This entire pregnancy I was hopeful that I would go into labor on my own. I had never done that with my previous pregnancies, so I really wanted to experience what that was like. But I did get desperate those last few weeks and was ready to try anything, short of castor oil, to get baby to come sooner. I did not want to go past my due date!! But I also didn't want baby to come on our anniversary, the 5th, or on Charlotte's birthday, the 10th.
I had heard about these famous labor inducing Lemon Drop cupcakes that are sold here in Charlottesville. I thought there was no harm in trying them. If they didn't work, at least I got to eat some delicious cupcakes!
I didn't think they had worked. The lady who sold them to me told me I had better have my bags packed. I was expecting to have that baby that night! But in hindsight, I think they have jump started things. I started that afternoon having contractions 10 minutes apart and those lasted until Saturday. Saturday morning I told David about the contractions, not really thinking to much of them. But as the day progressed I just didn't feel that well. We had planned to go out with my sister and her friend to dinner and bowling. I was feeling pretty awful by then, but really wanted to spend time with my sister. All throughout dinner I was having contractions about 7-8 minutes apart, but for some reason I was still unsure. I thought for sure they would stop. We continued on to play two rounds of bowling!! I thought I was going to die, I had to have David roll half my turns. We then went for ice cream, and while enjoying our treats I was certain that I just wanted to go home. I felt as if I could barely walk out the door to the car. And I still had to take the babysitter home! It wasn't until I was driving her home that I realized I was for sure in labor and we needed to get our act together and get to the hospital. I got home and David and I started really timing the contractions, they were 4 minutes apart! I took a quick shower, we called my mom to come over and I was on my way. By the time we got to the hospital I was at 4cm. I was so proud of myself because with being induced with my past pregnancies, I always had the epidural by the time I was 4 cm! They checked me in and got me all situated and I was already at a 6. Everything was going so fast for me. I still couldn't believe that I was really in labor. The nurse kept asking me if I was okay. She said I looked really shell shocked the whole time. I was!
Here I am pre-epidural. I was moving along so fast that David and the nurse almost had me convinced not to get it. She said the baby would be there within the hour because I was dilating so fast. I thought I could possibly handle one more hour... but I chickened out and got it after all. Although it slowed things down significantly, I was glad I got it!
Dallin Carter was born March 4th at 5:37am weighing 8lbs. 8oz.
The nurses worked hard to get Dallin crying and breathing well. He never really cried but was breathing okay. They handed him off to me to hold him. I finally held him and David snapped two quick pictures.
You can tell in this picture how purple he was turning. I unwrapped him to take a better look, and then the nurse immediately took him from me. It was a quick minute that I got to see him, but his breathing was deteriorating.
We went several hours not seeing Dallin and still unsure what was really going on. The next time we saw him, he was under this oxygen hood, that we called "The Bubble". He was hooked to several monitors and had an IV for fluids and antibiotics. We were told he had some sort of infection that was causing respiratory distress. His respiratory rate was significantly increased and he was laboring so hard to breath.
A normal resting respiratory rate is 60 breaths per minute and his numbers were up in the 120s. He was breathing so fast, as if he was running a marathon. He spent the first three days under the bubble. We were unable to hold him or even really touch him. That was so hard for me!
Finally on Tuesday we were able to hold him before I was discharged. But I still couldn't feed him. And the girls still couldn't meet him.
It was especially sad to leave the hospital without Dallin. But we were all confident he would be fine. He needed to stay on his antibiotics for a week and his respiratory rate needed to decrease significantly.
I spent the next 5 days traveling back and forth to the hospital feeding him and loving on him. I was only able to make it two times a day. It didn't seem like enough time for me, but I felt so torn between home and the hospital. Plus, I was still recovering from the birth and not having a single minute to really rest. It was a long hard week!!
We couldn't have done it without the help of so many people who watched the girls for us and brought us meals. I was so overwhelmed by all the help that was offered and all the prayers that were said. It seemed impossible to keep up with all the phone calls and messages we got. We felt so blessed and fortunate that it wasn't something more serious, where he would need to stay months in the NICU. One week was about all that I could handle! But with each visit I grew more and more in love with Dalllin. We could not wait to have him home with us.
