We had our baby a month early and his name is Milo Julian Hobbs! He was born at 11:23pm on January 16, 2011. He weighed 5lbs 1oz and measured 17.5in long. Less than 48 hours in the hospital and we were allowed to take him home!
My doctors still don't know why I went into labor a month early, but I do have my theory. My body was tired and ready to have the baby!
Here is how labor went for me:
On Sunday, January 16, I jumped out of bed at around 4am because I felt a really strong contraction. I tried to go back to sleep but nothing really helped. Jared and I came to the conclusion that those contractions were fake labor and that they would be going away.
It didn't matter what I tried to do I just couldn't go back to sleep, but the contractions were so irregular and crazy. They usually lasted around 15 seconds, later 40, later 6 seconds and the time between them could go from 40 minutes, to 2 minutes, to 18 minutes. So because these horrible contractions were so irregular, to me they were just practice contractions for the real birth next month.
Around 9 in the morning I called my Ob-GYN (Dr. Brown) who told me that they were Braxton Hicks contractions because I was too early to go into labor but if I felt too bad to go to the hospital. He told me to lay down in bed which I tried to do but I was unsuccessful at stopping the contractions. I sent Jared and Mario to church while I was trying to catch up with some sleep. I really couldn't stay in bed because the contractions were so strong that they made me cry a few times. But since I have a high tolerance for pain, I stayed at home. I decided that if by 5 in the afternoon these horrible contractions were not gone I was going to go to the emergency room. You have to understand that I didn't know if those were real or fake contractions because I have never experienced any labor, contractions or anything like that with my previous pregnancy.
I tried to keep my mind busy so I folded some clothes, finished some laundry, vacuumed the floor, cleaned my bathroom, fixed the beds, and made lunch for Jared and Mario. I did all those chores, taking breaks every time a contraction would come. I cleaned like a psycho, trying to distract my mind from the pain. Some of them felt like a punch to the gut. Thank goodness I had my mom also on the phone talking to me while I was doing all those chores, that way I didn't focus so much on the pain. By 8pm, I couldn't breathe every time a contraction would come so I called my Ob Gyn to tell him that after more than 12 hours the contractions didn't stop like he said they would. He wasn't very worried and I personally think he was a little rude for not paying serious attention to what I was saying.
When I got to the hospital, the nurse connected me to a machine to monitor my contractions while Mario and Jared were registering me downstairs. Mario got a free toy and Jared was really quick bringing all my things. My doctor was getting ready to perform a C-section on another lady and he left some drugs to help me with my "fake" contractions when the nurse discovered that I was 5cm dilated and in active labor. My doctor was against me having a VBAC, so I had to sign my life away to be able to do what I wanted.
The contractions were getting stronger and stronger. No breathing exercises, meditation, or anything else I tried seemed to be helping me with the contraction pains. Every time a contraction would come, I felt like I was going to pass out. I requested an epidural and guess what? It didn't work. I was screaming so much and it was hard to not move when the contractions would come and I could feel the baby going down the birth canal. Yes, I had a natural birth (not by choice). I really thought I was going to die. I could feel the baby's head coming out and then the anesthesiologist came and offered me something else for the pain, a spinal block (a painkiller that works for less than an hour) which just made me feel warm and feel the contractions less but there wasn't enough time for it to be fully functional. I touched the baby's head as it was coming out and Jared was holding my leg and he saw the baby coming out. I was just looking at Jared's face the whole time. He was so happy and he was coaching me for the last part because before that he was comforting Mario who was freaking out looking at me screaming like crazy.
I felt dizzy but I was not going to miss this special moment by fainting. I touched the baby's head while it was coming out and I really wanted to grab the baby but my doctor made it easier for me and just handed him to me. He was perfect, I couldn't believe that he was living inside of me. Jared's parents were outside of the room because they came to pick up Mario. I am glad that they didn't leave too soon because they got to see the baby for the first time and Mario did too. Mario was a little freaked out and he didn't want to touch the baby because it looked gross.
I can't believe how fast the recuperation time is. A few hours after giving birth I was walking, eating, and using the bathroom. I have now given birth both ways, and now I see why giving birth natural is the way to go. I feel so happy that I could hold my baby against my chest after he came out for almost two hours and that even though he is a tiny little boy he can breast feed without difficulty. I love Milo so much. He is just perfect.
Here are some things I would like to share about Milo. He doesn't like to sleep with the lights off, he smiles often and loves to open his eyes to see what is going on around him. I doubt that he can see a thing but he looks so aware like Mario did too. Milo looks a lot like Mario but if you look closely he has Jared's ears, his long hands and feet, and likes to sleep under my underarm. Mario is at his Grandma Celestine's house. He is having a great time. Thanks for taking care of him!
The proud papi and his birthday present.
To me this was the perfect birthing experience. Jared and Mario were there with me, I didn't have to stay a long time at the hospital, my parents saw the baby via Skype so they didn't miss anything, and Celestine and Michael got to meet their grandson right away.
