Nolan's Birth Story

Leading up to Nolan's due date I was freaking out because alot of my friends were having almost perfect deliveries, quick & easy, so I figured mine would be long and drawn out. I though I would have to be induced and and push forever then go in for a c-section. And I was not smart and looked at Greg's anesthesiology books at how big the epidural needle is and how far they have to put it into your spine. So I was also freaking out about that, and possibly having an uncontrollable contraction in the middle of it and causing complications for me and the baby.

Man was I wrong! If all of my pregnancies and births went the way it did with Nolan then Greg is in BIG trouble because I'll have as many babies as my body would allow :)

It all started Thursday October 18th. I was having contractions throughout the day, nothing big and not consistent. I was tracking them and would have them every 5-7 minutes for 30 minutes then would get one 15+ minutes later. After sitting at my parents (they didn't want me home alone, just in case) and tracking them all day my mom wanted me to call the doctor just to see what I should do. I called around 5pm and she said to continue tracking and if they get 5 min apart for 1 hour then call her again. I knew that.

So my parents took me home around 9pm. I was tired of answering questions about how far apart my contractions were, but on the way home they began to get 5 minutes apart consistently. But I didn't say anything. I got home and hung out with Greg for a few minutes. I laid down and read my book, all the while continuing to track my contractions. I decided that at 11:30 I would call the doctor again and see what she recommended since at that point I would have had more intense contractions for over an hour. But at 11:23 I felt a pop and knew that was my water breaking. I ran (cross legged) to the bathroom, as to not leak on the couch or carpet. As Im running by Greg, asleep in bed, I firmly told him to get up because it was time since I was positive my water just broke.

He made a quick hospital bag (I told him to do it days before) and we got in the car and drove the 30 minutes to the hospital. I brought a towel to sit on, as to not ruin the seats. And man were people right, contractions DEFINITELY intensify once your water breaks. We arrived to the hospital at 12:15. I told Greg I didn't want to get there before 12, because we would be charged for an entire day.

I was wheeled into one of the last available LDR (Labor Delivery Recovery) rooms available. They were packed that night. My room was the closest to the NICU, where my mom works. My nurse came in and I was checked, only 3 cm still!

I received my epidural at 1:45. I had been saying that I was not going let them have Greg leave the room because I wanted to hold his hand, since I was nervous. But I was in so much pain by the time the anesthesiologist came that I didn't say a thing about Greg staying in the room. Greg said apparently I received a combined spinal epidural. That's the goooood kind. I was always told that the numbing shot hurts like a bee sting. I've never been stung by a bee so I thought it was going to really hurt. It actually felt like a minor pinch! Then I felt a warm sensation into my legs and almost immediately felt a release of comfort.

I was checked again right after my epidural was set and I had progressed already to 6-7 centimeters, and man did I ever feel every bit of that stretching.

After an hour of progressing with the epidural, the nurse had to tell me when I was contracting because I never felt it, they called the doctor to head our way. The nurse started me pushing and prepped everything for the doctor. It wasn't my doctor who came in but Dr. Davis. I really like her too so I wasn't too upset. However, I do wish Patolia could have been there. I pushed for a total of 1 hour 15 minutes and Nolan was out!

Nolan Thomas Lawler arrived at 5:27 AM weighing 6 lbs 11.4 ounces and measuring 20.75 inches long!

My mom was impressed at how well I did with pushing. And they were surprised at how I could move my legs with the epidural but still felt no pain! All in all it was a perfect delivery. It was so perfect that even before holding my little man I said "I could do this again."

Bump Along the Way

Here are my weekly bump pictures. See how Nolan grew inside because soon Ill be posting the pics of his monthly growth outside! Man this is going by fast!

 12 weeks

19 weeks 

Nolan arrived the day before his expected due date :)