In All It's Gory Glory!

I have finally found a minute to write up Hutcheson's birth story. Boy oh boy was it a doozy. Some of you know what happened, or some of what happened but here is what I remember. IT HURT!!!!!!! I have mentioned before that I was having contractions for about 2 weeks before he actually arrived. Most I attributed to strong Braxton Hicks but some were the real deal. The closest they would ever get was 10 minutes apart and the longest amount of time I had them consistently was two hours. It left me worn out and exhausted. So when I woke up early Saturday morning and had two hours of 7-8 minute apart contractions, a decision was made to head to the hospital in Dothan and see if this was it. The hospital I was scheduled to deliver at was over an hour away from our house. There was a lot of fear in me that we would not make it when I went into labor. I never thought I actually would go into labor on my own since both girls were induced but still I had that nagging thought in the back of my head. When we got there a nurse with the personality of a brick wall was there to greet me. Side note: she had an Auburn badge hanger so maybe she was just smarting a bit from the loss. I stayed approximately an hour where she told me I was NOT in labor so go home. Her advice (and this will be an important thing to remember later) was to not head back in until I had at least an hour of contractions that were five minutes apart. Ok, I was really disappointed but we packed it up and headed home. We got home shortly after the girls woke up and spent the day keeping busy. I refused to time anything even though I was still having sporadic contractions all day. Three hours of sleep will make you a little foul tempered. We went out Saturday night and ate at the local Mexican restaurant where I loaded up on the spicy salsa. After we got home, the girls had a bath and went to bed. I went to bed at roughly 9pm and slept until 12. At 12:03 I realized I was in for it. The contraction I was having really really hurt. So I headed to the couch and tried to time them. Still 10 minutes apart. By 1am, Jeremy was up and he could tell I was not doing well. The contractions were jumping around and I had a few that were 8 minutes apart, so he headed to the shower. At 2am, they had jumped to 3 minutes apart (this is where I begin to really lose it). They were NEVER 5 minutes apart. I sent Jeremy to find a bucket because I knew I was not going to make it to the bathroom to throw up. He returns with the bottom half of the girls' tugboat bathtub toy. It worked. I then attempted to shower and get dressed while he called the gray house to the rescue. I remember saying "I just don't want them to send me back home." He told me there was no way that would happen again and we headed to the car. I did ask him to grab another bucket but specified trash can this time. We were within a few seconds of leaving the girls asleep in the house when we saw the Tank pulling in. I was already in the car at this point and still being thrown for a loop every 3 minutes. A place that is not conducive to quiet focused labor--front seat of a car! Or maybe it is just me. I am a big old wuss and love me some epidural so this was definitely not what I would have chosen. We set off and Jeremy, although somewhat controlled, drove at a very high rate of speed over curvy back roads. How we managed to arrive in Enterprise alive is beyond me. In fact, I might have wished to be dead a few times. We get into Enterprise and head around the circle for the turn we need to make. Jeremy tells me probably a hundred times he will get me to Dothan, that I just have to hang on a little bit longer. Even driving as fast as he was, we were still at least 30 minutes away. But this is where things start to get very interesting. We get into the turn lane behind a car and no lie, the one thing I focused on was the name of the car dealership where it was purchased. It was Medford. I have no idea where it was located because I couldn't see the smaller print. Do you remember this post? Weird. So after I saw that, I had a sense of peace in the chaos that everything we be okay. Don't get me wrong, I was still losing my mind with the pain and if you ask Jeremy, being very vocal about what was happening. We made the turn and headed on. About 30 seconds later I shifted in the seat and thought he was going to come on out. Increase in pain and pressure-- check and double check. So, Jeremy turns the car around calmly and in the proper place, NOT! He jumped a median at a higher rate of speed than he should have all while dialing 911 on his Blackberry. He told them we were headed to Enterprise's hospital and I remember him calling out landmarks we were passing so they would know how soon we would be there. Approximately 3:40 am was the time of my ER check-in. Jeremy signed me in and tossed his insurance card at the clerk and his keys at the security guard. He told the security guard he did not care where he parked it. I get through the doors and into a wheelchair. I am in a room in seconds surrounded by nurses an ER doctor who did not want to actually have to deliver Hutch. In a matter of two minutes or less, I was undressed and it was determined that I could actually make it upstairs to their labor and delivery department. At this point I just kept telling myself, if I get upstairs I will get drugs. Pain will be gone. It seemed like it took forever and when we rounded the corner I saw a face I never thought I would see. None other than Ms. Anne from Mother's Day Out. She looked up from the desk, saw Jeremy, and exclaimed "Hey I know ya'll!" She was one of the first non-family people who were told Hutch was coming so it seemed rather fitting she would be there on the day he was born. BTW, this is another one of those things that gave me a feeling of peace-- seeing a familiar face. I got in the room, in the new bed, and in walked the doctor. At this point, Jeremy asked the nurse "when is she getting her epidural?" To which, she replied, "it takes at least an hour to get lab work and the okay to do it, she will not make it that long." So he said, "what about something in her iv?" You could hear the desperation in his voice. Again, she replied, "it's too late for that, it would go straight to the baby and hurt him." I then begged to "be hit very hard over the head." Now, there are tons of people out there every day who have babies without the benefit of drugs and I applaud them. When you have a plan and techniques to help manage the pain, way to go. I was in no way prepared for that to happen and I think it might have been way obvious. I am most embarrassed by the fact that I might have said loudly screamed a few non-ladylike phrases. The next thing I remember is seeing the doctor suit up and get ready to catch. There was no way Hutch wasn't barrelling on out so I had to grit my teeth and go with it. I think I only pushed 4 or 5 times before he came out, but could be wrong. All I really know is that it seemed super fast and incredibly slow all at the same time. At 4:04 am he breathed his first breaths and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I instantly felt a hundred times better. I felt even better after two cokes and some chicken noodle soup. (Thanks to Ms. Anne for the food.) His vital stats were 8lbs 9oz and 21 in long. We were told by more than one hospital professional that had we attempted to make it all the way to Dothan he would have been born in the car and would have been delivered by Dr. Jeremy Scott.

He is about 30 minutes old here but these are our first pictures-- no time to grab the camera.


Footprint time


My entire monitoring strip-- for those who don't know that is very short!


Back in my arms


Another shot of the cuteness!


Eyeing his big sisters


Finn's turn


Coco's dream come true!


My kids and me


Almost time to go home!


We're outta here

By my choice and with the okay of the doctors, we came home Monday afternoon. I really hate being in the hospital. I don't mind going, just hate staying.


Finn again


Chloe loves him so much!


Little hand


Bright eyes

So far, we are settling in at home and he is doing well. He is a great sleeper, champion eater, and cute as can be. Be on the lookout for more pictures this weekend!