So Mr. Tadd is 2 months old now, and it seems that I have stuff under control enough that I can take a moment to write down his birth story...even if it is for my own sake. Tadd was due on May 12th (Mother's Day!), but decided, just like his older brother, that he wanted to be late. My money was on May 14th - but both the 12th and 14th came with no sign of him coming into this world any time soon.
Funny thing is, with both pregnancies I started progressing early. I had contractions starting at 34 wks with Caden and about 32wks with Tadd. They'd always go away in about an hour and a half - but the doctor checked me at 34wks both times and both times I was 1cm. Then the contractions would pick up - about 35wks I'd get the "flu" feeling along with them, and I'd go into the doctor at 36 wks. With Caden I was 85% and 3cm and with Tadd I was about 80% and 4cm. The doctor would say, "Well, I'll probably see you again sometime later this week - if not tonight!" and I'd head home slightly worried about having a baby before 37wks (esp. since they were both boys and the lungs typically take longer to develop on boys). Then the contractions would stop within 24hrs, the flu feeling would clear right up, and I'd sail through (er...trudge, be dragged, suffer through...) another 5-6 WEEKS of pregnancy (Caden was 6, Tadd was 5).
So, May 17th came around - 5 days post due date and I started worrying that I wasn't going to have this baby before my mom had to head back home to San Diego. I decided to call my doctor and setup induction for Monday (May 20th) so that I'd at least get a week of mommy help postpartum. We got that all setup and then went about our day as usual. That night was a Young Women Fundraising dinner for Girls Camp, and since we hadn't had the baby yet, we hopped on over to the church about 6pm for yummy ribs and an auction. 7pm came and we decided we needed to call it an early night and get Caden home to bed. I went to pick him up from the nursery and just has I bent over to put his shoes on him, BAM! first contraction hits much stronger than anything I'd had up until then (and I hadn't had a single contraction for 5 weeks). I get him all gathered up and start walking to the car and another one comes. We load up, go to pick up the Red Box we had for the evening, and another one hits me so strong that all the painful memories of Caden's labor come flooding back and I know we're in for it! We get home about 7:45, get Caden fed (apparently he doesn't like ribs), bathed, and put down for bed (Ever try to do that between serious labor contractions? Let me tell you, it's quite fun.) and we get on the road to the hospital about 9pm (they'd been coming ever 2-3 min for almost 2 hrs).
Once at the hospital we get all settle in and they say they want to monitor me for a half hour to make sure I'm in labor before they admit me. While I love this hospital (I really, really do), that really ticked me off because 1) I was already at a 4 before the contractions started and I was afraid if they put off getting me my epidural too long it'd be too late and 2) it's RIDICULOUSLY obvious my contractions are real. Anyways, they monitor me for a half hour and ask me crazy questions like "Did you bring a blow dryer with you?" that I can't physically answer because of the contractions. After a half hour she checks me and I'm at a 6. "You're staying!" she announces, like she's some sort of surprised. And I plead for the epidural. Again. (I'd done the whole 'try to do it natural' thing with Caden and made it to 10cm, but then they wanted to me labor down for a couple hours and I was done - and after I felt the relief of the epidural I swore the only way there would be siblings for that little kid was if there was an epidural involved). The nurse then tells me that I have to have my blood drawn and tested by the lab before they could order the epidural for me. WHAT?! I didn't have to do that last time. Why couldn't they have done that first thing...why did we have to wait an hour to even let the lab know to come up?! So...we wait.
Michael is great during all of this. Answering all the questions for me, helping me keep my shaking under control, acknowledging the especially big contractions on the monitor... :) And we get through the next couple of hours together as we wait for lab to come up and take my blood, test it for platelets, and then give the okay to the anesthesiologist. Through each contraction I just visualize my favorite moments with Caden - out in the grass at our nearby park, swinging him around while he giggles uncontrollably in the sunshine. I'm doing this so I can have more of those moments I tell myself.
About midnight the anesthesiologist comes in to be my favorite person on earth. They raise the bed high up so he can put the needle in at his eye level, and just as I'm sitting up high on my throne, all in one moment my doctor walks in to say hi and I lose my rib dinner and ice cream dessert. He, not so discreetly, says he'll come back in a little bit. Well we finally get me all setup with the wonderful epidural (which always works fast on my right side, but takes about an hour and a half to work on my left - and even then I still get a spot that never numbs completely), and we settle in to wait out the next couple of hours (I was at a 8/9 by this point). The Reglen they gave me for the nausea knocks me out and I get a good nap from about 1:30-2:30. At 2:30 the nurse comes in to give me my second dose of antibiotics needed for Group B Strep. Before she hooks it up she checks me and says, "OH! There's his head! I said to tell me if you feel any pressure!!" (I had told them, but whatever.) And she pumps the antibiotics in me and calls the doctor in one fluid motion. Then the flurry of getting the room ready ensued and at 3am exactly the doctor broke my water, at 3:02 he said to start pushing, then the baby's heart rate started dropping and they scurried to get me on oxygen, but before they could get it going Tadd Kevan Root was born at 3:07am!
He was 8lbs 9oz and 21.25 inches. Instantly I could tell he was a calm baby and I was hit all over again with the, "Who on earth are you?! I'm your mom, but I don't know you at all!" feeling.
Here's the little man:
Then we enjoyed him the rest of the wee early hours together.
The next morning, Michael left to go get Caden and my mom and Tadd and I were left to our lonesome to rest for a bit. Of course that's when we have to have our little scare. I still hadn't quite gotten my legs under me all the way from the epidural and Tadd was asleep in the bassinet at the foot of my bed. I wake up to him gagging and see him throw up several ounces of amniotic fluid. He then aspirates it back in and starts choking. I try not to freak out and just pick him up and hit him on the back. He proceed to continue to not breathe. I push the call button for the nurse and tell her in my best calm voice that my baby is choking and I need help. Tadd starts going from red to blue to this freaky gray color. I lose my cool and freak. Man do they make those rooms sound proof! No one could hear me yelling for help! I smack the call button again and clarify that I need help NOW. He's. NOT. BREATHING! Well that got them in there lickity-split. Got the whole dang nursery staff in there. They scoop him up and in one fluid motion asked permission to stick tubes down his throat while they're sticking tubes down his throat. (Of course I said yes.)
So this happened with Caden too. Not so bad, but he did the gaggy thing, as we called it, for about the first week of life. The nurse asked if he was born fast (like I didn't have to push for very long). Apparently, the pushing time is when the majority of the amniotic fluid gets pushed out of their lungs. So if you don't push for very long (Caden was 15 min, Tadd was 5 min), it doesn't give them enough time to get all the fluid out and often those babies end up needing their lungs and stomachs suctioned a bit after they're born. Good to know. Anyways, they get him all cleared and breathing again, Michael comes back with Caden and my mom, and now we're a happy family of 4!
Welcome to the family little Tadd man - we love your sweet little self to pieces!
