Our Second Day with Tommy
So, as pretty much everyone knows by now, Thomas Clay Tegen is here! Turns out I wasn't wrong in my last post--something was happening--Tommy was making his way here. :) For those who are interested in his birth story, here it is:
Wednesday morning on the 23rd, I had a routine doctor's appointment at which my doctor stripped my membranes. Afterwards, Lance, Maddy, and I went to the nearby mall to do some more walking! It wasn't long (I don't think we had even made it from the parking lot into Sears) that I was feeling very crampy and started contracting, although sporadically. This continued throughout the day. Around about 7:00ish that evening, I noticed that the contractions were starting to some at fairly regular intervals--about every 10 minutes or so. By 9:00, they were definitely about 5-7 minutes. This went on throughout the night. I pretty much hung out downstairs either walking or trying to be comfortable on the couch so Lance could sleep and be rested for what was to come. Around 6, I woke Lance and told him we needed to head to the hospital...contractions were 3-5 mins and getting increasingly intense in nature. We both took one last shower at home, got Maddy up, and headed out. We stopped at our friends, the Browns (thanks, guys!!!), where we dropped off Maddy until the Tegens could arrive to help out with her. We got to the hospital around 8 am. They were going to put me in L&D triage to monitor contractions, but just as they wheeled me in, another contraction hit and given I was exhausted from laboring all night--and it REALLY hurt--just totally broke down in heaving tears. They decided at that point that I didn't need to be monitored and put me straight into a room. Good thing, too, because when they checked me they found that I was already 7-8 cm dilated--not much more to go! I was terrified that the anesthesiologist wouldn't make it to me in time for an epidural and I'd have to go it w/o the pain relief, but thankfully he made it in. This was a different guy from the one who did it w/ Maddy...my first experience of getting an epidural was great...it was quick and painless. This is significant because the epidural was something I wanted but afraid of given what I'd seen on TV--big long needles and all. This time, the doctor wasn't quite as efficient getting it in (it seemed like FOREVER before it was done) and it left me nervous for next time (yes, I said next time already :)). --And its not my imagination--Lance even noted that it took much longer and could see that the dr was having a tougher time finding the epidural space. But, thankfully, it was done in time before I had to start pushing...which wasn't much longer. I got the epidural around 10 am and started pushing around 11 am. Of course, since the timeline was so short, it left me VERY numb which made pushing a big challenge. It was all about "visualizing the ball" lol...I felt like I needed a football coach or something there! After just over an hour of pushing, the doctor pulled out the little Kiwi vacuum thing and helped Tommy out (as was needed for Maddy as well). --Oh, and I just missed my doctor...his call ended that morning (the 24th) at 7 am. Dr. Burns, another OB who takes call for their office ended up delivering Tommy. She was great, but it was a bit of a bummer not having Dr. Hall or Morales perform the delivery since we have built such good relationships with the two of them over the past few years. :) Tommy arrived on Christmas Eve at 12:19 PM--about 2 weeks early. He weighed 8lbs 7oz (Maddy was 8lbs 8 oz at 40 weeks!) and was 20 1/4 cm long (a smidge longer than Maddy).
Evidently we make orange babies as Tommy experienced a fair bit of jaundice, too, which yielded a few extra doctor's visits, but no necessary treatment. He is nursing well after a bit of a rocky start, which makes mommy VERY happy! It has been such a different experience thus far in both good and not so good ways. We are so excited to have him in our lives now. Hopefully I can keep up with posting after things regulate out a bit. I haven't gotten too much sleep over the past 3 weeks between nursing and his night-owl stage, but that will change soon, I hope! Maddy loves her little brother and is learning how to interact with him--we use the word "gentle" quite a bit. :) Lance is off to a BUSY start with this rotation, so time is a challenge for him. He is a big help despite the demands of his schedule...he is such a good daddy :)
We'll keep you posted as best we can...but for now I've gotta run...both kiddos are waking up from naps and crying...the life of 2 under 2! :)
