I thought I’d share Kyton’s birth story. Kyton’s due date was June 24th, but all along I thought it was a week late due to how early on the pregnancy test came back positive. My last day of work was June 10th, so I said anytime after that would be fine. At the end of pregnancy it seems that many women are just done. They are physically exhausted from carrying the baby weight, and ready to have the baby. I did not feel this way at all. The day I went into deliver Kyton I weighed 3lbs more than pre-pregnancy. I am tall, so I was only visibly pregnant (to people who did not know me) for about the last month and a half. I was sleeping well at night, and not making trips to the bathroom any more than I did before pregnancy. As my due date approached I figured it would be a while since I was feeling great.
When everyone asked if we were ready, I said yes. Dylan said almost. We had registered at Target and were expecting a registry completion coupon to get a few last things that we either thought of later or wanted to purchase off our registry. We contacted target quite a few times and were told the card is in the mail. Finally on Friday, June 17th at 4 in the afternoon Dylan got through to someone on the phone giving him a code we could use to buy the remaining items. We headed out to complete the last pre baby task from our list. We went straight to the theater to see a show we had planned to see that evening. I realized later on that I was probably in labor all day since it seemed like I was not able to get comfortable, and kept having contractions. Many times I had to stop walking during the Target visit for a contraction. I tried to take a nap in the afternoon and could not sleep. We arrived home at 10:30 pm.
I began cooking a simple dinner while Dylan organized all of our gear. As we sat down to eat at 11:00 PM I began timing the contractions. I’d had contractions throughout the last few weeks of pregnancy, sometimes a lot, but I never bothered to time them as I figured that when it was time I’d know. My contractions were a little less than 5 minutes apart. I knew that the doctors wanted 5 minutes apart for an hour before heading to the hospital, and I had no intentions of spending any more time at the hospital than necessary, so I continued timing and enjoyed dinner. It turns out that my water had broken, but at that point in time I was not sure. Around 11:30 I told Dylan I thought this may be it, as my contractions were 4 minutes apart. Dylan frantically ran around cleaning the house, and getting out all of our purchases. I helped in between contractions, cooking dinner and adding the final items to our hospital bag. At 12:30 we left for the hospital.
We had preregistered online, and even visited the hospital to sign all of the necessary paper work to expedite the process. Apparently this does not make the admitting process all that speedy. By the time we arrived at the hospital my contractions were slightly more than 2 minutes apart. The nurses asked me all sorts of questions that they could have, and should have been able to find out from my medical history from the doctor, or asked me when I came in to preregister, not while in labor! At 2:15AM I had answered all of their questions, and was officially admitted. They confirmed that my water had broken and I was 6 cm dilated. I was able to labor in the rocking chair, on a birthing ball, and using the bar and standing. Pretty much anywhere except the bed. For the majority of my labor the baby’s head pushed against my back, causing back labor. Going into labor I had not planned to ask for an epidural, but we attended a class to learn about the procedure. I was not opposed to it if needed, but knew I didn’t want any other drugs, since they can effect the baby. I’m not going to say it was unneeded, but I made it through without. Dylan was amazing during the process. He applied pressure using his hands, heating packs, and a racquetball to my back to ease the pain. He worked almost as hard as I did between my requests for water, massage me, harder, softer, higher, etc. I think about 3:40 I began to push, and at 3:53AM Kyton entered the world. I know you are thinking wow, that sounds easy. I’ll admit that it was quick, but I’d never call it ‘easy.’
He has his hand by his face as he had done in all of the ultrasounds, and as he does all the time now. Our boy only likes to be swaddled from under his arms down, and gets upset when his arms are restricted. I’m almost afraid to say it, but he sleeps remarkably well for a newborn (6 hours at night). I’m feeling pretty good, I was a little tired for the first week. I fit into all of my normal clothes, and weigh less than before baby. I don’t mind this benefit, but I’d do it all over again even if I was left with weight to lose. He is amazing and we are in love!
Linking with Shell
