Baby Boy Bobbie Arrives

I went into labor at 2am on Sunday morning.  My contractions were regular but not particularly strong so I let everyone sleep until the sun came up.  At about 7am my water broke and we called my doctor.  We dropped Tessa off at G&G's house and headed to the hospital. Walking into the hospital I actually told Ryan that I thought this would be more dramatic.  Famous last words.  In triage my blood pressure was unusually high.  I was admitted and started on Pitocin.  My blood pressure continued going up and my lab work didn't look good either.  My doctor very calmly told me I would be starting IV meds to prevent seizures.  The nurse part of my brain checked out and I'm so glad it did because I would have been scared if I had realized how high my blood pressure was.  But I have the BEST doctor in town and I trusted him to take care of me. 

 

At about 6pm I thought I was going to die from the pain of the contractions.  Ryan was a fantastic labor coach and worked so hard to help keep me comfortable.  But I wasn't dilating and I was ready for an epidural.  My anesthesiologist was fabulous and I felt better almost immediately after he placed my epidural.  Baby wasn't doing so great though.  My nurse worked extra hard positioning me and repositioning me to keep his heart rate up.  Later I would find out that Baby's cord was wrapped around his neck.  Apparently at this point I was close to needing a C-section. But then things started progressing and before I knew it, I was ready to push.  I gave one practice push with my nurse before she told me to hold on while she called my doctor.  A whole crew of people swarmed into the room and I heard her ask "does Dr. Smith walk fast?"  Since I work with him, I knew the answer to this was "yes" so I didn't worry.  He arrived and I pushed for just a few minutes and then heard that magical sound of our baby screaming at the top of his lungs.  I cut the cord and then he was placed in my arms.  There are no words to describe that incredible moment.  

Baby Boy Bobbie arrived very early on Monday morning weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces, measuring 22 inches long and he was perfect in every way.  But even after we met him, we still couldn't decide on a name. 

I love my doctor.  Even though his partners are great too, I'm thankful I didn't go into labor early while he was on vacation in Australia.  He always predicted I would get pregnant.  I just didn't think he could be right, but he was!     

We got settled into a room on the Mom & Baby unit.  My mom's car was dead so Ryan ran home to take Tessa to school.  Boy did she have exciting news to tell her friends.  Ryan left my mom our extra car and came back to the hospital.  We had car trouble when Tessa was born too, how ironic!  But soon my mom made it to the hospital to meet her newest grandchild.  My dad was at work in Texas and he was so sad that he missed the excitement.  

My hospital is designed for baby to "room in" with mom.  I was a little nervous about this.  When Tessa was born, she spent her nights in the nursery and we were able to sleep.  But my nurses were amazing and they took great care of both of us.  They helped me learn how to breastfeed and were so attentive to my every need.  Baby slept in the bassinette right next to my bed and I liked having him so close.         

After school and ballet Tessa dressed up in her pink scrubs and came to meet her baby brother.  My heart felt like it would burst with happiness when she crawled up into bed with me and held him for the first time.  She was incredibly sweet with him, gently kissing him on the head and studying his little face.  Precious memories.