I did a terrible job keeping a record of my pregnancy with Easton. Life was just busier I guess! I wanted to write down a few things though in regards to my pregnancy, and then write his birth story. I want to look back on this and have as much of a record as I can. This is going to be a long one though. :)
This pregnancy was probably my hardest. I was sick the most, felt more tired, and experienced more aches and pains through out this pregnancy than I did with my other 2. I think it was the hardest on Greg too :) But, this pregnancy was also my shortest! I think the Lord knew none of us could take it anymore.
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38 weeks and 5 days; the day before I went into labor. (One of the boys, I think Deagan, took this)
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Picking out the name:
Just like with Kayden, we didn't know what we were going to name this little guy until I was almost due. We had thought early on that we would name him Ethan, but I just didn't feel like we were both really excited about the name. One day, I was browsing Pinterest, getting ideas how on how to decorate the little man's nursery, and I saw the name Easton on someone's post. I knew right then that thats what we should name him. Through out my pregnancy, I was waiting for inspiration in regards to his name, and I felt like that was inspired. I went and told Greg, and he decided that he felt that was his name too.
For his middle name; I wanted him to have a family name for a middle name. I thought about it for a while, and one day while I was in my room, I looked at a painting I have hanging up from my great-grandma Jessie Redd Ursenbach, and the thought came to me, "Redd." I knew then that that would be his middle name. So a week before he was born, he officially got his name Easton Redd Nelson. We have received mixed reviews regarding his name, but we both love it. We love that it carries a family name and that it is different. And the name fits him!
Labor and Delivery:
I don't know if it was inspiration or desperation, but I felt like I was going to go into labor early with this little guy. I went 6 days early with Kayden, and was so sure it would happen in a similar manner this time too. On the Thursday before I went into labor, I went into labor on Friday, I started to not feel all that great. I am on a committee in the RS to plan out monthly enrichment activities, and had our activity going on that night. I felt crampy and off through out the whole activity, but nothing really happened. The woman I was working with for the activity was afraid I was going into labor all night. :)
On the morning of May 2nd, I woke up, and again I wasn't feeling great. Kayden had playgroup that morning, so we got up and ready to go to that since the last thing I wanted to do was just sit at home and wait for something to happen. Up until this point, I had worked out at home doing cross-fit type workouts basically every day of my pregnancy, but that morning a short walk around the block was all I had energy for.
I went through out the day having contractions on and off, but nothing regular and consistent. Deagan had football practice that night, and I felt like they started to come more regulary, but they were still far apart. I didn't want to get my hopes up that I might be in labor, so Greg and I decided that we would go on a date like we had planned. We went to the movie, "Noah" which was awful FYI, and had contractions through out the whole thing. I kept an eye on my watch and noticed that they were coming every 10-15 minutes. We got home, and I told Greg I thought I was in labor. We continued to time them, and then when they started coming every 5-10 minutes apart, I called my dr. With this being my 3rd pregnancy, they told me to come in.
We contacted a friend of ours, who was also going to be our doula, that we were on our way to the hospital and left Ashley in charge of the boys at home. We got to the hospital, and I was checked and monitored. I was at a 2, which is where I was the Monday before this. I was monitored for about an hour, and around 2 am I was told that I was being discharged to labor at home. This is the one thing I did NOT want to have happened, so I was upset. But in the end, it was better that I went home.
I labored at home all night. The nurse at the hospital told me to eat and drink as much as I could at home because I wouldn't be able to eat once we got back to the hospital. I just couldn't eat though. I nibbled on a few things, but I was just not hungry at all. Our doula came with us to our house and helped me cope with the pain. Greg slept for a bit, and our doula slept for a bit, but I couldn't sleep. I was in a lot of pain, and couldn't relax. Around 6 am, I woke up our doula and asked to have her help me with some pain management techniques. We worked through the contractions for a while that had started to come more regularly and were lasting longer. This was all good signs that labor was progressing well. Around 10ish, my contractions kind of slowed down for some reason. I was getting worried that labor would stop all together and I would have to wait another week or so to have this baby. I decided to take a shower and walk around to see if I could help things along. As I was getting ready, I was having regular contractions and was in a lot of pain, but they just weren't as regular as they had been.
Around 11:30, they started to pick up again, so we decided to go back to the hospital. I was so afraid that I was just making it all up in my mind and that I wasn't really in labor, and I was afraid I would be sent home again. When we got to the hospital, they checked me again, I was only at a 3, and they monitored me for a while. The machine wasn't picking up really any real contractions, so I was sure we were going to be sent home again. The nurse could see that we were all anxious for labor to pick up, so she suggested that I get up and walk for an hour to see if we could get things moving. If they hadn't, she suggested that I have my water broken when I got back.
Around 12:30ish, Greg and I walked the halls of the hospital for an hour, and as I walked, I was having contractions regularly. I was so frustrated at this point. I kept comparing this labor to Kayden's, and I couldn't understand why I was having such a long labor. In my my mind, it should be just like that! As we walked, we talked about what we would do if I hadn't progressed at all. The impatient part of me was all on bored to have my water broken, but I also knew that once my water was broken, there was not going back. With Deagan, I felt like my impatience to be done being pregnant and then my choice to be induced ultimately led me to having a c-section with him. I was going for VBAC #2, and I knew that pushing labor could lead me back to the situation I was in with Deagan. As hard as it was, both Greg and I decided that if I had not progressed, we would forgo having my water broken and would go home. I of course did not want to go home, but I also did not want to push something that wasn't suppose to happen. We told out Doula our decision to make sure we were all on the same page once we got back to the room.
We got back after an hour, and the nurse had set up the room as if we were staying. I appreciated her optimism! The on-call dr (not my dr.) came in the check me. I told her as soon as she came in that I did not want my water broken, and she acted really funny and annoyed with me about this, but I was happy to know we were all on the same page. (I had heard previously that this dr had a history of pushing c-sections, so I was kind of afraid she would take matters into her own hands.) She checked me, and I was dilated to a 6! The walk worked!!! Looking back on this, I feel strongly that the Lord blessed us when we made the decision to let the Lord dictate how this turned out and not us.
It was about 2:00 at this point, and I was in a lot of pain at this point, and requested an epidural. There is certain procedure that has to be done before you can get an epidural though. They had to take blood and test something in it, so we waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, the lady came in to draw my blood. She was super nice and held my hand during a contraction and told me all about her births. I liked this lady. She got up to leave though and started small talking with my nurse. You could tell my nurse was trying to speed the conversation a long because she knew how desperate I was for an epidural, but this lady kept talking; I didn't like her so much after this. Greg and my doula both queued in on this as well, and everyone was trying to figure out what to say to get her to leave! She FINALLY left though, and then we had to wait another 30 minutes while they processed my blood.
I was cleared for an epidural, so they called the anesthesiologist to come in. At that same time, a woman who was in labor a room over from me had to go into an emergency c-section, so he was called into surgery with her. I of course understood her circumstances were much more important, but in that moment I was in so much pain and was frustrated that we had to wait some more. He finished up the surgery, and on his way to my room got called into the ER! I was dying and afraid that I was going to end up having this baby with no pain medication. The nurse was super nice and being a mom herself understood how much pain I was in.
The anesthesiologist finally walked in around 3:30ish. I was so happy to see him!! Greg told him that I had had 2 ineffective epidurals before, and the guy took that as his chance to prove that he could deliver, and he did. This was by far the best epidural I have received. I was finally able to relax and could feel the epidural relieving all my pain. The dr came in to check me at this point, and I was still at a 6. She suggested that I have my water broken, and I willingly obliged. I told her I was much more willing to have my water broken now that I had the epidural, and she seemed kind of annoyed that I didn't tell her before that I was waiting for the epidural before I had my water broken. I really didn't know at that point that that was what I was waiting for, but in hind sight, I don't think I would have had time to have an epidural if I would have had my water broken earlier. My labor progressed very quickly after that, and I think that thats what would have happened if I would have had it broken earlier.
Right after I got my epidural, I started to feel really nauseous. I told my nurse who then took my blood pressure. It had crashed to 67/30 something. No wonder I was feeling so awful. They quickly gave me something to bring my blood pressure up, and I started to feel so much better. Kind of scary!
I was able to close my eyes for a bit. I don't really know how long I slept on and off. It was all kind of fuzzy. I do remember being able to feel my heart beating. I was so relaxed and tired. I vaguely remember hearing Greg and my doula talk, but nothing really made sense. I do remember a nurse coming in to check me, and I was at an 8! This whole time, Greg was texting family to keep them updated.
Around 5:40, the nurses came in to say that they wanted this baby born before the nurses had to change shifts at 7. They checked me, and I was complete! It was time to push! As mentioned before, I had yet to have an epidural that took away all my pain, but this one worked! I knew as soon as I was told to push that I could do this. I wasn't feeling any pain at all! In the past, I felt an immense amount of pressure as the baby dropped, but I didn't feel any pressure pain at all. I felt the baby's head coming down and a bit of pressure, but there was no pain associated at all. I had texted my mom earlier and was so scared. I asked her to pray for me, and I know that all the prayers on my behalf were heard! I felt so much confidence and peace as I started to push. The nurse could see the baby's head before I even started pushing. He was coming!
I pushed a few times with just the nurses and Greg and my doula. Everyone told me I was doing a good job, but I couldn't feel anything. A few pushes in, the dr was called in. She came in, and pushing continued! It was so hard to push at this point. I had been in labor for almost 24 hours at this point! I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink in hours, and I was exhausted. I didn't feel like my pushed were accomplishing anything, but I guess they were because he was coming. As his head was coming out, the dr mentioned that a hand was coming with his head. This was the exact same thing that happened with Deagan, which lead to me having a c-section, so when I heard that I was so scared! I was for sure that is where we were headed. But my dr was amazing and was able to deliver his hand with his head. Everyone was guessing weight at this point. Guesses were from 6-7lbs. A few pushed later, Easton was born at 6:03 pm on May 3rd! I broke down in tears and couldn't stop crying! I couldn't believe he was finally here! All those months of pain and sickness were all worth it at this point. I was so overcome with emotion and joy. Greg is not a cryer, but he did tear up a bit when Easton was born. It was such an incredible moment!
They took Easton and cleaned him up while the dr stiched me up and did her thing. Greg went with the nurse and watched as he got his bath and had all his tests done. The nurse weighed him at this point and he was 8lbs, 3oz and 20 1/4 inches long. My biggest baby yet! I couldn't believe he was so big! I was 10 days early, and had an 8lb baby! I am so glad I didn't go full-term. I could have had close to a 10lb baby!
They finally gave Easton back to me, and we just were in awe of this little man. He was so precious. We told Ashley she could come with the boys to meet their little brother. I couldn't wait for them to meet him.
The boys were so cute with Easton. Deagan fell in love at first sight, but Kayden seemed nervous. This was kind of how I thought they would react. Deagan has always been the more snuggly child out of the two.
They stayed with me until I was moved to my recovery room, which was close to 10. Everyone was so tired by this point, but no one wanted to go home. Greg went home with the boys because we figured it would be easier for them to have one of us go home with them. Even though it was hard to be there by myself, I knew that Greg needed to be home.
I had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours. Easton was termed "LGA" (large for gestational age) so they had to monitor his blood sugar before every feeding. He was also at a higher risk for jaundice because he was tested cooms +. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but they had to check his levels all the time. He was born on a Saturday, and Monday night we waited to see what his levels were before they would discharge us. The checked his blood around 4 and even though his levels were high, they discharge us and told us to get his blood tested the next day. I was so anxious to go home. It is easier in my opinion to recover at home.
The first week home in kind of a blur now. We had to go in every day to get Easton's blood checked. His levels kept raising and then they would fall and then go back up. I was nursing him every 2 hours around the clock in hopes of flushing out his levels. Poor little guys feet were so marked up! Friday, they started going down and the testing was over!
It has been an incredible and exhausting week having Easton home. He just fits. I feel like he has been here all along even though he was just born. I feel so blessed to have him in our family. He is a great baby. Of course our nights are a little sleepless, but that is to be expected with a newborn, but he is so good and squishy! He is a great eater and I hope he becomes a chunky baby :) We are all so in love!
