the birth story, part 2.

if you missed part one, read this first.

by the time i was checked in, had answered all my questions and had every hospital ID bracelet known to man on my arm, it was after midnight. we messaged a few close friends to let them know we were at the hospital. it was going to be a long labor ... i was only 2 cm dilated.

my nurse that night was AMAZING. katie. saint katie, the best nurse in all of labor and delivery nurseland. she was the absolute best for me, and she was there until 7 am. we talked about my goals for my delivery. goal 1 is the same for everyone: healthy mom, healthy baby. i decided on my next goal: stable blood sugars. this was VERY important to me. i had worked myself up with worry that some horrible blood sugar crash would happen at a key point during delivery. spoil alert: that didn't happen.

before i was ever in labor, i asked my OB and my endocrinologist about what would happen during labor and delivery. would i wear my pump? would they give me insulin as needed through an IV? there are many options, depending on the patient and doctors. katie and i talked it out, she conferred with the on-call doctor and we decided i'd get insulin through an IV so i didn't have to worry about fooling with my pump in addition to focusing on delivery. they checked my blood sugar every few hours (so ya know, that whole sleeping thing doesn't really happen when you go into labor at night) and it was pretty stable... actually, they let me check it. i got to prick my own finger and use my own meter. and when they had to use their meter, i still got to prick my own finger. :)

it turned out to be a great decision. and when he was born, i put my pump back on and cut all my basal rates in half immediately - my insulin needs dropped dramatically right after delivery.

the doctor came in and we chatted about pain control options. she said she recommended and preferred i go ahead and get an epidural, because if she gave me pain-controlling medicine by IV, it would make the baby sleepy and prolong labor. i was not a fan of a labor any longer than necessary (hahaha, oh the irony. keep reading.). i was suddenly very nervous, because getting the epidural was the part that scared me the most. ya know, all fears come to the surface. what if it doesn't work, what if i end up paralyzed, what if...  all those. i wasn't having much pain with my contractions so i didn't think i needed it yet, but i didn't want to wait until i was in a lot of pain, then have to sit around and wait for them to show up.

it took a while for the anesthesiologist to come administer the epidural, at about 2 am she showed up. she stuck me once. it didn't go in right. she took it out. stuck me again. she didn't like how it went in, it wasn't making both sides of my body react how it should. she took it out again. stuck me again. it drew blood, she didn't like that. she took it out again. THREE TIMES. katie and devon had been really good at chatting about nothing and distracting me, and they were just quiet. it was just a coincidence, but silence at that second was NOT GREAT. i started to internally panic that it wasn't going to work and i was going to deliver him naturally. i mean, i'm aware that women have been doing that literally forever, and still do it today, but that's just not me. sorry not sorry. i wanted the epidural. finally, she had me lay on my side and hug my knees as close as i could (not very close, haha). fourth time's a charm! shew.

i laid back in bed and there i was. for the next day. 7 am came and went. shift change, katie left. i tried to nap.

9:30 am on 12/13/14

the hours crawled by, the UK game came on and went off (you all didn't think devon would miss a game, did you?). everyone said he'd be born during the game. nope. not even close. the game was at noon. i tried to nap more. the doctor came in and told me i really needed to try to sleep so i'd have the energy to push. so i napped.

smallest TV he's ever watched a UK basketball game on

family and friends came to visit and check on us. nurses came in and out. i napped. my sister and brother-in-law, who thought they wouldn't make it in town before he was born, arrived WELL ahead of him!

1:00 pm. my mom stopped by before she went to her holiday season job

i was rolled from side to side, sat up, laid back. i had some more short naps. 7 pm came again. awesome nurse katie was back! i was so happy. the other nurses during the day were lovely, but they weren't katie. katie was honest with us. he wasn't going to be born on 12/13/14. they gave me some more epidural drugs.

then, i got sick. i remembered what one of my nurse friends told me. if you start to get nauseous, it's close. it's a part of labor for many women. active labor is starting when you get sick. i couldn't properly sit my body up, but i woke up, kept trying to sit up, said i was going to be sick and was.

...11 pm came and went. i'd been in labor for 25 hours. i was exhausted. but i felt like i hadn't done anything but lay there! i felt so tired, but the action hadn't even started. i remember saying that this is nothing like what i thought it would be. (i also remember asking why woment would ever want to do this without an epidural for that many hours, but that's just me.)

finally, at 1 am, it was go time. time to push, everyone out of the room. katie said i could have the baby out in an hour. i remember looking at the clock between every push and contraction. a little progress, then nothing. THAT was the hard work. not painful work, just tiring. so tiring. but i was determined. that damn hour went by. i was so pissed that i didn't do it in an hour, i was so set on it not taking two hours. thank goodness, having c-section was NEVER mentioned. ...an hour and 30 minutes had passed.

finally. at 2:34 she told me to stop pushing, popped her head out the door and said 'get in here girls!' to the other nurses and doctor. of course, my thought was, 'STOP PUSHING NOW?! NO!'

then, after 28 hours of labor, at 2:35 am on december 14, we heard the most precious sound i have ever heard in my life. our son came into this world with a little cry, and our lives were forever changed in the best way possible.

it's been almost six months. the best six months ever. there are of course challenging times, but i wouldn't change a bit of it. 

we've been given a happy, friendly, outgoing and curious boy who adores just about everything and everyone he's encountered. i can't wait to see what his life has in store for him. 

i turn to mush thinking about it and every time i see him. there's nothing in the world like being a mom, and i love every second of it.

#cuemomtears

the birth story, part 1. better late than never, right?

as we approach our son's half year on this earth (in 2 weeks), it's about time i wrote about his arrival, no?

seriously, time/priorities/life has changed so blogging got bumped down the list quite a bit. ...ok, a lot. when i looked back at my 37 week picture, i didn't even remember my baby bump being that big! and at the time, i didn't think it was big. haha.

so. birth story. when i was pregnant, i remember searching the internet for various birth stories, especially from moms with type 1 diabetes. they helped me a lot! i like being prepared and knowing every possible scenario, that way i don't freak out if things don't go as i thought they would. i wanted to share mine for any other pregnant mommy who might be looking and i want to be able to look back at this myself in case i don't remember all the details someday. here's part 1 of the story.


friday, december 12. i went to work as usual. i was feeling super uncomfortable, i knew i was waddling (because everyone felt the need to tell me, as if i couldn't feel myself walk/swaying) and moving at a much slower pace. nothing major was happening that day, i actually took the time to clean out my inbox and organize the maternity leave folder on my computer. i think my subconscious knew he was about to make his debut.

that afternoon, my cousin invited us to dinner with my parents, my aunt and other cousins. devon and i met them right after work. i felt extra tired, just drained. but again, i was pregnant, so didn't think anything of it. i had been having what i THOUGHT were braxton hicks contractions all day. i had never experienced contractions, so i didn't know what to expect. my mom mentioned that it looked like he had REALLY dropped (after hearing that from various people for a few weeks).

at dinner, my cousin was babysitting for our other cousin's 3 month old. the baby's mom called and asked if someone could keep her longer that evening, and i said if i wasn't almost 38 weeks pregnant i would. my cousin said into her phone, 'she could have her baby, like, at any moment.' and of course, i laughed it off because i knew we had a week until i was induced.

when we got home, devon and i went in the basement to have our first holiday viewing of Christmas Vacation. we were going to relax and enjoy our last weekend as a family of two. the movie ended right before 10 pm, and back upstairs we went. i laid down on the couch in the living room while devon did a few quick things.

i took the picture below and posted it on instagram, joking that our cat bella knew that the baby was coming soon because she had been at my side (literally) since we got home. wherever i was, she was. this was taken about 5 minutes before my water broke.

as devon came over to the couch to sit down, i had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom. (mom speak: i had to potty.) i jumped up from the couch and ran to the bathroom. i thought i had lost control of my bladder, thinking that must have been a symptom that i missed. awesome. 'do you have to go that bad?' was devon's reaction ... he hadn't seen my pregnant butt run anywhere for months.

without the details you don't want to hear ... i was pretty sure my water had broken. i yelled, 'so, i think my water broke.' he was immediately googling symptoms of water breaking. i told him i had to call the doctor, even if this wasn't my water breaking, she was surely going to make me go to the hospital.

i text my best friend. 'i think my water broke.'  'YOU BETTER NOT BE JOKING!' 'nope, i'm serious.'

i was told the doctor would call back within 30 minutes, and 29 minutes later, she called (of course i remember how long that wait was!). all i got out was a brief description of why i thought my water broke and she said, 'yes. your water broke. come to the hospital now.'

while we were waiting for the return call, we had added our last minute things to our hospital bags, so we were pretty much ready to go. i whined about not being able to take a shower before we left - even though i had one that morning, i didn't know when i'd get to have one again! - and i got in the car. in the driver's seat. yes, i drove us to the hospital. i wasn't having contractions and it felt better to drive so i didn't sit in the passenger seat and freak out that it was really happening.

i remember every time i went to an appointment at my OB's office (connected to the hospital) that soon we'd get to park in the 'labor and delivery patients' parking spot ... well, when you get to the hospital at 11 pm on a friday, there's plenty of parking. so instead, we parked right next to that spot.

when we got inside, i was taken right into a room and changed into a gown while i was asked a bunch of questions. it was only a few minutes before we realized this wasn't a false alarm. the nurse asked me to describe what i thought were braxton hicks. she told me those were contractions, that they are different for every woman, and what i was feeling (tightness all over my belly) were my contractions ... good to know, i had been randomly having them all day. but nothing consistent.

devon called his parents while i called mine and my sister. we told them we'd let them know when something exciting was happening; we were just going to get some sleep (hahaha, yeah right) and wait.

Holy Crap This is Really Happening smile

we were in it for the long haul. the VERY long haul...