Xander's Birth Story

I apologize for the amount of time it has taken to get this post finished and out there for you to read. Life with two kids is crazy! I had the post all typed out while I was in the hospital, but for some reason it didn't save. So I had to re-write it (and finding time to do that once I got home from the hospital was difficult). But here it is. Xander's Birth Story:

On Wednesday, July 23rd, I went to my last prenatal doctor's appointment. He checked my cervix and said I was only dilated to a 1 and still pretty thick. So he told me to check into St. Marks that coming Sunday, the 27th, rather than the following morning as we had previously planned. The reason being so I could receive a medication called Cytotec (a medication which dilates and thins the cervix). Receiving Cytotec through the night would help my body to respond better to the labor-inducing drug Pitocin, which I would receive that monday morning.

So Sunday night I arrived at the hospital at 8pm. They got me all hooked to the monitors, started my IV, and I got all settled in for a hopeful night of sleep before the big day. Branden and Makayla were there for about an hour before they headed home to get some sleep as well (Branden planned to come back first thing the next morning before they started the Pitocin). I was given the Cytotec at 9pm. They checked me at the same time and I was dilated to 1.5 and still thick.

When I finally got to sleep, around 10:30,  my nurse came in and told me that the baby's heart rate was dropping significantly with each my contractions (called late decelerations) and that I needed to reposition myself. She also gave me fluids through my IV and put me on oxygen to help the baby tolerate the contractions a little better. She decided to check my cervix at that time and I had dilated to a 3, was 70% effaced, and the amniotic sac was bulging--she suspected it would break any time (all that in an hour and half). After a few position changes the baby started tolerating the contractions better and Dr. Yamashiro instructed my nurse to keep watching closely and not give me any more doses of Cytotec throughout the night (because the one dose they had given me did its job pretty well).

The nurse advised me to get my epidural at that time (around 11:00) for two reasons: 1) If the baby started to have late decelerations again I would most likely have to have an emergency c-section. If I didn't have the epidural in place at the time that decision was made, they would have to put me all the way under general anesthesia. And 2) Because my body was having regular, strong, contractions at that time and had my cervix had changed significantly in such a short amount of time, there was a good chance that once my water broke I would labor pretty quickly and I'd want something for the pain. So with that information, I called Branden to start heading back down to the hospital and I got my epidural at 11:30.

Branden got to the hospital right as they were checking my cervix again, which was dilated to a 4--things had slowed down a bit. Since the baby was doing well without any more drops in his heart rate, we decided it was best to try and get some rest. At 1:30 there still hadn't been any changes to my cervix and my contractions had slowed down. Dr. Y told the nurse to keep monitoring and that he'd be in later that morning to break my water and get the labor started up again.

Branden settled in and fell right to sleep, or so it seemed, but I was wide awake at that point. I had been laying on my right side for a while, contemplating the events of the night so far, and my epidural slowly caused that right leg to become completely numb. I couldn't move it and I had zero sensation.I started feeling extremely claustrophobic. (At one point I even ripped my blood pressure cuff off and threw it across the room--baha). I knew sleep was going to be hard to come by. Amazingly enough, with the help of some meditation music (thank you Pandora), I was able to get about an hour of shut eye before my nurse came back in at 5:45 to check my progress. There had been absolutely no change--still dilated to a 4, 70% effaced. The baby's "station," as they call it, was pretty high up.

With further investigation, the nurse got to suspecting that the baby was not head down, like he should be, but that he was breech (feet first). She got an ultrasound to confirm her suspicion, and sure enough, he was breech. She called Dr. Y who ordered her to give me a medication to stop my contractions (they didn't want my water to break on it's own and cause me to go into labor with a breech baby). He said he'd be in a couple of hours to try to manually turn the baby.

He ended up coming in around 6:30. He located the baby's head and bum on my belly and literally turned him so that he was head down. He called it the "Yamashiro jiggle!" That man! All I have to say is thank goodness I had the epidural on board because it would have been extremely painful if I hadn't. The baby did NOT like being moved like that, either. His heart rate dropped and they hurriedly turned me on my side and gave me oxygen. You could feel the tension in the room as we all watched the monitor for the heart rate to go back up. And it did, but Dr. Y did an ultrasound and saw that the umbilical cord was now wrapped around the baby's neck....sigh.

The baby was stable, at the time, but if we progressed with a vaginal birth there was a high, high likelihood that I'd labor for several hours and then when it came time to push (or even earlier) we'd end up doing an emergency c-section because the baby's heart rate would keep dropping. I was given the decision to have Dr. Y start my labor or go back for a C-section from the get go. I did not want to risk my baby's life just so I could have a "traditional" birth. So I opted for the C-section so that we could be in control of the situation.

Things progressed very quickly from that moment. Since it was shift change, there were a LOT of people in the room getting me ready. They were prepping me, explaining how things were going to happen, getting my consent, giving me an assortment of meds and fluids, and getting Branden dressed into a very attractive OR suit. :P

Getting ready to go back

Attractive suit, didn't I tell ya?

They wheeled me to the OR and moved me onto the table. When they put the drape up I started panicking. I could hear the staff getting the OR ready--setting up their tables and instruments, counting supplies and getting me settled on the table. I could feel sensations of my belly being prepped, but wasn't sure if I was just imaging it or if I could really feel it. I was shaking like a leaf (a side effect of the medications they were giving me, but I think it was also nerves). After what felt like forever, they let Branden in to be by me. That made all the difference. He talked me down and comforted me. Dr. Yamashiro did a few test pricks, which I couldn't feel, so they got started.

It was only a couple minutes later, at 7:34am to be exact, that we heard that LOUD, strong cry. They lifted our little guy up so Branden could snap a picture and then the nurse lifted him over the drape for me to sneak a peak before taking him into a side room to get him dried off, weighed, and wrapped. His little shrieks were the most comforting noise in the world right then.

Sorry--graphic

6 lbs 3.5 oz

He was screaming the whole time..as you can see

Branden brought our little man over to me a couple minutes later. I gave him a kiss and said hello and then Branden got to snuggle him (lucky!) while I was being stitched up (which felt like FOREVER!) To pass the time, we discussed names. What in the world were we going to name this little guy? When we went into the hospital, I figured we'd either come out with a Declan (my choice) or a Brady (Branden's choice). But the moment we saw his little face, we knew he wasn't going to be either.

Proud Daddy

Finally, about 20 minutes later, they were finished stitching me up and were moving me to a bed to be wheeled back to my room. I got to hold our little man while they wheeled us back. :)

When we got to our room, we continued our conversation about names while I fed the baby (He instantly latched...which was surprising).  We finally agreed on a name--it was one that we had discussed early in the pregnancy but had forgotten about. But it fit. And we decided.

Xander Lawrence Davis
7/28/2014
0734
6 lb 3.5 oz
19 in long

Look familiar? We have a picture just like this of Makayla

We were taken to the Mom/Baby floor shortly after. Around noon my mom brought Makayla to meet her baby brother. She did so well with him! She even wanted to "hold it" right off the bat!

Her interest in him kind of faded once we gave her her "big sister gift", which consisted of a bunch of Daniel Tiger characters, coloring books, bath toys, and books. She played and played for her entire visit. We had lots of visitors that day--Makayla, my mom, both of my sisters, and my brother. Xander also had his first bath that day.

Branden stayed that first night with me--I was having really bad right shoulder pain (which is referred gas pain from the surgery). It hurt to breathe. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me cringe. The following day Branden went home to be with Makayla through the night. Xander and I were in the hospital for 3 full nights (we went home on the 31st) and Makayla came to visit every day. And every day she was so happy to see her baby brother (She calls him "baby Sando" and says he's "so tute" lol).

She is so sweet with him

Branden and Makayla came and picked us up from the hospital on July 31st and we all went home together as a family!

My little kiddos on the way home from the hospital!

So there you have it. It wasn't the story I was thinking I'd be telling, but it is definitely his own. We love him to pieces (even Makayla--she asks to see him first thing every morning when she wakes up). Even with all the complications I've had (more on that later) I still wouldn't have had it any other way.