I'm writing this as I'm sitting in my hospital room waiting to be released by the hospital staff...quite the project...after lots of waiting, instead of rechecking my e mail/Facebook/Pinterest, I decided to be more productive with my time and record Levi's birth story.
Levi Christian Brown was born yesterday, (Monday) September 29, 2014 at 6:36 AM. He was 6 lbs 10 oz. No epidural, not by choice. My first unmedicated childbirth and whew, what an experience!
It all started Sunday night during a walk, I started having contractions...nothing painful (and not nearly as awful as the brackston hicks I'd been experiencing for the past 2 weeks), but very consistent; about every two min for the entire hour long walk. Once we came home though, it stopped, which was confusing. So, we put the kids to bed and also went to sleep, not knowing what else to do. As I slept I woke up quite a few times from contractions, but they seemed irregular and I was able to sleep through the bulk of them... until about 4:30 am. At this point I got out of bed and started to get antsy. I didn't want to be home, but I didn't think it was time to go to the hospital yet. I decided to wake up James to go to the gym at our apt complex. I thought walking on the treadmill would help get things going. About two minutes after getting to the gym though, I could tell it was time to head over to the hospital. Here's where things got crazy. We dropped off the kids at Ali's place around 5:40 am, and went straight to the hospital. By then, I was (not so sweetly) telling James to step on it!
So, James dropped me off at the hospital entrance. After a few steps inside I couldn't even walk because a contraction came, nearly paralyzed me. After we got to the check in point though, the ladies in labor and delivery politely tell me to have a seat to fill out paperwork. I politely told them I could not sit down...I was in WAY too much pain. They didn't like that, but continued the check in process anyway, asking for my insurance card and my ID, which I completely forgot. Oops! After that the nurses seemed put off. And I might have been annoyed, but didn't have time. Right then, my water broke; all over the floor. Just like in the movies. That got their attention, and they took me straight to a room.
I immediately requested an epidural, but after checking my progress, I was informed that I was dilated to a TEN already, and there was, according to the nurse, 'no way I was getting an epidural at this point.'
I was devastated, and would have cried, but I was in so much pain that my body was not responding normally. At this point James was the only thing that kept me together. He was quite the coach and cheerleader.
Eventually the Dr came, and they told me to push. I remember thinking I wanted to deliver the baby in a different position besides on my back, because I was concerned about tearing, but was too concentrated on surviving to be very assertive, and obediently did what they told me.
One push (and a lot of loud screaming from me) is all it took to get his head out. He was obviously ready to come. The doc said to just keep pushing and his shoulders and body came out immediately after. He was born at 6:36, about 35 minutes after getting to the hospital. The doc told me it was the easiest vbac he's ever done. (Glad it was easy for someone!)
I did tear a tini bit, but not enough for any stitches ( a tender mercy- I was paranoid of getting sewn up without medication.)
After everything calmed down, I was still not feeling good though. I was surprisingly uninterested in nursing the baby and just needed some time to stare at the wall and zone out. Thankfully, the nursurey took Levi for me for a while. It took about an hour and a half to stop shaking and to snap out of the 'self preservation mode.' Or maybe that's how long the perkeset and Motrin took to sink in ...? After that though, the recovery was amazing. So much faster and better than the first two. (And my first two were pretty good, so that's saying a lot!) I preferred to walk to the recovery room rather than be pushed in the wheelchair, then took a glorious shower... that shower was the most soothing experience I had in a while. Pure bliss! From then on it was smooth sailing.
So even though I complained a lot about no medication, and wouldn't have chosen it, it ended up being a huge blessing. This recovery has been a dream!
Here are a few pictures of this little guy. Initially I was surprised at what he looks like...I didn't think he fit the mold and thought he was a little bit funny looking. But obviously still adorable.
He almost got the middle name of Allen instead of Christian, because he was born on Grandpa Paul Allen Phelps' birthday. Right before writing it down on the birth certificate though, we texted Jeff what Preston's middle name was, and realized he'd also chosen Allen. So we decided not to over do it, and went with Christian, for my maiden name, which I love.
All in all, we have a whole lot to be grateful for. It's such a blessing to take a baby home with you from the hospital! We remember what it's like to have it go differently, and are trying to appreciate and enjoy all the blessings and tender mercies from the Lord that came throughout this whole experience.
