Isaiah's Birthday

This is the birth story starting from my last OB appointment the day before he was born. Warning: it' a little long, but I want to remember every detail. I was measuring 1 cm under by fundal height, so the DR thought he had dropped and that he wasn't going to be that big since his sister was 6 lb 10 oz. She stripped the membranes and I thought for sure I would leave the office and things would get started. I had our bags in the car and was ready. We ran a few errands and spent the rest of the day at home just waiting for things to happen. It was a rainy day, but we had a break so headed out for a walk around the neighborhood to get things going. It was a short walk because 10 min into Ashley had to go potty and we're still in the "when she says she has to go we better go stage" and headed home. I was getting frustrated because I prepared myself for things to get started and they weren't. It's such an emotional experience, but on top of it I was putting expectations which never goes over well with me. Brian came home early and we took another longer walk to the park by our house and ran the dog and played with Ashley. I started to get "cramps" (because that's what my DR said I might feel after she stripped the membranes) at about 5pm. They started to get more regular and intense at dinner and by 9:00pm were 7-10 min apart. I called my mom to give her a heads up that this is either the beginning of go time or a false alarm. We arranged for my parents to watch Ashley and the dog while we were at the hospital, so I wanted to make sure she wasn't caught off guard if we needed to call her in the middle of the night. Then from 3am to about 5am the contractions stopped, which made me worry that this was a false alarm. I couldn't sleep that night so I did a little nesting of pictures on the computer and tried to pass the time. At 6am the contractions started back up about 7 min and pretty intense. Brian stayed home from work and spent the morning with Ashley. I really didn't want her to see me in pain, so I stayed upstairs most of the morning getting last minute things organized. Having Brian there with Ashley gave me time to labor without her getting concerned and I feel so lucky that the timing was so perfect. It would have been hard for me to make the call for Brian to come home, not knowing what course my labor was going to take. By 11:30am things changed and my contractions were 4-5 minutes apart and really intense. We made the call to get our things in the car and head to the hospital. I'm so happy we decided to go right then because on the way they were 3-4 min lasting about a minute making it not a fun car ride at all!! Brian found a website where you can track your contractions. It tells you how long between each one and how long by hitting the button every time you start and stop a contraction (great resource). Brian downloaded it onto his IPod so I just carried it around all morning and we were able to tell the OB the progress. We got to the hospital at 12:30pm and my epidural was in by 1:30pm. The nurses had everything ready because Brian called ahead of time with the update and as soon as the anesthesiologist was done with a C-Section I was next in line. The Dr also knew we were coming, so she was there within 1/2 hour. She checked me and at that time I was 4cm, 100% effaced, and 0 position. Perfect place to get the epidural whenever I was ready. After the experience I had with Ashley, I knew I didn't want too wait long. Last time the dose was too heavy and I couldn't feel a thing all the way down to my toes. I had no control over my legs and I wanted to avoid that again if I could. This time it was the perfect cocktail! The anesthesiologist was awesome, cracking jokes and a really nice guy. I only had to go through one contraction (although the strongest one yet) before the epidural kicked in, but after that things were soooo much better. Brian and I could talk about memories we had when Ashley was born, what we thought he was going to look like, call our parents and really enjoy the experience. At 5:15pm the Dr checked me and I was ready. He told everyone this was only going to be 2 or 3 pushes (I think it ended up being only 4!) Brian got to deliver Isaiah after the head was out (something the Dr wasn't too comfortable with at first, but was ok with after learning that he was a PA and had delivered Ashley) and we had a orienting nurse so she offered to video tape. I started crying as soon as I saw his head. I think knowing how much I love Ashley made this experience so much more emotional. They put him on my chest and allowed the cord to stop pumping before Brian cut it. Then they let me keep him there until I was ready for them to weigh him, etc. Oh, and he peed on me right as they were putting him on my chest, so that check was marked off right away! Brian gave him his first bath and I nursed him after all that was done. He figured that one out right away. About an hour after he was born Grammy and Ashley came to the hospital. Isaiah had a gift waiting for Ashley (a Dr's kit) so she was pretty excited about that. She took to her brother right away, giving him hugs and kisses and being so gentle with him. She understood that he came out of my tummy and didn't act the least bit jealous that we were holding him, etc. She is such a good big sister. After they left we had dinner and actually got a few hours of sleep that night. With Ashley, she was born at 10:30pm so by the time they got us cleaned up we were eating dinner at midnight and then never really got to sleep. For him to come at 5:48pm, Ashley to be able to see him shortly after he was born couldn't have been more perfectly planned. We went home at 5:00pm the next day. The nurses were so sweet, the Dr's were great, the room was huge, and the food was even good. The whole experience was wonderful and best part was we didn't have to worry about Ashley because she was having special time with Grammy and Grandpa. The transition has gone really well, but I don't think I could have done it on my own. I am so grateful that Brian is able to take a week off work. He has been amazing, cooking, cleaning and taking care of Ashley. I married a good one! Plus our family and friends visiting and helping out. Grandma and Grandpa Timm even made the long drive from Pendleton for the weekend to meet their new Grandson. Steph is coming back on Sunday to stay for a week to help out while Brian goes back to work. We just want to make sure that Ashley didn't feel left out and so far she has done really well. We didn't think we had to worry, but wanted to make sure we made a smooth transition for her too. We all love our little guy and feel so blessed with his safe and healthy arrival.