Andrew George Malenic
Birth Story
Birth Story
January 30, 2012 – Monday
9:00pm – started getting regular pains 5 min apart. We had just finished getting Samantha ready for bed, and I was sitting on the couch with my contraction timer application on my phone timing what I thought were contractions.
10:00pm – the first wave of contractions were gone.
10:30pm – they were back again, coming at 4-5 minutes apart this time. I took a shower and called my Doctor. She called me back and said, “do you want to come in?” I told her I wanted to make sure this is the real thing. She said.. “well I think I will probably see you there tonight, so Im going to call and let them know to expect you. Why don’t you go get some sleep, and if they truly are contractions, you’ll know, and call me back if you are going to the hospital”
I was so thankful that I had started to labor in the middle of the night, because it avoided saying goodbye to Samantha, which was a huge relief. I felt almost guilty leaving her in the middle of the night, I was so emotional over it, I mean, we were leaving and when I would return home, her little world was about to change DRAMATICALLY. And somehow I felt guilty about it.
1/31/2012
12:45am – Woke up with contractions again. I had to go to the bathroom, so I went, and when I went, I noticed a little blood/red and mucus.. I pretty much freaked out.. calling for Mathew… I ran back into the bedroom, and said “Im bleeding! I think this is it!” So he got out of bed and started getting ready. I called the doctor again, and she said.. “get to the hospital, they are all ready for you”. I called my Mom to come over, and she was here by 1:15am. We got everything ready and headed out the door!
1:30am- Arrived at the hospital, checked in, and hooked up to the monitors. They confirmed that I was having contractions, and that I was dialated to about 3-4cm.
The contractions started off "manageable".. and we brought the laptop thank goodness. I listened to "The Time Traveler's Wife" soundtrack the ENTIRE time I labored up to and including pushing.. it soothed me and helped me make it through the tough contractions.
9:00pm – started getting regular pains 5 min apart. We had just finished getting Samantha ready for bed, and I was sitting on the couch with my contraction timer application on my phone timing what I thought were contractions.
10:00pm – the first wave of contractions were gone.
10:30pm – they were back again, coming at 4-5 minutes apart this time. I took a shower and called my Doctor. She called me back and said, “do you want to come in?” I told her I wanted to make sure this is the real thing. She said.. “well I think I will probably see you there tonight, so Im going to call and let them know to expect you. Why don’t you go get some sleep, and if they truly are contractions, you’ll know, and call me back if you are going to the hospital”
I was so thankful that I had started to labor in the middle of the night, because it avoided saying goodbye to Samantha, which was a huge relief. I felt almost guilty leaving her in the middle of the night, I was so emotional over it, I mean, we were leaving and when I would return home, her little world was about to change DRAMATICALLY. And somehow I felt guilty about it.
1/31/2012
12:45am – Woke up with contractions again. I had to go to the bathroom, so I went, and when I went, I noticed a little blood/red and mucus.. I pretty much freaked out.. calling for Mathew… I ran back into the bedroom, and said “Im bleeding! I think this is it!” So he got out of bed and started getting ready. I called the doctor again, and she said.. “get to the hospital, they are all ready for you”. I called my Mom to come over, and she was here by 1:15am. We got everything ready and headed out the door!
1:30am- Arrived at the hospital, checked in, and hooked up to the monitors. They confirmed that I was having contractions, and that I was dialated to about 3-4cm.
The contractions started off "manageable".. and we brought the laptop thank goodness. I listened to "The Time Traveler's Wife" soundtrack the ENTIRE time I labored up to and including pushing.. it soothed me and helped me make it through the tough contractions.
{I even wrote a little into the baby book while contracting}
2:00am- Changed into hospital gown, and hopped on the birthing ball for about 2 hours.. It really felt good and I tried to last as LONG as I could. The labor was progressing fast, and by 5am I was dialated to 6cm! I thought.. woah.. I got to a 6 … I only got to a 4 with SJ and asked for the epidural
{on the birthing ball}
The nurse asked if I wanted an epidural around 4am, and the contractions were coming so fast and painful .. I was gripping the bed during them, and knew I probably couldn’t handle much more… and I was proud of myself for getting this far without any drugs. But I wasn’t going for an award winning mom of the year award.. I knew I wanted an epidural, and I also knew if I waited any longer and progressed it might be too late! So she talked me into it.. and called down for it to be done.
{gripping the bed.. so so painful... epidural was next for sure}
6:15am – Got my epidural. Was 6 cm dialated. I forgot how weird getting an epidural is…numbness in your back and a pinching sensation, then its over, and you cant get out of bed and you start to feel numbness in your entire body from the waist down.
Things slowed down dramatically from this point on… which is what I thought would happen, but since I got to a 6 very very fast I never anticipated being in labor again for almost 24 hours… like with Samantha.
9:00am – My doctor ordered some Pitocin and broke my water. After she broke my water I swear my belly decreased in size by half. She noted that I had a TON of fluid in there, and when she broke my water all you heard was a huge GUSH of water.. for at least a few minutes.. it was so strange, but relieved pressure and actually felt pretty good!
The next several hours I was staying at a 6-7cm. I had a fever that spiked really quickly which made the docs nervous, Andrew’s heart rate dipped a few times (assumed while he was turning) … He was posterior for a while and they kept rotating me from side to side hoping he would cooperate and turn for us.
{the dreaded heart monitors... I kept listening and paying attention after the scare, finally one of the nurses turned it down.....}
I had a migraine headache that I kept applying ice to my forehead, and taking Tylenol for.
3:00pm – I heard beeping from one of the monitors and the nurses ran in 5 of them, they told me to lay on my back and they whipped an oxygen mask on me. They had lost his heartbeat for a minute and I was freaking out cause NO ONE would tell me what the hell was going on!!! I started bawling my eyes out, and they got his heartbeat back thank goodness, but it was so scary.
After that they attached a monitor internally to his head to keep a closer eye on him and the contractions.. that felt great… NOT!
{the weather outside was sunny at 54 degrees...}
I layed there for the next few hours hoping to make progress, and hearing babies being born and crying from the other room, I just had a stream of tears down my face, I could not stop sobbing. I just kept thinking “why is this so hard for me again” … “I thought this labor would be easier!”
I was praying and praying.. asking God to please see me through this labor, and praying to him that I could have Andrew naturally and avoid a c-section after all these hours of labor.
4:30pm – Dialated to 8cm.. Hallelujah! Best news I got all day. I looked at my Doctor and said I really want to have this baby naturally, and she was so positive and re-assuring.. (even though later she admitted she thought a c-section would be necessary)
5:15pm- Dialeted to a full 9cm. Andrew had turned and I was dialating on my own. She said we would start pushing in the next hour as long as things keep moving.. I was so relieved, nervous, happy, freaked out.. I mean, this is what I wanted.. but the reality of talking about pushing , and then actually pushing.. freaked me out too
6:30pm – I was a 10.. finally thank God. But I was also feeling my legs.. the epidural had worn off… and I felt my “female parts” my butt, my legs… so I freaked out and I asked for more drugs! She said they could give me a “top off” but that’s all they could give me. So they did.. but it didn’t work. I was so afraid of feeling ANYTHING in that lower “pushing region” if you get me.. that knowing I was going to labor naturally with only a small amount of drugs left in me was scary.
With SJ I was so numb I couldn’t even feel myself pushing at ALL.
I gave my doctor and the nurses fair warning.. I didn’t want them giving me any updates to create any visual images in my head.. I didn’t want anyone saying “I see the head” or .. “this baby has hair” .. etc..
6:40pm – Got my legs up, and started pushing..Head to my chest, breathe in, and count to 10 three times. I pushed, and waited for contractions… and pushed and finally started making progress. I knew it wasn’t long because my doctor after about ½ hour got in front of me instead of on the side, she had her mask on, and they turned on the baby’s little placement area, uncovered all the tools… etc..
7:30pm – She started helping me, by using the suction on my babydoll’s head.. she used it for a WHILE Mathew said.. and finally I felt his head coming out.. I remember hearing her say “okay good.. now the shoulders .. PUSH HARD!!!!
Mathew knew it was the last one.. he had his head against mine and said “come on LAST time” …
7:48pm - I gave it all I had and felt EVERYTHING!!!! And pushed and felt him come down and out..
They plopped him on my chest at 7:48pm...and he immediately started crying.. what a relief…
He was here.. crying.. pooping on the doctor, peeing on the nurses.. and sounding great.
Mathew was saying.. “he’s big!” … Oh god .. what did I just push out?? 9lbs? 8, what is he??
I remember asking “how big is he??” – 8lbs 2oz. – HOLY COW…. A whole pound more than Samantha. It was over, and looking back it wasnt as bad as it was in the moment...
I layed there for the next few hours hoping to make progress, and hearing babies being born and crying from the other room, I just had a stream of tears down my face, I could not stop sobbing. I just kept thinking “why is this so hard for me again” … “I thought this labor would be easier!”I was praying and praying.. asking God to please see me through this labor, and praying to him that I could have Andrew naturally and avoid a c-section after all these hours of labor.
4:30pm – Dialated to 8cm.. Hallelujah! Best news I got all day. I looked at my Doctor and said I really want to have this baby naturally, and she was so positive and re-assuring.. (even though later she admitted she thought a c-section would be necessary)
5:15pm- Dialeted to a full 9cm. Andrew had turned and I was dialating on my own. She said we would start pushing in the next hour as long as things keep moving.. I was so relieved, nervous, happy, freaked out.. I mean, this is what I wanted.. but the reality of talking about pushing , and then actually pushing.. freaked me out too
6:30pm – I was a 10.. finally thank God. But I was also feeling my legs.. the epidural had worn off… and I felt my “female parts” my butt, my legs… so I freaked out and I asked for more drugs! She said they could give me a “top off” but that’s all they could give me. So they did.. but it didn’t work. I was so afraid of feeling ANYTHING in that lower “pushing region” if you get me.. that knowing I was going to labor naturally with only a small amount of drugs left in me was scary.
With SJ I was so numb I couldn’t even feel myself pushing at ALL.
I gave my doctor and the nurses fair warning.. I didn’t want them giving me any updates to create any visual images in my head.. I didn’t want anyone saying “I see the head” or .. “this baby has hair” .. etc..
6:40pm – Got my legs up, and started pushing..Head to my chest, breathe in, and count to 10 three times. I pushed, and waited for contractions… and pushed and finally started making progress. I knew it wasn’t long because my doctor after about ½ hour got in front of me instead of on the side, she had her mask on, and they turned on the baby’s little placement area, uncovered all the tools… etc..
7:30pm – She started helping me, by using the suction on my babydoll’s head.. she used it for a WHILE Mathew said.. and finally I felt his head coming out.. I remember hearing her say “okay good.. now the shoulders .. PUSH HARD!!!!
Mathew knew it was the last one.. he had his head against mine and said “come on LAST time” …
7:48pm - I gave it all I had and felt EVERYTHING!!!! And pushed and felt him come down and out..
They plopped him on my chest at 7:48pm...and he immediately started crying.. what a relief…
He was here.. crying.. pooping on the doctor, peeing on the nurses.. and sounding great.
Mathew was saying.. “he’s big!” … Oh god .. what did I just push out?? 9lbs? 8, what is he??
I remember asking “how big is he??” – 8lbs 2oz. – HOLY COW…. A whole pound more than Samantha. It was over, and looking back it wasnt as bad as it was in the moment...
so surreal that he was here....
{Welcome to the World Andrew George}
{Welcome to the World Andrew George}
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