Gavin's Birth Story

I always love hearing other people's baby story because each one is so unique as to that baby.  I finally got around to Gavin's so here it is.  Enjoy.

Monday,  February 20th

• 3:09 am - Woke up with some contractions and laid there watching the clock to see if it was Braxton Hicks that I kept having
  -Woke Brian up to let him know, they're consistently 6 minutes apart and that this is the real thing.
  -Got up to use the bathroom and realized my water broke with some bloody show.
  
• 3:57 am - Called the hospital to let them know we're coming in
  
• 4:00 am - Called Patty, our neighbor to come over to watch Ethan
  -Tried to calmly and quietly get our stuff together but couldn't stop the shaking from the adrenaline
  
• 4:23 am - Called Brian's parents and told them to start driving our way
  
• 4:27 am - Called my midwife to let her know we're on the way
  -Brian didn't know at the time, but he was speeding as we drove across the river
  -Got to the hospital and they checked me only to find out that I was at 1 cm
  -Walked around the room, relaxing and breathing through each contractions trying not to feel anxious knowing/remembering how much pain I'm about to go through
  
• 7:30 am - The contractions got more and more intense and after being checked, I was already at 9.5 cm
  -From then on, I lost track of time.  Not sure when I started pushing or for how long, but it felt like FOR-E-VER.
  
• 8:47 am - Gavin was born all natural.  When I saw him, two thoughts went through my head: Relief & Awe.  What an intense but incredible experience!  Brian was able to catch him and cut his cord this time since I didn't have him in a headlock. =0)

So proud and excited to finally meet his li'l brother!

A few fun facts: -Both Ethan's and Gavin's due dates were on a Tuesday but they both were born on a Monday
-Ethan was 8 days early and Gavin was a day early
-Ethan was born at 8:48 pm and Gavin was born at 8:47 am
-Ethan was 8 lb 2 oz and Gavin was 8 lb 13 oz
-They both were 20.5 in long

On Being a Mamma

So how come no one ever warn me that it was going to be this hard the 1st two weeks with a newborn? I guess I wasn't completely prepared for it since the only questions you ever get from people was "Isn't great to have a baby?" Yes, it's great but it was also hard! In fact, it was such a shock for me physically, emotionally, psychologically and every way possible that I was wishing I was still pregnant. At least then I was getting lots of sleep and wasn't completely house arrest.

Anyway, just today I was talking to a friend from church who recently had a baby (approaching 2 weeks mark) and is going through the exact same thing. She said that she didn't realized that it was going to be this hard either. And it made me kinda mad...not at anyone in particular since there isn't really anyone to blame, but knowing what to expect from those who has been there would have been helpful. At least so I could somewhat prepared myself. Call me a realist or even a pessimist but now I feel like it's my duty to warn the moms-to-be of what's to come so they could better cope and move on.

Below is an article that I found on babycenter.com which described exactly how I was feeling (at that time):

"During the first weeks home with a baby, sleep deprivation, recovery from childbirth, the demands of newborn care, lack of experience with babies, and not having enough help can all be highly stressful. The huge hormonal shifts that occur after you give birth can also affect your moods, especially if you have a history of severe PMS. Then factor in modern America's expectations about moms "doing it all" and new moms being "blissed out," and you have the makings of a perfect storm for mild depression.

Some moms talk about feeling an instantaneous, consuming love right from the beginning. That's become the prevailing image of what "bonding" is supposed to be like. But bonding isn't a single, magical delivery-room moment. For more than half of new mothers, feeling connected takes a bit longer — and for good reason.

Birth, delivery, and recovery can be taxing physical experiences, especially if there are complications. If you've never spent a lot of time around babies, let alone been completely responsible for taking care of one, anxiety and worry about doing everything right can intrude too. Your relationship with your child is not so different from your other relationships — it can take time and many interactions for those feelings of attachment to develop and ripen. So there's no need to feel guilty if you look at your long-awaited baby and feel like you're staring at a little stranger. In a sense she is. Give it time and eventually you won't be able to imagine life without her."

I'm glad to say we're on somewhat of a routine and things are going much better now!