I figured it was time for me to check back in... since we officially had our little guy Monday morning!

Fair warning - this post is long, and contains his birth story. It's mostly for me so feel free to skip over it. There's a cute picture or two waiting at the end for you.

So here's how he got here:

We headed into the hospital on (a very cold) Sunday evening at 7:30. I'm not sure how Michael was doing, but I was pretty relaxed, all things considered. We got signed in, weighed, and then was checked to be sure I was set to start their game plan. After the nurse checked me she said I should go ahead and use the restroom before they started the cervadil. So I went and was pretty preoccupied with my thoughts. And then I stood up and was still dripping fluid so I opened the door and was like “uhh is this from being checked?” and the nurse was like, “Nope, I’m pretty sure your water broke.” Which changed the game plan. Started pitocin and I got up and walked around… noticed that most of the contractions were in my back.

The nurse (my favorite of our whole stay) checked me after 2 hours and I was at 2, then two hours later I was at a 4, and then I went ahead and decided to do the epidural because the pain in my back just wouldn’t stop, and contractions were right on top of each other. I wasn't sure how much of that I could take. The epidural itself wasn’t bad, but having to stay laying down and breathe through contractions was rough. 

So after my epidural went in (around 1:45 am) she checked me again and went. “okay… sooo you’re a nine now. I’m gonna go ahead and call the doctor.” Wait, what? We were excited because hey, that was really fast. I felt stupid cause I probably didn’t need the epidural. (hahah) So around 2:40 or so the nurse had me do a practice push and T came down quite a bit so the doctor came in and I was off and pushing. Annnd pushing. And pushing. I felt like I wasn’t doing a thing except I could feel more pressure over time. The doctor would occasionally come over and watch with the nurse as I push, but then would sit back down, which was not reassuring in the slightest.

They had me change positions and still nothing.  About 5 (pushing for about 2 and a half hours) or so, my doctor explained that she could feel the baby’s head getting swollen, and I was getting swollen.She couldn’t tell, but figured he was probably in a weird position and if he was going to switch, me changing positions would have done that. So she was going to call her associate in and we’d decide what to do. While she was out I asked the nurse if she thought the c-section or the vacuum/forceps would be a better option. (We really wanted to avoid forceps) and she said honestly, he was still high up and even if they got his head through the rest might get stuck. At that point I was ready for them to cut him out anyway.

The other doc came in and had me push and they all agreed that a c-section would probably be best. They’d get me prepped, he’d be out in probably 10 minutes, then it’d take about an hour to stitch me up. Sweet deal. By this point I'd been awake for almost 24 hours and was exhausted. Thankfully I’d already had the epidural, so around 5:45 am they got started. At this point I’m excited, but the medicines all were making me shake a lot. I was exhausted, which wasn’t helping. After about 20 minutes I realized he still wasn’t born, and the doctors were pushing a lot. Not pleasant. By this point I was trying not to panic because, shouldn't he have been born already?

Right before he was born both doctors got up near my abs and seriously pulled and pushed. Hurt. Like. Hell. Then there was a serious “POP” and the pulled him out. Their comments were “Well hey there big guy!” and “Holy cow look at you! You have to be over 9 pounds!” Um. Excuse me? They showed us him and he was absolutely perfect. Thaddeus Reed Ternes was born at 6:25 am, weighing in at 8 pounds, 7 ounces, and he was 20.5 inches. Michael went over to watch his initial stuff and take a few pictures, and then brought him over and we cooed over him. Such an amazing moment.

This is where things get hazy for me. Michael stays with the baby when he goes to get cleaned up,  and I start fading in and out falling asleep. Still shaking like crazy. After they got T weighed and measured, Michael brought him back. I remember seeing them for a second and then telling Michael it was okay, he should move back. So he did and when I was trying to stay awake I hear Michael talking about how much he loved him and how beautiful he was and how much I loved him even though I couldn’t say so at the moment.. all that and … ugh. My heart. Then they told Michael that he should go with the baby to the nursery to get the normal stuff done so he did.

T had been out for approximately an hour and some change at this point. I aksed how it was going down there, and the doc leaned over and mentioned I had some extra bleeding and they were just trying to get it stopped. They had troubles getting my blood pressure because I was shaking so badly, so the anesthesiologist would have to come over and hold my arm down. There was a small pop at one point and they were moving around a bit more, and I got to watch the suctions drain my blood to my left. I finally asked if it was okay if I slept and they said of course so I kinda let go. I remember waking up at one point shaking even worse and them talking about the warming blankets I was going to get. I told the doctor I’d share with her? Yeah. Anyway.

Eventually the whole thing was over over. Doctor came and told me that the extra bleeding was from a point where my uterus tore down my left side to my cervix. But everything was all stitched and stapled up.  In addition to being big, he was face up so that explains the back pain. Basically 2 hours after they started, I got to recovery. My temp was waaay low so I got to hang out under blankets while Michael cuddled with Thad. I was so tired still and had no filter but thankfully nothing crazy left my mouth. (The rest of the day. I didn't sleep much and was just kind of saying whatever came into my head. Thankfully family understands.)

That’s pretty much the end. Oh, the giant “POP” from when he was born? Yeah. that’s because I had pushed him so hard into my pelvis he was ridiculously stuck - he wasn’t going to come out.

I have to brag on Michael. He pretty much had no choice but to jump right into everything since I was out of commission. He took the role on straight away. I knew he'd be an amazing dad, but he's so much more than I ever imagined. Like, I'm pretty sure he has a family of five hidden away because he's a natural with everything. The nurse even commented on it at our check-in yesterday. He absolutely adores this kid. Kisses him and talks to him and just loves the crap out of him. Makes me love him all the more. He’s amazing.

This first week at home has just been us, and I'm glad we planned it that way. Getting into the groove of parenting and teamwork. It's been great. Thad HATES being naked, so getting his diaper changed is a challenge. We were tag-teaming it last night - I was trying to calm him down and Michael was changing his diaper... then Thad peed on both of us. It was hilarious and we both couldn't stop laughing... I know there's going to be rough times, but it'll be things like that I remember.

Basically, we're all good. I'm recovering well, just a little sore still. Especially where I tore down extra on the inside. Thad's great - still working on getting rid of the rest of the jaundice, but we learned at his appointment yesterday that he's tall and skinny. With a big head.

Here are a couple of pictures. I'm officially "that" mom, with a bazillion pictures on my phone. Sorry, everyone on every social media site. I can't help it. He's just too cute. And as everyone on fb has seen, he makes the best facial expressions.

If nothing else, I'm going to be doing monthly updates. But this is more than enough for now...