Our little guy decided to throw himself a birthday party last Sunday...it was a surprise party for us! The last two times I had been to the doctor, I was not at all dilated. We actually had scheduled an induction for June 10th and had planned to go in June 9th to have my cervix prepped. I had been having very few braxton hicks and was starting to think our little guy was very comfortable right where he was at. Saturday evening we had been at my parents house for a BBQ. I think these are the final maternity pictures taken of me this pregnancy.
Mary was due two days before me and Sarah is due in August. We had a wonderful time hanging out with family and Mary and I always love commiserating in our pregnancy symptoms. We left there house around 10 pm and headed straight to bed. I woke up around 11 pm and was a little uncomfortable...not uncommon being nine months pregnant. After a trip to the bathroom I found that I had passed my mucous plug. I got back in bed but was unable to sleep. I started having what I thought were braxton hicks. After about an hour I googled a contractions calculator and tracking the length and duration of the contractions. The contractions were coming about eight minutes apart and lasting about thirty seconds. Well the contractions just kept coming...whether I was lying in bed sitting up or standing...but I still wasn't sure I was really in labor. Since I couldn't sleep I plugged my headphones into my IPad and caught up on a few TV shows. I found I was most comfortable sitting up in a chair...so that is where I hunkered down. I continued to keep track of my contractions...they were coming closer together and were lasting longer. In my head I made a goal to make it until 7:00...then maybe we could head to the hospital...well at 4:45 my contractions were just three minutes apart and lasting almost a minute. I was unable to stand up when they came. Around this time Seth stirred in bed. I asked him if he was awake and I told him I thought I might be in labor. I still wanted to give it more time...well by 5:00 I had changed my mind. We packed a few more things up and jumped in the car. I was convinced that I still wasn't far enough along and they would send us home. We arrived at the hospital around 5:40 and had to check in on the emergency room side. Once we checked in we were taken to a birthing suite. When the nurse checked me she said I was dilated to a five...to say that I was in shock is an understatement. I told Seth several times that this was all happening too fast.
The nurse asked if we had a birthing plan...our only real plan was to get an epidural. We also had decided to wait until after our little guy was here and we were well situated and ready for visitors to contact our families. We had a strong impression that the first few hours of our little guys life here on earth were precious and we wanted to bond as a new family. Well by 6:45 the anesthesiologist had given me the epidural. His name is Walt...and I think it may be Walt Disney because he took me to the happiest place on earth. At one point I thought they had put a foam mat over my legs to keep them warm...then I touched it and realized that it was not a foam mat...but my legs. I literally could not feel a thing which was great! After the epidural I was able to relax and then it was just a waiting game.
At 7:15 they started me on Pitocin since the epidural had slowed my contractions. The fluids they were giving me were cold and were making me shake like a leaf. At 9:00 they checked me again and I was dilated to a nine but my water had not broken. At 9:10 the nurses came in with some oxygen and to prep me for delivery. Dr Fillerup was in at 10:00 to break my water and then she had us wait about forty minutes to give our little guy a chance to descend further down the birth canal. When she came back in she prepped me for delivery and had me start to push.
I gave three hard pushes for each contraction and tried to hold each push for 10 seconds...easier said then done. After a couple of contractions Dr Fillerup said that our little guy's heart rate was dropping each time I had a contraction. She thought the cord might be wrapped around his neck and we needed to get him out on the next contraction...I needed to give it my all. Dr Fillerup also got a vacuum ready to help me out a little. On the second push of that contraction he came...and it wasn't like in the movies..he came all at once. She held him up and he was a little purple and had quite the cone head. I started crying immediately...it was so surreal that he was finally here. They took him over to the warming table immediately and cleared out his air passages and then we heard his first cry. It was better than hearing his heartbeat at our first ultrasound. He was born at 10:56 and weighed in at 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 inches long. After they cleaned him up they put him on my chest. His eyes were wide open and he was very alert for the next hour. Seth and I took turns holding him and cherished every moment that first hour.
We also got a picture of Dr. Fillerup with our little guy. She was an AMAZING doctor. Each time we had an ultrasound or listened to his heartbeat with Doppler at appointments, she got just as excited as we did. We will eternally be grateful for her delivering our sweet son to us safely.
Here are some of the pictures Seth managed to capture in our little guys first hour of life.
Then they took our little guy to the nursery and pushed me on to the postpartum recovery room. It was strange to be separated from the little one that had been my constant companion for the last nine months.
He obviously was not a fan of the bath.
After his bath he was back in my arms. We were pretty sure that his name would be Phineas at that point. Deciding on a name was not a decision we took lightly. We had contemplated it pretty seriously over previous nine months. We wanted to choose a name that was a little unique but also familiar. We looked at our family lines and I remembered that my third great grandfather was Phineas Richards (pictured below).
Phineas was the brother of Willard Richards and the cousin of Brigham Young and Phineas Young. To give a rundown of the whole story...Phineas Young was given a Book of Mormon by Samuel Smith (brother of Joseph Smith) a young missionary who felt that his mission had been unsuccessful. Phineas Young then shared the Book of Mormon with his brother Brigham Young. Brigham Young then shared the message of the gospel with Willard Richards and Phineas Richards. We feel like the name Phineas symbolizes being guided by the spirit and making decisions that will positively impact generations to come. The name Phineas literally means oracle. We hope that our little Phineas will follow the examples of Phineas Richards and Phineas Young. That he will be guided by the Holy Spirit throughout his life...that he will help his siblings along the way.
When we called to tell our family members that our little guy was here they were surprised! I think several people had put money on Mary having her baby before me...including me. JB, Mary, Max, Ben and Andrew were our first visitors at the hospital.
Nona and Papa quickly joined in the action as well.
Seth's parents were elated to be able to make a trip to the hospital before entering the Missionary Training Center the next morning.
On Monday Aunt Beth came to visit Phin.
Uncle Scott and Aunt Emily also came for a visit.
Our last night in the hospital they served us a "candlelight" dinner. They brought in a nice tablecloth, dinner and a bottle of sparkling cider. It was a nice way to celebrate.
Cousin Emily is used to carrying around a much bigger brother but did quite well with Phin.
Jane was excited to hold him as well.
Thank you Bart and Collette for bringing your family up to visit. We know that time goes by very quickly and before we know it, Phin will be close to Aaron's size. We hope Phin and Aaron will become great friends.
Tuesday morning I was treated to a pedicure before we checked out to head home. When we put Phin in his car seat...we realized just how little he looks.
We were planning on Phin being much larger than he was...he looks so tiny in all of his clothes...and in his bassinet. We are just happy to have this "little guy" home and in our arms.
