaked me out. But once it set in things were nice. The pain subsided and I was able just to lay there and relax.

After a while the epidural wore off though and I had to be given another dose. My doctor came in and broke my water aroud 10:00pm and around 11:30 pitocin was given. Finally I dialated almost fully. I still had this little lip that would not co-operate. The nurses kept telling me to wait but I was not happy. The urge to push was so strong, and it felt like the epidural had worn off again. The nurses finally said I could push, some practice pushes before the doctor got there. Turned out I was a lot better at pushing then they thought I would be. Malachi was coming out, doctor or no doctor. So they told me to stop pushing again. Finally the doctor came in and I pushed through about 4 more contractions and Malachi's head and I guess part of the shoulders were out. The doctor said okay with your next contraction you should be able to push him out. I didn't wait for the contraction, I just pushed and there he was.

I will never forget my baby and the way he looked at birth. They held him up, he was totally spread out and he opened his eyes to look at the huge light overhead. Then he started to wail! They put him on my stomach and he peed on me. The first thing I said outloud was, "I think he peed on me." It was hilarious and sweet and wonderful.

I had to finish up delivering the placenta and getting stiched up becuase I tore a little bit. He was born with his hand on his head and his elbow sticking up. Tim was really cute, he kept sort of looking at me like okay I need to stay with her, but then he would go halfway to Malachi and then back to me. I told him to go see the baby. I got to nurse for the first time and Malachi latched on pretty well. One side was not so good, but the other was fine.

I was exhausted and so was Tim. We made a few phone calls, to my mom and I think maybe Tim's family. My mom later told me I sounded like death. It was 1:36am when Chi was born. 6lbs 11 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. His apgars were 9 and 9. I was happy he was here, happy he was healthy. They made me get up and go to the bathroom, and then they moved me to my room. By this time it was 3 or so in the morning. Poor Tim was so tired, he passed out on this little bench thing they called a guest bed. I asked the nurses to take Chi and just feed him the bottle. I needed my rest.

The time in the hospital was long and sort of stressful. They kept coming in to massage my uterus which totally sucked. It was the worst part of it all. Then the needle pokes and the constant checks. Tim was really tired and I think had a hard time adjusting to it all because he was really quiet which freaked me out some more. We had some visitors, our neighbors, Katie, Ron and Dianna. Malachi stayed with the nurses a lot. The night he got his circumcision he was so not happy, he cried a lot.

We went home two days later at 5 in the evening. I went grocery shopping with Tim to prepare for my mom's visit. Then we chilled at home as a family. I went in the room and slept for about 2 hours while Tim held a sleeping Chi in his arms. That was our first night home.