Thursday, March 22, 2012

My little miracle is here!

Meet our little guy!
Scott Bryan Perkinson
Born Feb 16th at 5:52am
6 lbs, 11 oz. and PERFECT!

Birth Story:
I am one of those people who LOVE to hear the birth story. It is so fascinating how everyone has a different story to tell. With the first baby you have no idea what YOUR story is going to be. I was so anxious to see how my body would respond and how the birth would actually happen. Bryan and I decided not to take a birth class or anything like that, but I did make him watch a birth dvd with some helpful info just so he would know all the medical terms and sorta know the sequence of events. I read a few books on breathing techniques and relaxation, but of course all that stuff went out the window as soon as contractions hit!
If you are like me and enjoy a good birth story, then here you go. I'll spare you guys some of the personal or gruesome details. :) I woke up Wednesday morning and felt totally normal (9 days before my due date). Went out and ran some errands (probably walked about 1.5 miles) and I was in the grocery store when I kept getting sharp pains. I figured I should probably start walking home and limit the amount of groceries I would have to carry. Contractions hit that afternoon and I spent the rest of the day at home trying to keep busy to keep my mind off of the discomfort (wasn't quite painful yet). It was the weirdest feeling because I didn't know if they were actual contractions or if this was just some weird fluke. I soon realized that this was the real deal. I called Bryan and told him I wasn't going to make it to institute class that night, but that he should go ahead and go so he wouldn't have to sit here and watch me endure contractions. I was determined to stay at home as long as I could stand it (knowing that I wanted to deliver naturally). I rotated from the shower, to the bed, to the couch all day. Bryan got home that night at 10:30 and we hurried and packed a bag, then tried to go to sleep. Soon I realized that sleep was not happening so I started timing the contractions. I had no idea when I should go to the hospital because the pain was getting worse but they were so irregular. 11 mins apart, then 4 mins apart, then they were lasting longer (like 2-3 mins each contraction!) Finally at 3:00am I called my doc and she said to try to stay home a little longer because the first baby always takes a long time...well 30 mins later I was positive that we needed to go! Bryan said to me "We aren't going unless you are positive. Let's go out and go for a walk, then see how you are feeling." I wanted to punch him haha. We went down and grabbed a taxi and headed to the hospital. Worst car ride ever! Stupid, crazy taxi drivers! We got to the hospital at 4:00am and they made me sit and wait in triage for like 20 mins and I was going crazy. Bry was probably so embarrassed to be sitting next to me. I was in so much pain I felt like I was going to die and the nurses were taking their sweet time. Finally I shouted "I NEED TO PUSH!" I was getting this feeling like the baby was coming out. It sounded silly when I said it because I had no idea how far into labor I was. After I said that, they FINALLY took me serious and took me back (after trying to make me pee in a cup, which was impossible) and the nurse checked me. Her eyes got huge and she said "You are dilated to a 9!" Right then my water broke. I felt like saying "yeah you idiot, I've been trying to tell you that this baby is coming out!" I was SO relieved that I was at a 9...I'm almost there! I can handle this a little longer! YAY my baby is coming! They wheeled me into the delivery room and made me wait for the doctor to get there. Longest 30 mins of my life! It was so hard to NOT push when I felt like I needed to. The nurses kept asking me stupid questions and I don't think I was very nice to them haha. Doctor got there and she started stretching me (I wanted to avoid an episiotomy), which hurt but I didn't care, I just wanted to get this baby out! I pushed for about 30 mins with each contraction and out came my baby! It was the coolest, most painful thing I have ever experienced in my life. I wanted to get the full experience by doing it naturally. I wanted to feel everything...and I sure did. It was crazy to watch my stomach literally deflate while this baby came sliding out. Bry was amazing. He remained in the same position during the pushing because I wouldn't let him budge. He was leaning over me with his fists pressed into my back while I had a firm grip on his shirt and wrist. When they put my baby on my chest I couldn't believe that this little thing just came out of me! Good news was that I only needed to get a few stitches. Bad news was that the numbing shot didn't work, so I felt every little stitch. The stitching was probably the most painful part of the experience haha. It was all so worth it. We made such a sweet little boy and were so excited to welcome him into this world! So there you have it, my birth story, minus several details, cavewoman style. I was so happy that everything went so smoothly.

Believe it or not, this was the most decent picture that we got after the delivery. All the other pics that Bry took are not appropriate for the blog... Why didn't he tell me this while he was taking them? I was exhausted and couldn't think straight enough to cover up for the camera.

No makeup, no clothes, and no meds...that's just how I roll.

I thought that I would be really sad in the hospital with no visitors or family to celebrate with us. It actually was REALLY nice to just hang out the 3 of us for a couple days. I didn't have to worry about how I looked (you can tell in the pics) or entertaining guests, I could just enjoy my baby and talk to my husband about the amazing thing we just went through. In New York, after you deliver they stick you in a room with a roommate. Yes, there was another girl in my room and our beds were about 5 feet apart, separated by a curtain. Luckily, both of my roommates were pretty cool. But between nurses coming in to check on me all night, check the other chick, bring my baby to be fed, and bring her baby to be fed, it was impossible to sleep even though I was exhausted. They also kick the husbands out at 10:30. So it has been a joke between us that the night I delivered my baby Bryan left me at the hospital and went and played in his basketball game! It was a long first night and I was ready to go home.
Here we are coming home from the hospital in our taxi! Only in NYC!
I am so blessed to have this sweet guy in my life. He sure was worth the wait!
More pics to come soon...