It's been six days since Ethan arrived and I still cannot believe what a little miracle man he is! I think back to what a shock we had late in February when we learned about the little "stowaway" we were carrying! As soon as we found out we were expecting again, I granted the little man a full term lease for the whole pregnancy. As it turns out, my blood pressure spiked at 37 weeks (considered full term!) and we ended up evicting him early.
September 9, 2009! Is today the day our little "stowaway" arrives? It was a beautiful fall day and we were heading off to the hospital to be induced. I was 37 weeks pregnant, so Ethan is a full term baby, which we are very thankful for. Although I have some apprehension about inducing labor, my blood pressure is spiking and the doctors say that Ethan will be better off on the outside. It's only 369 days since we were in the hospital delivering Camden, so I actually felt quite prepared regarding what to expect :-)
We kissed Camden goodbye early in the morning, promising him a little brother when we got home. He seemed okay with that... especially with Grandma and Grandpa Sindt around to spoil him! On the way to the hospital we chatted about what a great date 09-09 is to have for a birthday. And the fact that next year, his first birthday would fall on 09-09-09 :-) What fun. But.... that would have to mean that labor and delivery happened by midnight. I was certainly hoping so!
We arrived at the hospital and were checked in quickly. I had pitocin going by 9 AM and had the faint pangs of contractions. By noon, I was beginning to wonder when these big contractions would start. My blood pressure was high..but doing okay on my left side. So another labor confined to the bed on my left side. (Not fun, but well worth it of course!). I was really happy though to not need Magnesium Sulfate, which has a lot of uncomfortable side effects. Contractions came and went...they would increase in frequency and pain and then fade out. It all seemed a bit slow. The doctor came in and broke my water at about 3pm, with a promise that things should start moving a bit more quickly. I guess time is relative, because it seemed that the contractions were taking forever.
By late afternoon I was only dilated to a 4 cm, and I was beginning to think that Ethan's birthday would be 09-10-08. Steve had jinxed the birth date! My contractions were increasing and the discomfort was growing, but I didn't want to slow the progress by getting an epidural when I was only at a 4, so I set a goal to make it another hour (targeting 7pm) before getting the epidural. Managing back labor confined to the bed, on my left side at that, was getting quite difficult.
Finally, everything came together and I got a relief from the pain at 8pm in the form of an epidural... although I was "only" dilated to a 5. The relief was AWESOME and I was actually able to get some much needed rest. Steve ran an errand to pick up a couple things we had forgotten. I was becoming sure that we were going to be in for a long, long night!
However, at 9pm, things started picking up! After an hour of great pain management, I was having serious contractions one on top of another. I told the nurse that I was ready to push and luckily she agreed that I was ready. (Although, she mentioned if the doctor wasn't in the room, that I would have to wait.... luckily that wasn't the case!). By the time everything was set up, I was seriously ready to push the little guy out!
I still wasn't convinced that Ethan would arrive on 09-09-08 though... it was 10pm after all. Luckily, 20 minutes and a few great big pushes were all it took. Ethan arrived and was placed on me while Steve cut the cord. He was crying and pink and just perfect! There were so many things to notice, to love. His cap of dark hair, his long fingers, his long legs... It's hard to believe that Steve and I could create such a beautiful creature. I'm so thankful that the little guy decided to join our little family sooner than later. He's brought us so much joy and so many smiles since his birth. What a miracle!!
In all the excitement of Camden's first birthday and Ethan's birth, I forgot to post details of Camden's 1 year well baby check up! We find that Camden is a precocious little person! He's hitting and exceeding all the well baby milestone lists (Such as "May take a few steps on his own (our little man walks, runs and climbs!);) and we learned there are very few things on the lists of things we as parents should do for our child's next steps (for example, encourage your child to eat on his own... Camden's been a self feeder for months!).
In some ways, it's been a challenge keeping up with Camden. Since he only likes to eat what he can feed himself, we've been working at family meal planning and offering a variety of new food choices.
