Sydney Jane Martin

Sydney Jane Martin

November 21, 2010 @ 8:35 pm

7lbs 12 oz, 18 1/2 inches

My unexpected, scared out of my ever lovin' mind, 4th child in 4 years!  My little ball of sunshine!  As I have with the others, I am sharing her birth story! 

I honestly thought I would fly right through this pregnancy without any problems (I know, I know, what was I thinking?).  I made it further than the last time without bed rest, but it came inevitably.  Mom was a CHAMP...once again!  I couldn't have done it without her!  She stayed at the house while J was out of town & was completely exhausted but somehow made it through!

I was officially taken off bed rest Thursday, November 18th.  I stopped my meds the day before & went back to life as normal.....well, not exactly.....I was completely uncomfortable in a thousand different ways but I was officially allowed to resume normal pregnancy activity.

Saturday, November 21st was my nephew Carson's birthday.  We didn't have much going on that day.....we were pretty lazy actually.  Josh was more than excited that I was off bedrest, if you know what I mean.  So, we had a nap date!  Apparently the last doctor was right when he told us that there was only one thing he knew of that could truly induce labor.  I honestly thought all those things...walking, baths, sex, etc.....were nonsense since we had tried them all several times with the other 3 to no avail.  Clearly I was mistaken.

Carson had a party planned for that afternoon at Chuck E Cheese from 4-6.  About 3 o'clock I started having pretty heavy contractions but they were very inconsistent.  This was nothing new & I just assumed that the "interaction" had irritated my uterus & got the contractions going.  As I was getting the kids ready for the party I started to wonder if I was really in labor.  I just had some inkling that this was it (although doubt loomed large because of all the false labor previously).  I hesitantly made my way to the back & started packing my bags to take to the hospital.  I wanted to be 100% sure because I didn't want to totally ruin Carson's party.  As we were loading the kids into the car I told Josh I was bringing the hospital bag, to which he replied, "Oh, I doubt this is it.  If we need to, we can just run back by here & get it.  If you bring it, it will just jinx it."  Thankfully, I didn't listen to him this time & threw the bags into the back of the Burb. 

We headed out & when we got there I immediately had to sit down.  I was exhausted & the contractions were picking up in intensity.  After sitting for a bit they seemed to die back down & I thought it must just be false labor.  But it wasn't long before I was having to focus through the contractions & decided it would be smart to start timing them.  After 30-45 minutes of them coming fairly regularly I decided we needed to head to the hospital.  I was embarrassed, disappointed & felt horrible for crashing the party but I was also TERRIFIED of waiting too long & delivering in the car or something crazy like that.  So, Dad took Spencer & Sawyer back to our house & Samara stayed with Aunt Kacey while Josh, Mom & I headed to Baylor All Saints.  I remember glancing at the clock when we left & it was 5:18pm.

Things were much less chaotic this time around.  It took FOREVER to get me checked in & on the monitor.  I was only 5 cm dilated when she finally checked my cervix (which isn't very far along for me but enough to be admitted) so things did not move nearly as fast as they did with Sawyer.  I actually stayed in triage for about an hour while they got me admitted & monitored me. 

I had not decided for certain whether or not I was going to have an epidural prior to coming to the hospital.  I wanted to be strong & do it without because I knew my labor would be short but I also DID NOT WANT TO GO THROUGH ALL THAT PAIN AGAIN!  I am not big on pain & I didn't go through any natural child birthing classes or anything.  I had an epidural with the first two & they were both pleasant experiences.  Josh wanted me to get an epidural if at all possible. I figured I would just see how things went & honestly I thought I would end up getting one. I remembered them offering me pain medication with Sawyer when I refused the epidural so I figured that would be an option as well. 

When the triage nurse asked me if she needed to call the anesthesiologist I told her "no"......I kind of surprised myself, ha!  She asked if I wanted any medication & I told her sure, that I was not opposed to medication.  When she told my L&D nurse I wanted some IV meds, she baulked.....thankfully.  She told me that they just make you really groggy & in a fog.  Um, no thank you!  I was so grateful she told me instead of just assuming I knew what they would do.  So it was all me!!!! Ahhhh!  I was scared....not gonna lie!

Sue, my midwife, checked me again once I got into my delivery room & I had only progressed to 6cm.  I wasn't progressing super fast so she asked me if I wanted her to break my water.  Sure, why not!  Though I really didn't want her to because I knew my contractions would hurt much worse.....but that was coming sooner or later anyway.  I completely forgot in this process that the paranatologist told me I had excess amniotic fluid.  Wow people....this is not something you want to forget!  It was insane!  I definitely should have warned the nurse!  She might have had a boat handy to help her outta there!

It was a only a short time before I really started hurting but Suzanne was an AWESOME nurse & hooked me up with a birthing ball.  Josh thought this was hilarious!  And I did not care because it was such a huge help for me! 

The birthing ball!

Here I am on the ball! 

And here I am actually USING the ball.....

 About 8:20 I told them I had the urge to push so the nurse got me up on the bed, prepped the room & Sue checked me again. A 7....ONLY A 7!  I seriously wanted to die....I thought, "this can't be happening."......I just knew I had to be close!  I honestly thought that I would be able to start pushing.  It was such a huge bummer to hear I was only at a 7.  I'm sure she could feel my disappointment because she told me to give it just a little longer, that things would probably progress quickly.

Breathe Reagan breathe!

The next contraction I really had the urge to push & I told the nurse, "she's coming, I know she is."  She rushed out of the room as I was pushing. 

I told my Mom that I couldn't stop & she reassured me that it was OK.  A few seconds later Sue rushed back into the room.  The nursed asked if she was coming & Sue told her, "yes."  Sue was trying to calm me, telling me to breathe & let her get her stuff on.  Oh!  So hard not to push but I did a MUCH better job this time!  It's quite funny actually because it felt like an eternity when I was trying not to push....I kept thinking, "what the heck is taking her so long?"  But when I went back to look at the video I was surprised to see how fast it all went!  She quickly got all her gear on & I pushed Miss Sydney out! 


Haha!  Every time I look at these pictures it makes me laugh.  It looks like soap opera drama.  But let's be clear.....THIS WAS FOR REAL!

It took me 3 minutes to go from a 7 to delivery!!!!  They immediately put her on my chest which was wonderful!  That was a first for me & I feel so blessed I got to experience that!  
  

Yuck!  Did anyone elses kids look like this when they were born?  She was covered in this nasty white stuff......none of my other kids were like that!

My sweet baby girl.....so nice to finally meet you!

 Actually, she had a really short cord so they cut it before they put her on me.  It was so cool because my Mom was there for this delivery & she got to cut the cord. 
 

I love, love, love this picture!  Doesn't Mom look so excited!?

J has never had any desire to do that but my Mom was super excited about getting to.  She had no idea she was going to but when Sue asked J if he wanted to & he said "no", Mom asked if she could do it!  It was a sweet moment for me, especially considering all Mom had done for us!
After Sue delivered her she kept saying, "Wow, she's so big"...."Oh my gosh, she's a big baby"....."I had no idea this baby was going to be so big."  She didn't end up weighing as much as they expected but she was certainly my biggest yet.

A sweet moment that I am so very proud of.....When I was close to delivering, the nurse said, "This really feels like a first baby.  Usually by the fourth baby they don't even bring a camera & there certainly aren't all the visitors (Josh's parents & Joey & Melissa were there)!  Oh how that made my heart smile!  I pray that I can love ALL my babies as if they were the first.  Children are not a burden in my home!

Oh....& did anyone catch that my midwife & my nurse both had "S" names!?

Also, just have to mention that Sawyer & one of my nephews share a birthday & now Sydney shares a birthday with another one of my nephews! 

And can't go without saying what an ENORMOUS blessing it has been to have Josh home for every. single. birth.....could have been so different with him out of town so much!

Here are just a few more pictures.....

 

   

Trust me, I know there are some out there wondering if we are ever going to end this madness.....you will be happy to know that J had a vasectomy & is OFFICIALLY shooting blanks.