He's Here!!

Dallas Beck McCulloch

March 2, 2012 12:50pm

8 lbs 5 oz, 21" long

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was scheduled to be induced today, but my doctor wasn't convinced that I would make it that long.  Every time I would come in for an appointment she would walk into the room and say, "So, are you ready to get this little boy out?"  And then she would laugh because she already knew my answer, "Oh no.  This little boy needs to stay in there 'til the 2nd. Mama has more nesting to do!" (I can't help it.. I'm a planner! :-))  I was still convinced that our baby boy was going to stick to my plan, but I have to admit I got a little nervous every time I was out running errands or Josh was at work.  I had this unnerving fear about my water breaking in the middle of the grocery store and trying to arrange care for the other kids in a panic.

Last night, after taking Kaylee to gymnastics, we dropped the kids off at my parents house for the weekend.  Then Josh and I went home to finish a few things around the house and try to get a full night's sleep (we needed to be at the hospital by 6:45 the next morning.)  It was around 10:30pm when I folded the final load of laundry, wiped down the last baseboard, and packed away the last few things in my hospital bag.  I laid down with a sigh of relief, looked down at my giant belly, and whispered, "Okay baby boy, you can come now." 

Three hours later I woke up to some pretty strong contractions.  That was nothing really new to me - with both my boys I had contractions for the last couple months of my pregnancy for no particular reason.  And so I tried to close my eyes.  But 30 more minutes into it, I realized that it was the real deal.  Josh woke up as I was making my way out of bed.  I calmly told him that I was in labor but that he should go back to sleep and I would wake him up a little later.  He quickly jumped out of bed. "It's time??? Let's go! Let's go!"  I tried to reassure him that we had time but before I could even down my pre-labor morning smoothie, he was dressed, packed, and ready to warm up the car.  At that point, my contractions were about 4 minutes apart and getting stronger. But I wasn't ready to go quite yet.  So I took a shower, dried my hair, and started the dishwasher... much to the distress of my overly-nervous husband. 

We made it to the hospital around 3am, and by that time my contractions had slowed down.  My doctor wasn't on call that day (she was coming into the hospital just for me) but the nurses said they would call her around 7.  The contractions were still strong, but bearable, so we did our best to rest, and wait.  7:00 arrived and our nurse, Sue, came in smiling.  "I just talked to Dr. Minge and she was already on her way in, so we'll get your epidural ordered up, have her come in and break your water, and then we'll have this baby!"  She was quickly on the phone getting everything in place and wheeling in the baby equipment.  Ohh a planner!  I knew we'd get along well!  Once my water breaks, I tend to progress quickly, so we were excited and anxious for the doctor to walk through the door.

I was on the fence about getting an epidural.  Since I had went into labor on my own, I was hoping to avoid Pitocin at all costs and I felt like I could do it naturally without it.  Pit is an evil, evil drug.  Sure it speeds up the process, but with a hefty price of contractions that are 20 times stronger.  But at that point, I had only progressed to a 4 on my own which meant it could still be in the plans for the day, so I agreed to the epidural.  I could not have asked for a better anesthesiologist. Not only was he very thorough in walking us through everything, but he took the time to talk me about what I wanted.  I told him my reservations about getting it and asked if it was possible to get a "light" epidural - meaning I wanted to take the edge off, but I still wanted to be able to feel everything.  He did just that and it was perfect!

At 8:30 the nurses came back in and let us know that Dr. Minge got tied up in the office and wouldn't be able to come in for a while.  She was afraid that if she came in and broke my water than she wouldn't make it back in time to deliver the baby.  And so we waited, and waited.  It seemed like an eternity, but I was just thankful to be dealing with non-induced labor.  I'd much rather have a long, natural labor than a quick one when I'm loaded up on a bunch of medication. At 10:45, Dr. Minge walked through the door proclaiming "okay, it's all about you now!"  She's so peppy and sweet, it was hard to stay mad at her - even though she was almost 4 hours late. :-) She quickly broke my water and we waited for my body to do the rest. 

Two hours later, our beautiful baby boy made his appearance - rosy cheeked, healthy, and absolutely perfect.  I could not have asked for a better labor and delivery (at one point in between pushes Josh looked over at me and said "You know, you're not supposed to be smiling and laughing right now!") and I'm so, so thankful that everything went so smoothly.  And of course, to be blessed with another healthy child!  There is nothing more miraculous than when they put this tiny little person on your chest for the first time - whom only moments before was holding up residence inside your tummy.  Motherhood is amazing!

When our little guy arrived, his breathing was too fast, so they put him skin to skin on my chest until it normalled out.  I was so sad for my parents and big sister who had been patiently waiting through my labor and didn't get to hold him!  (Not that I minded the snuggles... )

As for the name... Josh had "Dallas Beck" picked out for months before his arrival, but I was still on the fence. I loved the fact that it honored both of our dads, but it's a tradition in Josh's family for the second son to take the grandpa's first name as his middle name, so that was my plan. I had a few names of my own picked out, but nothing I was sold on, so I told Josh that we'd have to wait and see him before I made up my mind. (And since I was the one going through labor I reserved the right to full veto power! :-) ) When the nurse put him on the scale and proclaimed "8 - 5... wow he's a big boy!" Josh looked over at me with a smile and said "see, the name fits him!" And I agreed.  What a lucky boy to be named after two amazing men! (And for the record, it made both grandpas cry.)

We are so, so in love with this sweet little boy.  Funny how a year ago we didn't even know that another baby was in the plans, and now I could never imagine our lives without him!  So excited to bring him home to his brother and sisters and enjoy our time together... our little family is complete!

(I love this picture so much.  Now there is a Daddy who loves his babies!)