Friday, October 26, 2012

and now we have a BABY!

So, my internal oven must be extra warm...or these babies of ours must have extra warm thermostats...because they like to try to get here at 32 weeks!  With that, Justin, Gracie and I would like to announce that...

Preston Dean Huntsman 
was born via cesarean section on Friday October 26, 2012 at 5:51 am!

He is here and doing well, all things considered. He came into this world 8 weeks earlier than planned, weighing 4 lb 6 oz and measuring 17 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair and he is as handsome as ever! As for the rest of the "birth story" I figured it might be fun to document how everything happened.

So, yesterday (Thursday) I continued to contract all day. They came pretty frequently for most of the day -- either 6-8 minutes apart or 8-10 minutes apart. They weren't unbearable but they were there. The magnesium made me feel a little off, but it seemed better this time around than it did with Gracie. I did feel that it blurred or skewed my vision and made my legs feel like a rag doll, but with Gracie I feel like the side effects were much worse. 

My contractions started to get fairly intense last night. Mom and Gracie came to visit. At one point, mom was on the phone with Marianne Cady and they were talking about the fact that the baby was breech. Marianne said that with one of her pregnancies, she would lay on her back with her legs and hips elevated -- that it was something to try to see if the baby would turn. I was ready to try anything to avoid the c-section. Right then, Dr. Cox came in to answer some of our questions regarding c-sections and risks of trying to turn the baby by version at this point, etc. He is great and has great bedside manners - definitely not a doctor that makes you feel stupid for asking any questions. Basically he discussed with us that the plan was to let me continue to contract and if I had dilated to a 5 when they checked me next, they would take me in for surgery. 

Going back to mom's conversation with Marianne Cady, I decided to ask Dr. Cox if he had ever heard of that technique to get a baby to flip and he said "of course, it's an old midwifery technique!" I asked him if I could try it and he said he had no problem with me trying it -- especially to get any pressure off of my cervix. So, I turned around in the bed and got situated. I stayed like that for about 30 minutes and decided I was feeling a little too much rush of blood to the head, haha. But it made for some great pictures!

Trying to get the baby to turn out of the breech position...Justin
thinking he is funny by testing my reflexes over and over!
 We settled down around 11:30pm when my dad called and asked if he could come over to visit. It was good to have him there - between contractions I helped him list his 4-wheeler on KSL and Craigslist, haha. Way to multitask! Dad left around 1:30am and I told the nurses that my contractions were a lot more painful. They said that Dr. Cox was in the middle of a c-section but that he was going to come in to check me between his surgeries. 

By now, it was officially Friday October 26th. Dad left around 2am (we are night owls, that's for sure!) Justin and I tried to sleep, but contractions made that a little difficult. Dr. Cox came in between surgeries to check me around 3am. I was dilated to a 4 and 100 percent effaced. He said that if I was dilated to a 5 by 5am, then we would go in for the c-section. I was able to sleep for a couple bits of time between contractions from 3am to 5 am. They slowed down to about 20 minutes apart, but they were super intense! The resident OB Dr. Johnson checked me at 5am and said that I was dilated to 5 plus some....The nurses and staff started their routine quickly and got me prepped for the c-section. Sterling's football teammate, Tanner Moore's mom Tammy was working and was awesome. She helped me make it through the spinal block - letting me lean all of my weight into her while the anesthesiologist did his job. That was NOT a fun experience. I literally felt the most nauseous I've felt during my entire pregnancy as he was doing the spinal. I thought I was going to lose my dinner, but luckily I didn't!  Once it was finally in, I was amazed at how quickly it started working! They laid me down, Justin came in next to my head and Dr. Cox and Dr. Johnson started the section. 


All suited up and ready to watch the surgery
At one point as Justin was watching (he was pretty intrigued watching the whole thing and Dr. Cox was awesome to answer the questions he had during the surgery), he looked down at me and said "don't regret any of this" - basically telling me to not stress about the fact that I had to have a c-section. I have been so adamant about having my babies "naturally" with no drugs. I'm grateful I had that experience with Gracie. As much as I wish things could have been different with this pregnancy, things happened as they did and there was nothing I could change about it. And it was the best scenario for our baby considering he was coming 2 months early and he was breech. I know that women give birth to breech babies, and that it's possible to do so "naturally" however the fact that things could have stressed the baby even more had we tried that route wasn't worth the risk. I really feel at peace knowing that the c-section was what needed to happen and that even though it's possible that future pregnancies may involve c-sections, I am completely at peace with how it all happened! (although I have talked to other women who have had VBACs with Dr. Cox as their OB...)



      



Preston was born at 5:51 am, weighing 4 lb 6 oz, and measuring 17 inches long. Dr. Cox held him up over the drape for a quick second so that I could see my handsome little guy and then they quickly handed him through the window to the adjoining NICU. 


First official picture! 



I told Justin to go in with him while the Dr's finished the c-section and stitched me up. 

 



What a handsome little guy!
 I was taken to the recovery room while my spinal block wore off and then they wheeled my bed into the NICU where I was able to see more of my handsome guy. I still wasn't able to hold him but I was able to put my hand into his little bed and hold his hand!  He was put on a little bit of room air to help his sats go up, but other than that, they said he was looking great! 

A little emotional -- getting to hold his hand for the first time a few hours after the surgery

I pretty much lost it and was super emotional! He is perfect! I'm so happy that he arrived safely and that he is in good hands in the NICU. It's amazing how much love is in my heart for this new little addition to our family and also how much my love has increased for Justin and Gracie! Wow! 

Today I slept most of the day. I was soooo exhausted and it was so hard to keep my eyes open! Grandpa and Ruby stopped by this afternoon. They brought some pretty flowers as well as a gift for Preston and Gracie. Casie and mom and dad came a little while ago. It has been a long day. When Casie came by, I was on the phone with the insurance company and Norco trying to get a breast pump arranged for delivery and they were putting me through the run around. I lost it over the phone and was an emotional mess! The tears wouldn't stop flowing! Casie had to remind me that I just had a baby and the hormones and emotions were all out of wack! I'm glad she was there!  

Justin wheeled me into the NICU tonight and I was able to hold my baby for the first time! What joy! He is perfect in every way and so adorable! Justin and I loved on him for about a half hour before we had to put him back into his warm isolette. 


 

 I am so happy that Preston is here. I'm relieved that he is healthy even with being 2 months early! I know it's going to be a crazy couple of weeks/months coming up with 4-5 visits per day to the NICU to feed him as well as juggling things at home with a busy beautiful Gracie, but I feel blessed to be the mother of this perfect little guy! Gracie won't be able to physically see him until he is discharged from the hospital, which breaks my heart. But as soon as he is off his IV, we can unhook him from his monitors and bring him to the door and show him to Gracie through the window. I think right now she is trying to figure things out, especially since she can't see him yet! We can't wait for that day!

3 comments:

Ehales said...

Congrats Brittany and Justin! Emergency c-sections are hard and you are awesome for coming to terms with it so fast...it took me a while to do that for my own, but there was nothing you could do and in the end all that matters is that little babe! Preston is such a cutie. Thanks for all the updates, so glad things are looking up!

nikki said...

oh, congratulations! that is wonderful. what a beautiful baby. hope all goes well over the next few weeks. great job, tough lady!

Ryan, Alyse, Paetyn and Ashton said...

Congrats you guys I am so glad he is healthy! Wow Gracie your a Big Sister.. It's so much fun our little Paetyn loves it. You help your mommy out in taking care of baby Preston. We love you guys cant wait till the next time we get to see ya! Take care love the Smith's!!