At the beginning of June we welcomed a little piece of heaven into our family. Ezequiel Aaron Richards was born on June 2, 2017 at 1:36 pm. He weighed in at a whooping 9 lbs 9 oz and 19.5 inches long. I'll back track a little to give some more details about this pregnancy and his arrival.
I had a C-section with Hazel, because she was breech. From the very beginning, my goal was to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) with this baby. I was told that I could as long as I didn't have any complications, the baby was positioned the right way, and I went into labor on my own - I couldn't be induced. I wasn't too worried about any of those stipulations because I've always gone into labor on my own with ease.
30 weeks
I did have a few new things, I was a bit concerned about during the entire pregnancy. In February 2016, I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. It is an auto-immune condition similar to rheumatoid arthritis, except there is swelling and inflammation of the joints, ligaments, and any connective tissue. In a nutshell, it causes a lot of pain, a lot of stiffness, and like all arthritis, it limits my functionality and takes a lot longer to accomplish even simple tasks. My rheumatologist told me that things would most likely get better with pregnancy. This gave me some confidence to try getting pregnant again as I knew we needed to have another one.
38 weeks
Unfortunately that wasn't necessarily the case with me. It didn't go into remission, as predicted. I had some really bad days, I had some OK days, and very few good days in between. I had to quit taking my medication at 32 weeks. Honestly, if I wasn't dealing with all this arthritis stuff, this would have been the ideal pregnancy. Pregnancy wise, I had no complaints - I had only 1 day of morning sickness (I didn't even throw up), very little weight gain, no heartburn, no headaches, no real complaints - until the end.
39 weeks
I was due May 25. It wasn't until the end of my pregnancy that I seemed to pack on the weight. I gained nearly 8 pounds in the last two weeks. It was then that I knew I was going to have a big baby, but I still wasn't too worried. Two doctors within the practice told me that if I progressed enough, they could break my water in what they call a light induction if needed, but that was all they could do.
40 weeks
It wasn't until my due date came and went that I started to get nervous that I would end up with another C-Section. That last week (of being overdue) was the worst week. I went for long walks, I did jumping jacks, I ate spicy food, I did aerobics with Eliza - almost anything I could think of to put myself into labor. With every new strand of physical exertion I tried, I just ended up being more tired, more sore, and more miserable.
When I went to the doctor one day overdue, I was only dialated to a 2 with 50% effacement. He said we could still be optimistic, but we have to put a deadline on things - if I didn't have this baby before 42 weeks, they would take it. I really hoped it wouldn't come to this because by this point, I was miserable. I had to come back into the office within 5 days for another check up and to do a non- stress test. Both Bruce and I thought I would have the baby over Memorial day weekend. I started to have a lot of cramping those days so I was pretty hopeful. 5 days came and went, and still no sign of baby. Now 6 days overdue, I went back into the office and had made it to a 3. Dr Smith suggested they schedule to bring me in and break my water. I chose Friday and was scheduled for June 2 at 7 am. At this point, I still hoped that I would have my baby before then. That night as I was getting ready for bed, I started to have painful contractions. They started in the back, traveled to the front, and then to the hips and down my legs. They were coming about 20 minutes apart and lasting 2.5 minutes long. They lasted all night long. Every 15-20 minutes and 2.5 minutes long. I didn't sleep at all. Thursday morning came, and the pattern continued, but I still didn't feel like these contractions were doing any good, progress wise. The pattern continued when I went to bed Thursday night. At around 2 am, the contractions starting happening every 7-10 minutes, but they were still lasting 2 minutes each. By this point, I felt like I had been in labor for 2 entire days. Finally at around 5:15 am, I couldn't take it any longer. I called the doctor and told them I was coming in now because I was so miserable. I knew they wouldn't send me home because I was scheduled to be there in 2 hours anyway, and maybe, just maybe something would happen. I wasn't out to set any records, I just wanted a VBAC.
When I arrived at the hospital, I had progressed to a 4. A 4, really? In 2 days, I had only progressed 1 lousy centimeter. Once I got to the hospital and hooked up to the monitor, the contractions became very sporadic. They were still lasting a long time, but they weren't timeable. I managed to catch a few hours of sleep.
Around 8 am, the doctor came in. He greeted me with a smile and asked if I was ready to do this. I answered with a resounding YES! He checked me and said I was at a 6. This was pretty good news. He told me that he wasn't going to break my water because he was going to do a C-section. In my lack of sleep, I thought he was talking about me. I sat up and shouted "No!" But, he meant that he had another already scheduled C-section. He was worried that if he broke my water now, he wouldn't be able to leave the C-section to deliver my baby. He told me that if I wanted an epidural, now was the time to get one. I refused the epidural, wanting to do it on my own. Besides, I was a little conscientious that if I had an epidural in place and things didn't go as quickly as they wanted, it would be all to easy for them to say that I was already prepped and to do a C-section.
The doctor left, and I continued to labor, albeit very slowly. The length of my contractions didn't shorten and they started to happen more often. I wasn't allowed to get out of bed and walk around because I had to be attached to the monitor at all times. I was literally stuck in bed.
Dr. Moscov came back around 9:30 and said I had progressed to a 7. He broke my water and predicted I would have this baby within an hour. So... on it continued. I tried using the new peanut ball. It is a yoga exercise ball shaped like a peanut. When put between your ankles, it is supposed to help open up the pelvis so the baby can drop down. I honestly think this big baby was having a hard time dropping into place. That's why both the contractions and the labor were so long. I started to get nauseous, but didn't want to take any medication. The nurse turned on some peppermint aromatherapy, and that did the trick. I really thought thing would progress more quickly with my water broken, but by noon when the Dr. came back in, I was only at an 8. He proceeded to call me a slacker and asked what was going on. "Nothing, that's the problem." was my response. I honestly have no idea why things were not progressing quickly. After all, this is my 4th baby, and considering how Zabien's labor was literally and hour and a half from start to finish; this was bizarre. I was never in the hospital for longer than 30 minutes with my first two before the baby was born.
At 12:15, he decided to give me a very small dose of pitocin. We needed to get the contractions more regular and to happen more often or this baby was never coming out. I was already 8 days overdue, and had basically been in labor for 2 days, I didn't need it to last any longer. He gave me 1/2 unit of pitocin around 12:20. Finally at 12:45, the contractions started to pick up. They started to get shorter and were happening one on top of the other which is what needed to happen. Around 1:25, I started to feel the urge to push. Dr. Moscov told me to have one more contraction and then we would do this.
At 1:27, he gave me permission to start pushing. The conversations went like this.
Dr. Mocov: Ok, let's do this. You remember how to do this right?
Me: I think so. I don't know.
Dr: Alright, and push!
I was so tired I didn't know if I could. I attempted.
Dr.: Come on, you have to do better than that.
We tried again
Dr: You really got to bear down or this baby is going to go right back up.
I definitely didn't want that to happen. So. Again.
Dr: I can see a whole head of dark hair. One more good one and you will be holding this baby in your arms.
The pushing stage was only 9 minutes long, but it was the longest and hardest I have every pushed. Having pushed 3 times each through 3 contractions, but finally my baby had arrived. And despite the pain, the length of time trying to get him here, and the long pregnancy - he was worth every bit of it. Just look at that face.
As I predicted, he was a big baby- weighing in at a whopping 9 lbs 8.8 oz. Rounded up to 9.9.
He is my solid bundle of joy sent from heaven. Everyone instantly fell in love with him.
He really is such a good baby. From the beginning he slept well and ate well.
Neither Bruce nor I expected to be at the hospital for 8+ hours previous to Ezequiel's birth, and the poor guy was bored out of his mind. This is the time we needed the books and the chocolates that we didn't have time for with the others. The other deliveries were so easy in comparison to this one.
Bruce jokes that everything he learned in our birthing class 6 years ago, he forgot because he never had to use that information. He was standing by my bedside and commented that this is his 4th baby, and he has no idea how to help his wife through labor.
After Ezequiel was born, I had some issues with hemorrhaging. This was the first time for that as well. For the next hour after he was born, the nurses and doctor would push down really hard on my belly every 10 minutes in an effort to stop the bleeding. This too was extremely painful - they pushed so hard I couldn't breathe. This may have been even worse than pushing the baby out.
But... once I was in the clear and wheeled over to recovery, I felt great, like I could do cartwheels down the hall.
All things considered, recovery was a breeze. Of course, I felt good and recovered quickly.
In fact, the first week and a half at home is the best I felt in a long time, and I did my best to soak it up. But once, Ezequiel hit his two weeks old mark, the postpartum arthritis flare I was warned about hit pretty hard. The past 4 weeks I have not felt very good at all despite starting up on my medication again.
As evidenced by these pictures, the older children are completely smitten with him, as am I. He is such a great little baby boy. Quick to snuggle, content to be held, and he nurses well. Eliza does such a good job helping to take care of him. She loves choosing his outfits every day, and fetching needed diapers and wipes. She has even gone as far as changing his diaper (and Hazel's). Zabien said he was going to take the best care of his little brother because he wants to play with him when he gets bigger.
We didn't know what gender we were having prior to delivery. Although we all expected and hoped it would be a boy. When the kids got to the hospital, the doctor was leaving my room and asked each of them what they thought the baby was. They all answered "boy." Then he asked what the baby's name was going to be, and they all responded "something with a Z." Eliza and Zabien wanted to name him Zabraham (a cross between Zabien and Abraham), but despite the cute song they made up about it and as many times as they sang it, Zabraham didn't make the cut.
Ezequiel it is. Ezequiel is a bible name that means "God will Strengthen." It has been our families theme over the past year and a half as we have dealt with new health issues. It was the perfect name for our new arrival. We also wanted to name him after Bruce's grandpa Richards. Bruce wanted to use the Spanish spelling of the name because he isn't a big fan of the letter K. Hence Ezequiel Aaron.
He is a beautiful baby, born with a full head of hair, and I am so in love with him.
Upon first meeting him, Hazel wasn't too sure about this strange baby. I don't think she realized that all this talk about a baby was going to constitute to a real, live baby. She wouldn't even look at him or touch him. It took an entire day before she would acknowledge him. When she finally did, the first week she was completely fascinated by everything he did. Every time he moved or made a sound, she was sure to tell me or point it out to someone. I honestly think she thought he was a baby doll. Now, she thinks he is her baby doll. She tries to pick him up off the ground or out of his bed or out of someone else's arms. She tries to take him from me when I am nursing him. She is overly fascinated with "baby" and wants to hold him all the time. Unfortunately, she also tries to toss him to the side when she is finished holding him.
Hazel gives some rather tough love. Aggressive to hug and kiss him - she tries to lay right on top of him to give him a hug, she pulls at his arms, and even pinches him. He is a pretty tough boy himself and does a good job holding his own.
We are all so thrilled to be a family of 6 now. I seriously can't believe that I have 4 kids when less than 6 years ago, we didn't have any.
He loves to be held just like this, and I absolutely love holding him. Awake or asleep, he will snuggle up to my shoulder for hours. He definitely doesn't do this with everyone - just me. I love it!
I love everything about this little man and am so happy that he is in our family. He really is such a good baby. So many people from our ward call him the best baby in the world. He doesn't fuss unless he has a legitimate reason to.
Welcome to our home and our family baby Ezequiel (EZ, Zeke). God will truly strengthen.
