Final batch of pics to catch us up. Enjoy!

More Pics of Rudy between May and July 08

A few pics to fill the gap between birth and July 08.

These aren't in any special order. Isn't he a cutie? :)

And then there were three.

Rudy was born on Wednesday, December 12, 2007. To tell his birthing story, I have to back track to the Sunday before his birth. My surges were coming pretty regularly (every 4 minutes or so.) I took a shower and tried all the other things that had helped them to slow in the past, but this time they were not slowing. After about 4 hours, Jason and I decided that tonight was the night. It was about 1:00 am when we headed to the American Fork Hospital with all our birthing gear, ready to bring home our beautiful baby boy. I walked gleefully into the labor and delivery unit and announced," I'm in labor!” The nurses showed me to the triage room where they had me strip down into a hospital gown. The checked my dilation. Still a 2! How disappointing! But I was 60% effaced, so they hooked me up to the monitor and watched me and Rudy for about 2 hours. Then they checked me again. Still a 2- and my surges had slowed to almost non-existent, so, they sent me home.
The nurse attending me told me I’d know it was the real thing when I just couldn’t stand the pain anymore- that’s when I should come back. I was so disappointed and confused. Launi had taught us that labor does not have to equal pain, and this nurse was telling me to gauge my readiness to come back by not being able to stand the pain anymore. How in the world is a Hypnobirthing mom supposed to know when its “time”? “You’ll know” everyone had said, and yet, here I was, packing up my things and going home, round belly and all.
Monday passed uneventfully labor-wise. It was a crazy day for Jason because it was his first day at his new job, plus he had his finals to take, all after staying up half the night with his wife at the hospital. I went to work to get my mind off the disappointment.
On Tuesday, my work took us all out to a barbeque place for the office Christmas Party. I ate the spicy BBQ sauce with all my meat, trying to nudge Rudy along. Still nothing. Tuesday night, (well, really Wednesday morning) at a bout 3 am, I woke up with stomach cramps. I thought I had a belly ache from all the rich foods I ate at lunch the day before. I made myself some ginger tea and took a warm shower to try to soothe my stomach, but the cramps just got stronger. Then, I had an epiphany- these cramps were rhythmic! Seeing as I’d never had a rhythmic stomach ache before, and I was nine months pregnant, I figured maybe these could be the surges I’d been so long awaiting!
I sat in the baby room and did my deep breathing through the surges, timing them now. Things got a bit uncomfortable as my lower back began to tense up with each surge. I tried the polar bear position to see if maybe Rudy would change positions and make things easier on me. No such luck. I contemplated the Rabazo technique, but was unsure if any Joe Schmoe could do it, so I opted out. I decided not to wake Jason because I wanted to be absolutely sure I was having labor surges before I made a fool out of myself again. I went back to bed and began to brew about how uncomfortable my last hospital visit had been. I lost my focus on deep breathing and let doubt and fear creep in instead. Surprise, surprise, my surges started to hurt. The more they hurt, the more freaked out I got. Jason woke up to my whimpers and asked what was going on. I told him I thought I was in labor and I did not want to go to the hospital to be poked and prodded, etc. Jason was great to remind me about my deep breathing, my positive affirmations, and all our preparations for a smooth and easy birthing experience. Using his own words, he helped me to regain my focus and relaxation. Things got way better, and my confidence that Hypnobirthing would work for us was bolstered. We lay in bed and breathed through my surges together. Jason kept his warm hand on the small of my back and applied pressure during surges, which really helped.
Finally, around 7 am we decided to pack up and go. I was sad to leave the comfort of my home, but happy that we would have access to medical assistance just in case we needed it. At the hospital, I slowly made my way to the labor and delivery floor, pausing to breathe through my surges. When they checked me, I was still only dilated to just over a 3, but I was 80% effaced, and my surges were going great, so they admitted me. I found standing and leaning on Jason, being on all fours in the bed, and the lateral position to be most comfortable for me as I labored, especially since the pressure in my back was still there. I was disappointed that my nurse was not familiar with the rebazo technique, but otherwise, she was phenomenal!
We did intermittent monitoring, which was great, especially because the nurse never made me lay down and strap the monitors on. She came to me where ever I was and held the monitors against my belly until she got what she needed. So long as Jason was right by my side, telling me how great I was doing and reminding me to breathe deep and relax, I felt safe and secure. My surges were more intense than I had anticipated. I had always pictured myself lying perfectly still and serene through the whole process. In the moment, I felt like I needed to move around quite a bit, often changing positions. I found that all I wanted was Jason- none of the other Hypnobirthing stuff like calming music or snacks or a Jacuzzi bath or anything sounded good to me. I just closed my eyes and focused on my body, my baby, and Jason.
Around 11 am or so, I felt the urge to start birth breathing, so I did. I began to feel stronger and stronger pressure in my surges. After about a half hour, my membranes released and the pressure grew. I was once again surprised at how strong the natural expulsive reflex was. I was now truly just along for the ride, and it felt good to be able to trust my body and my baby to take care of things. Birth breathing through my surges helped me keep from pushing with my lower pelvic muscles, which I felt a strong urge to do.
Finally, the nurse told me I’d be able to feel my baby’s head crowning with each surge. How exciting that was! Rudy was so close to being in my arms. With each surge, Rudy’s head stretched my perineum a little more, until at last it was ready to allow him to pass through into the fresh air. (It seemed like forever because I was waiting to meet my son, but in actuality, Rudy progressed through the birth canal so fast that the Dr. didn’t even have time to put on his gloves before receiving him.) I only had very minor tearing.
Because there was some meconium in the amniotic fluid, Rudy had to be taken to have his lungs deep suctioned out immediately after birth, so his cord needed to be clamped before it finished pulsing. Within a few minutes, a healthy baby was placed on my chest for some wonderful skin to skin time with me and Jason. It was one of the sweetest moments of my life. I felt strong and invigorated, elated and in total awe of our tiny child.
After we’d spend a couple hours together, and Rudy had nursed, we all went to the nursery to bathe him and have whatever other assessments done on him that were necessary.
By the time we got to our room on the mother baby floor, I was dizzy with hunger. My family was kind enough to bring me in a fruit smoothie and some Arby’s. I hardly stopped gazing at our son until 4 am the next morning, when I finally laid him in his bassinet and fell asleep. I’m so glad that I chose to use Hypnobirthing techniques to help me achieve a medication free child birth. I’m looking forward to having more Hypnobirthing experiences as the rest of our children make their way into our family, and expect it will only get better. I only wish I would have had more time to really practice my techniques a bit better. Next time, I will sign up for a class before the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy.