The Baby Story

For posterity's sake, here is the tale of the birth of Matthew Richard Laudie:

The story actually begins in Kansas, where my sister, Calli, was supposed to have a baby on May 20th (scheduled C-section). My mom had tickets to fly out and help Calli with her other two kids and told me I was NOT to have my baby until she got back to take care of Amy. My doctor is very pro-induction, so any time two weeks prior to the due date, as long as the baby is doing well, he gives me the option. My mom was going to be back on the 31st, so I was given the green light as of that date to have my baby.

Well, Calli messed with Mom's plans by going into labor on May 5th. Mom flew out there that day and so she got back on the 19th! Woo hoo for me! I was ready to have this baby. I don't remember being this uncomfortable with Amy, but maybe it's just memory block. So, at my 38 week appointment, my doctor asked me if I was ready to have a baby. Yes! He said he'd put my on the list of inductions on Monday (Memorial Day) to come in that night and have the baby the next morning. So we had a very nice holiday. We spent the morning doing some last minute cleaning. Mike went golfing with Richard, and Lindsey Owen and I went and got pedicures. Then we went with the Owens over to my mom's house for swimming and dinner, just waiting for the call to come. We stayed until a little after 9, having called the hospital and confirming I was indeed on the list and that I was next on the list. They couldn't give me a time frame, but it sounded pretty likely that it would be that night.

We left Amy there when we left because even though they had not called me yet, I would probably be going in the next day if not that night. We got home around 10:30, got ready for bed, and were in bed for about 5-10 minutes when FINALLY the phone rang. I said "FINALLY!" and Mike groaned a little (he was really tired at this point and was kind of looking forward to just going to bed). We headed out the door and got to the hospital right before midnight. We got registered and headed up to labor and delivery.

After all the pre-delivery questions, getting an I.V., and getting settled into the room, the nurse said I had progressed to a 4 (which is amazing since 4 days earlier I was at maybe a 1!). So we got to skip the gels this time around and start right into the pitocin. I got my epidural within an hour of starting that and then Mike and I went to sleep for a couple hours. Note to Mike: Next time, where warmer clothes! Those rooms are always freezing! I was numb from the waist down, so I couldn't feel it.

We woke up the next morning around 6:30, just as my night nurse (I had fantastic labor and delivery nurses this time around! They were just great!) was about to leave. When the new nurse came in, she watched the baby's heart rate through a couple contractions and noticed it was dropping a bit with each contraction, but recovering fully between contractions. After about an hour of this, she put an internal monitor on him to make sure she was tracking only his heart rate, and we spent the next two hours watching his heart rate drop with contractions. I continued to progress, and when it got to the point that I would be ready to push, the nurse said she wanted the doctor to be there because if the baby goes into distress while I'm pushing they may need to do a C-section. Yikes! She said she didn't think it would come to that, but she wanted to be safe.

Doctor McKernan came in and I pushed for about 10 minutes. The cord had been around the baby's neck and so when the contractions were tightening around him, his heart rate would drop. After 10 minutes of pushing, the doctor was able to get a hold of him with the suction cup and pull him out. And he was beautiful! He was a perfect little 8 lb. baby and I am SO grateful for modern medicine and competent nurses and knowlegable doctors who are able to take a potentially dangerous circumstance and make it turn out perfectly.

We have really loved having Matthew home with us. Amy is constantly by his side, rubbing his heard or holding his hand. She literally fell asleep on the couch the other day, and as soon as she woke up she stumbled over to his bouncer, still half asleep, and sat in "her spot" next to him. She is constantly asking to hold him and help get him things. I always told Mike that Amy and I do so well together that I couldn't imagine having another one. I just couldn't imagine sharing my love two ways, but now I can't imagine not having him. He's my perfect little man that I get to selfishly enjoy more than anyone else (the bonus of being the one with the food!). I love to cuddle with him and have him lay on me as I read or watch tv.

So there you have it! Sorry there are no pictures (gross!) to go with this post, but I think it's a good choice.