Trevin's Birth Story

Little Trevin James is here! And when I say "Little" I mean "LITTLE!"  Our boy came to us weighing only a mere 5 pounds which shocked us all!  We knew from the looks of my little tummy that he was going to be small but we didn't expect him to be THAT small.  BUT he's here and healthy, and we're super happy to have him as a new little addition to our family!

Trevin's little story begins really about 2 years ago with Dustin often saying how he was ready to have kids.  Me on the other hand...I wanted to wait until I was "ready"...(although now after having Trevin I realize you really can never be READY for kids, haha.)  So we waited.  And then, a brilliant plan sparked.  I could graduate with my Bachelors degree, AND have a baby, AND quit my job to stay home with the baby ALL AT THE SAME TIME.  Holy genius right? ;) So we "planned" it just right you might say.

Saturday, May 4th I graduated with my Bachelors of Science degree in Human Services.

Friday, May 30th my team at the University of Phoenix had a surprise baby shower/going away party for me.  It was awesome. They got me a cake, a baby swing, and had baby shower games all ready to go :). I was already dialated to a 4 at that point (confirmed at my appt the day before) and everyone thought for sure Trevin was going to come over the weekend.  Yeah... THOUGHT. ha.  I was super nervous because I KNEW he was coming soon!  I said my goodbyes to my team just KNOWING I would never see them again (they all knew my plan was not to come back after going on maternity leave).  Saturday comes...nothin.  Sunday comes....nothin.  So Monday morning I go in to work with a silly little smile on my face... "hey guys. yeah....still here.."  haha.  I got a lot of student applications and work done that day if any students out there care ;)

Tues morning, June 4th.
I had pretty heavy cramp-like feelings (contractions obviously) that woke me up a few times during the night.  I got up around 6am to get ready so I could leave for work around 6:45. As I start getting ready, the contractions get stronger and closer together.  I decide I'm having way too many not to be timing these.

k, there goes one.....
and another at 5 minutes....
another 6 min later....
another 4 min later.....
umm....
kind freaking out here.....
(but I'm still in denial.)
So I continue getting ready.

 I tell Dustin (who was still in bed since it was his day off) after 35 min has gone by with consistent contractions, "Dustin, I don't think I'm going to work today....."  Boy did that wake him up!

"Are you seroious? Are we going?!"

"No....not yet. The doctor said they have to be 5 min. apart for an hour...""  So...still in denial I continue getting ready insisting that we have to wait for an hour!

..... ok...it's been 45 min.... annnnd HOLY HECK THAT ONE HURT.
"Ok, DUSTIN! I am NOT going to work.  Grab the hospital bags! We'd better go!"  Contractions get stronger....(dude...total understatement.)   I call my manager and tell her I'm not coming in, as I'm fighting my way through the strongest cramp-like feelings of my life.  All I could think was "oh my gosh, it's time. He's coming."  I was nervous because I didn't feel like I'd read enough about what to expect and plan for, even though I'd read a ton.

We jump in the truck and Dustin is smiling ear to ear with excitement.

We get to the hospital and luckily know where we are going this time. (We went for a hospital tour a few weeks back and got lost...ended up in a completely different building even. I told Dustin "It's a good thing I'm not in labor right now or I might not be so nice about us having no idea where we're going." hahaha)

The lady that checked us in was nice but...holy cow, super slow.  I couldn't believe there was not a faster process to HAVE A BABY!! haha.

They get me all set up...IV in and stuff, and I'm dilated to an 8!  They start freaking out a little which made me freak out a little.  They said we had to hurry.  I was wheeled down the hall on a stretcher (SO like the movies) and asked if I wanted an epidural. The pain was tolerable at this point so I naively asked,  "Is the pain going to get worse?"  The nurse looked at me "oh yes."  ....gulp. ......"ok, I want one then." haha
The epidural felt WEIRD.  I always thought an epidural was a shot with a huge needle....but nope.  They literally had to stick this stiff string thing up my spine/back area, and I could feel it going in!  I had to tell the anesthesiologist if he was going too far to the right or left.  He kept going left and I felt a tingly sort of pain that I reeeeallly did not like.  BUT once it was in I was good to go, and all the pain slowly faded.  Even after the epidural was completely in effect, I could still move my toes, which I actually was quite thankful for. It meant my body wasn't dead. hahaha.

The nurse helping with the entire delivery, Ann, was really great and kept things humorous.  I kept getting cold and my body would violently shake.  A blanket helped but she said the reason I was shaking was because my body was basically going through shock and preparing itself.  She said my water should be breaking any time and quite frankly she was surprised it had not already.  She explained it was like a huge balloon filled with water and when it pops I would know. Annnnnnnddd a few minutes after she said that, yep, gushy water everywhere.  It just kept coming....and coming.... and as she ran for more and more towels I kept thinking that I was SO glad that that had not happened at work!!

She got me on patosin (spelled?) to help me dilate faster.  When she left the room, it was just Dustin and I. .....Dustin asked with an excited expression, "So, are you ready for this?"  "Well," I said, "is it too late to back out if I'm not?"   hahaha.

Ann came back and toher surprise and ALL our surprises really, said, "OH! you're ready!" .........uhhhhhhh..... wait what?  As she ran around the room getting towels and things, she said I had just won a bet. A few other ladies were also in labor down the hall and Ann had bet all the nurses that I would dilate and start pushing first.  And she was right. haha.  She gave me "pushing" instructions: when I "felt" a contraction (pressure) I should look up on the monitor to see if the lines were spiking.  If so, that meant I was having a contraction and I was to push kind of like I was constipated."  hahaha, oh heavens.  After a few pushes the doctor arrived. ...It was almost unreal.  I didn't FEEL like I was in labor...like any moment my son would come into the world.... clearly I had seen WAY too many movies where everyone is screaming and freaking out and the woman is dying with pain.  And I might have been that way but thank heavens for that epidural!  It made the experience sooo much more calm.  Between contractions/pushes we literally just sat there for a few moments in silence.  It was kind of funny really. 

A few more pushes and they could see his head.  I asked Dustin if he could see Trevin's head and he excitedly said he could.  I'm glad he didn't freak out like he had when we had watched the live birth on the internet.  We had wanted to get a feel for what labor would be like so we watched a live birth video.  When that baby's head popped out of that lady, Dustin FREAKED!  He literally grabbed his mouth with his hands and started saying "oh my gosh, oh my gosh." hahhaha.  I laughed soooo hard I almost peed my pants.  I admit it was VERY interesting to see a purple-ish/blue-ish human head pop out.  ....anyway...back to MY story.

The doctor told me he could see Trevin's head but that he would have to do a little snip so his head could come out.  Episiotomy, yep.  I of course was completely numb and didn't feel a thing but Dustin later said that it LOOKED like it hurt since he basically just cut me with scissors!!  (Oh yes, later when the epidural wore off it did indeed hurt quite badly but...here we are 3 months later and it's like nothin ever happened right? ;))

After the snip, I felt a release of pressure and the doctor said, "His head is out.  One more push."  ...And one push later our little man was here.  The doctor held him up...what a long and stringy little guy he was.  The doctor instructed Dustin on cutting the umbilical cord, and then the nurse wiped the white goo off him a bit and placed him on a towel on my chest.  I could not believe it. Nothing could have prepared me for that moment even though I had imagined that exact moment a thousand times.  He was here.  Our little Trevin James.  The tears came and I could only say "hi baby" over and over. The other nurses in the room helped with pictures which are pretty neat now to look back on:  (don't you just love my little edit to the pic below? hahaha)

 

But that's not the end.  They weighed our little guy....and little he was!   4 lbs and 15.7oz

 

The next little bit was kind of a blurr.  They cleaned Trevin up a little better and tried to get his temperature...but they couldn't.  Ann thought maybe the thermometer she was using wasn't working or something so she got another one.  But that one wouldn't read his temperature either.  They explained that his blood sugars were low and since they couldn't get his temperature they would need to take him down to the nursery in the NICU.  Ann had Dustin follow her to the nursery so we'd know where it was. ........They took Trevin and left and..... I was all alone.

annnnnnnnd..........WAAAA!!!  yeah, I totally BAWLED! (hormones, hormones, haha)

I was so sad though, for Trevin...feeling a little bit like I had failed to do a good job carrying him....and felt so alone in that moment.   Luckily a few minutes later Ann came back and kind of explained things to me which helped calm me down.  We moved over to the postpartum room where our "roller coaster" ride of both awesome and crazy continued.