It's Time!

Thursday, June 7-We woke up Thursday morning and Dustin headed to school. He wanted to go while he could because we were unsure of how much he would miss after Bean came. I worked around the house and packed a few more things into our bags. We would be there longer than expected now.

When he got home,  we checked and double checked everything. We were ready! We headed off to run a few errands and stopped at Panera for an early dinner before heading up to the hospital. We were both so excited and nervous, we didn't know what to do with ourselves :)

We arrived at the hospital right on time. They checked us in and within mere moments, I was in a hospital gown with an IV port in my arm, after several pokes and prods :( They wasted no time. Dustin got situated while I went over all of the routine information with the nurse. She was pleasant, but was only with us for a short time, as her shift ended at 7:00.

Almost time!

At approximately 6:30, Dr. Delgado arrived and gave me Cervidol. This was meant to soften the cervix so that when I was induced Friday morning, things would go smoothly. She did mention, however, that it causes labor in about 10% of women. Apparently, I was one of those women.


Friday, June 8- At 1:00 AM, it began. I had been in and out of sleep. The hospital bed was so uncomfortable that I had to readjust every ten minutes or so. While doing this, I had bumped the monitor that was on my stomach measuring my contractions. In doing so, they were not showing up on the screen. When the nurse came in to check me, I told her that I was beginning to feel a lot of discomfort. She was not concerned...probably because as far as she could see, I wasn't contracting. We were not impressed with this nurse. Throughout the night, we both tried to sleep but were unsuccessful. Finally, at 5:00 AM, she realized that my monitor was not attached correctly and fixed it. She immediately offered me pain medication.

We were finally able to sleep until about 7:00 AM, at which time my new nurse arrived. She was simply AMAZING. From the moment she stepped into my room, it was obvious that her number one goal was to make me as comfortable as possible. She was outspoken and rowdy and that was exactly what we needed! She popped in and out offering me medicine and juice and offering Dustin coffee and laughs. At about 9:00 AM, Dr. Cuadra arrived and explained the induction process. She made it very clear that it may not work the first time and if that was the case, we would have to start over that evening with the Cervidol and try again tomorrow. She also made it very clear that if at any point things got hairy, I would have to get a C-section, especially due to the estimated weight of the baby. I was disheartened but determined that I would deliver naturally. They administered the Pitocin at 10:00 AM and after that, Dustin and I waited some more...

Daddy-to-be!!

My family arrived at the hospital around 1:00 PM. They were supposed to be leaving for home but changed their travel plans in order to see Bean.We spent the afternoon chatting and passing the time. My contractions grew stronger and stronger. The nurses continued to check my dilation. I was progressing...slowly. By 3:00 PM I was only 3cm. My nurse, however, knew how much pain I was in and told the doctor that I was 4cm so that I could get my epidural. Like I said, she was AMAZING. After getting the epidural, I felt immediate relief. When my family returned, I was able to rest and enjoy their company.

Layla Bug and me :)

Each time I was checked, their was very little progress. By 5:00 PM, the doctor decided to break my bag of water because this usually expedites the process. She reminded me that the baby could only stay for so long without the water so if things didn't happen soon, I would be forced into a C-section.

Sarah Walker's Women's Center
Clearwater, FL

After an hour or so, the contractions came back. That's right. I could feel contractions. The nurse asked me to raise my legs and move my toes. I could do it. The epidural was not working. The pain became more and more intense by the moment. The nurse called the pharmacy and spoke with the anesthesiologist. The next thing I knew, she was in my room pumping more medicine into my epidural. Nothing. It wasn't working. By this time, I was miraculously 9cm. I had gone from 4cm to 9cm in less than 90 minutes. When the second dose of medicine didn't work, they tried a third. Nothing. At this point, all I can remember is the pain and my mom and sister saying "She shouldn't be able to feel this...she shouldn't be able to raise her legs and move her toes that easily."  I told the nurse that I needed the doctor. I needed to push.

At about 6:30, I began to push. Again, I could feel everything.  As time passed, the baby was not coming out. I was pushing and nothing was happening. There were close to ten medical staff in my delivery room throughout the process. I noticed that slowly they were disappearing. I realized that they had left to prepare the OR for a C-section. My mom's face slowly changed from excitement to worry. Dustin did not leave my side. He held my hand throughout the entire ordeal. I noticed at some point that their was an oxygen mask on my face, though I couldn't recall how long it had been there. Everything was a blur.

Finally, after pushing for over an hour, something happened. The baby was getting closer. I could feel it and knew that I was right when the doctor and nurses began to cheer me on. After 90 minutes of pushing, the baby was suddenly in my arms. It was over and he was here :)

In Love :)

The rest of the night is fuzzy. When Xavier came out, he was gray and I was only able to hold him for a moment before he was taken to get checked. The umbilical chord had been wrapped around his neck. The nurses kept him for what seemed like a lifetime. He checked out fine but did have abrasions and a hematoma on his head. The doctors assured me that it would go down. Next, they weighed him. He weighed in at 9 lbs 1/2 oz. BIG baby...although we knew Dustin's baby would be buff :)

I'm here!

The rest of the evening was spent making phone calls, cuddling baby, nursing for the first time, and beginning the recuperating process. My wounds were extensive and even holding my bundle of joy couldn't take the pain away.

Proud Mimi and Papa!

Saturday, June 9- This was a day of rest! The nurses had the baby throughout most of the night except to nurse so Dustin and I made ourselves at home in our recovery room. Simple tasks like walking were so difficult that I felt pretty helpless. Standing up took my breath away. I will never forget how I felt for those first couple of days.  I remember thinking "there is no way I'll ever feel the same..."

Baby Bledsoe... 16 hours old. 

Needless to say, Dustin was amazing. He changed the first diaper because I could not get out of bed. He smuggled me juice. He helped me to the restroom. He did everything for that first week...and especially that first day.

We took the day easy and enjoyed family. Kimberly and Neil were heading home so we said our goodbyes at the hospital. It was sad :( My parents opted to stay for a few more days so they brought us lunch and dinner and would go to our house to let Midnight out. We also had Bean's newborn pictures taken on this day and watched the "We're Going Home" video that night.

Mimi and I in my first outfit.

This day was easily one of the happiest days of my life :)

Sunday, June 10- This was a day of mixed emotions. The day started out with Beanie getting circumcised. I will never forget hearing his blood curdling scream as they wheeled him back to our room. He was so very upset and I immediately burst into tears. The second they handed him to me, however, I laid him on my chest and he got very quiet and fell asleep instantly. It was awful and I did not let go of him for hours.

The pediatrician checked him before it was time to go and this was another awful experience. Baby checked out fine but the pediatrician was a horrible man. He treated Dustin and I as if we were trash. He was so very rude and disrespectful until he found out that I was a teacher and Dustin was in Chiropractic school. After that, his attitude immediately changed. It was disgusting.  I, again, ended up in tears.

The only thing the doctor told us to watch for with the baby was obviously the circumcision, the umbilical stump and then to watch how often he was going to the bathroom. Also, he mentioned that Beanie had a "sinus pit" that had not fully developed and that we needed to let our pediatrician know at his first appointment. 

By 4:00 PM, we were packed up and ready to go. It was time to take our baby home!

On our way home!!