Forever Friends & Forever Sweethearts...: Our Precious Tristan’s Arrival-May 19th 2015!

He is here!!!!!!!!!! HOORAY! After weeks of contractions, exhaustion, and little to no sleep, a trip to the hospital a week before just to be sent home with contractions five minutes apart, I was so excited to finally get him here! Here is our precious Tristan’s birth story…

I was supposed to see my doctor again the afternoon of the 19th, but with the amount of pain I was in, he had me come in to see if we could get things going the morning of the 18th. I have to admit that with the level of pain and exhaustion I was experiencing this sounded good to me. After a bit of a brutal appointment trying to get my cervix to dilate, I was having pretty bad contractions within an hour later. After the appointment Ben treated me to lunch at El Matador (because you know what they say about spicy food and labor, plus it is oh-so-delicious) and my contractions picked up so much while we were there that I could not even finish my meal and ended up going and waiting for Ben to box up the leftovers and pay while I battled some tough contractions in the privacy of our car. We headed home and within another hour my contractions picked up to being 5 minutes apart and big, so we called my Mom and had her come and give me a footzone just like she did the day I went into active labor (I say active because early labor lasts weeks for me) to help the process along just like it did with Jayden.

An hour later we were heading to the hospital and they were coming about three minutes apart. After arriving they sent us to the dreaded room they send you to to determine if your labor is active enough to admit you. With contractions coming a minute apart, I did not want to be sent home again. They checked me and gave me the news I was worried I would here. There was still no progress from my appointment earlier. My heart sank. At this point I was 38 weeks and 6 days along and they won’t induce anything until you are 39 weeks. I was 6 hours away from that and on the verge of going home again. They told me to walk the halls as fast as I could go for 45 minutes. I was not feeling like a walk, but I was desperate so I got walking, and I walked so hard and fast that my Mom and Ben were both pretty surprised, but I was determined. So determined in fact that I walked holes into my shoe. When I finished my walk, the nurse brought me a 32 ounce jug of ice water and told me to down it in 20 minutes. I was so thirsty by that point that it was not hard at all to down it in just 10 minutes. They came back and checked me and I had progressed from a 3 to a 4! Thank goodness!!! We were admitted and sent to our birthing suite just moments later. Oh the relief!…followed by a little bit of anxiety for the night of labor ahead of me to deliver our sweet boy, but at least the end was finally in sight!

SO excited to be the room we would meet Tristan in! Since I tested positive for Group B Strep, they started my meds right away so we could get Tristan a couple decent doses before labor which we were able to do and it was a huge relief for me since I had been worried about not getting them in time for weeks. The only downside was trying to get the I.V. started. There was a lot of poking and digging before they finally got one to work. More relief came when I was offered an epidural a little while after the meds were working through my system.

I got an epidural with Jayden and had an amazing birth experience, so I decided to get one again. Everything went fine with the one I got with Jayden, so I was not too nervous to get one again. This time did not go so smoothly. First off I actually felt the poke this time around, but that was not too bad. What was bad was after they had it in and it started to kick in. I went from feeling fine and happy and not feeling my contractions, to just a moment later getting extremely nauseated, having my face start feeling tingly and swollen and then getting so light headed that I ended up passing out and woke up with an oxygen mask on and some nervous nurses, an anxious Mom, and a worried husband leaning over me. After wearing the oxygen for a few minutes, I came around and felt all the way better again. Unfortunately every time I would up the meds because I would start to feel more intense pain with the contractions (I like to feel a little so I know when contractions are coming and so my legs don’t go all the way numb), this same thing would happen. The nice thing was that we could stay a step ahead of the game by putting the oxygen mask on before doing so, so there was no more passing out.

The holes in my shoe and my lovely bra. I had put my bra back on to walk the halls, because let’s face it-a brisk walk and being large and pregnant requires some support. The lesson I learned the hard way was to remember to take it off again before the I.V. or this happens…it ends up stuck dangling off the I.V. drip. Why couldn’t I have worn a cuter bra? Ha ha!

My Mom was an awesome support through my labor with Tristan, and I was so glad that I invited her so that Ben could get some sleep and I would not have to be alone. I was able to sleep through a lot of the labor which was SO nice after weeks of contractions coming 20 minutes apart. It was nice to relax a bit.

As labor progressed and I got more and more dilated and effaced, I got nervous about upping the meds for my epidural and not being able to push due to trying not to pass out, so I stopped pushing the button. I had only been dilating about a cm per hour (which is way slow compared to Jayden), but made up for it in the end by going from an 8 to a 10 in just 10 minutes! I was in pain! At this point the epidural had really dropped off and so I felt everything through transition and delivery. Man I commend women who choose to go all natural!

They had called the doctor when I was an 8 thinking there would be plenty of time, but with how fast things went at the end I ended up spending a half an hour trying not to push while breathing through the oxygen mask waiting for him to arrive. I have never felt the urge to push so strong in my entire life! I held onto the rail on the side of the bed while both Ben and the nurse were coaching me to breathe and not push. I wanted to scream, but tried my best to breath and not push to the point that my entire body was shaking and rattling the bed. The pain and the pressure were overwhelming and a completely new experience compared to the slight pressure I felt when I was in labor and delivering Jayden. The only hard thing with Jayden was that his heart rate kept dropping. I was fine. This time around Tristan was a champ throughout labor and delivery and I struggled, but I have to say that is what I would prefer to have happen.

I have never been so grateful to see a doctor in my entire life as I was when my OBGYN walked in the room. He came in thinking I was going to still be an 8 and got pretty panicked when he saw just how much I had progressed and how ready I was to push, and proceeded to hurry as fast as he could to get ready for me to deliver. They transformed the bed from the traditional hospital bed to birthing bed and went to help me put my legs in the stirrups. That is when it hit me. I was not numb at all! I could put my own legs in the stirrups. I could feel how cold they were. I could feel the cold as the doctor slathered me with iodine. I was about to experience a natural birth without the help from pain meds. It was too late to do anything though, so I started pushing. I thought it would come easy with how much I had been wanting to push, but I was SO exhausted after the half hour of not pushing that it was hard to push! The pressure and pain of the contractions were hard to push through. I was starting to feel worried that I would be stuck like this for a while. They kept telling me to push, so I did as I grunted and screamed (in my opinion-everyone else in the room said I was not screaming, but it sure felt like it to me) in an agony that I had never experienced before. I had pushed six times and literally felt like I could not push anymore when the doctor instructed me to push one more time slowly. Then came the two tears-which I was grateful for since I did not want an epidural, but man it hurt with not being numb. Two seconds later they handed Tristan up to me and placed him on my stomach. It was SO nice getting to hold him first off. With Jayden they took him and got him all cleaned off first and brought him to me several minutes later, so this experience was very sweet. He cried three good and hard cries before calming down as I gently stroked his head, told him I loved him and praised him for what a good job he had done throughout the birthing process. I loved those first moments with my newborn son.

They let me hold him and love him for a while and then took him to get cleaned up while I got stitched up. It was at this point that I started flinching in pain. I was feeling every stitch! OUCH! My doctor realized at this point that I was not numb and told me he could get numbing medicine, but that he was almost halfway done and the meds would be painful as well, so I told him I could handle it. I second guessed myself as he continued to stitch. Ben went over with Tristan to get him weighed and measured and I tried to distract myself and focus on what the nurses were telling me about my newborn son’s stats. He was born on May 19th, 2015 at 2:46 a.m. weighing in at 6 lbs. 11 oz. and measuring at 19 inches tall. Just a little bit bigger and 11 minutes later than our Jayden, and healthy as could be!

I think Tristan liked having Daddy close.

Man those five minutes of getting stitched up were hard, but once they were over with I was not in pain anymore (other than the usual after birth discomfort) and I had my swaddled baby back in my arms again. In that moment everything was perfect.

He kept stretching to see me as I held him and talked to him. It was so sweet and tender. It was a much harder delivery than I had anticipated, but this sweet boy is worth every moment of it!

My Mom left to head to bed a little while after he was born, and Ben, Tristan, and I soaked in those first moments together. They were WONDERFUL!

First photos together!

Tristan was SO alert and social just like Jayden was after being born. It is crazy how much they look and act alike.

Tristan’s first bath. He was not a very big fan. He did however enjoy the warmer afterwards.

I love the look in his eyes. It is as if he is saying “I don’t like the looks of this…”

Jayden meeting Tristan for the first time. Absolutely heart melting and precious! They are going to be the best of friends.

Jayden begged to see Tristan’s cute, little feet. :)

Just look at that smile and how his eyes just light up at the sight of his baby brother. Melts my heart!!!

Meeting family members for the first time! My grandparents.

My Aunt Kayleen and Cousin Kaitlyn

Ben’s Mom and Dad

First family photo (minus our Caleb)!

The boys with their matching “buddy bears”!

My Dad.

My Sister Cami and her boyfriend Brian.

Its amazing how much love and happiness someone so small can bring to a family. :)

Just look at those sweet eyes! They kill me!

Meeting Casey and Naomi.

The hospital gives the couple’s a complimentary dinner. Ben and I rather enjoyed it!

Our precious boy!

The food was FABULOUS and during your stay they let the mother order anything she wants. I have to say after nine months of literally hating food and eating, I was in heaven finally being able to eat and being surrounded by so much yummy food.

Meeting Ryan and Hilary.

Meeting Great Grandma.

Tristan’s first foot zone!

Our first movie and pizza party with Tristan. It is a family tradition.

My room was so big and spacious with lots of windows and amazing views. Just how I like it. :)

Ben was nice and took Tristan for a bit so I could enjoy the jetted tub! I am telling you-I LOVED my room! :)

Getting discharged to go home by my OBGYN Dr. Seale and the hospital’s pediatrician Dr. Bledsoe.

The long four hour wait to go get Jayden and head home to start our life together.

Tristan was a pretty big fan of the views himself. :)

Daddy getting Tristan all ready to go home in the same outfit as Jayden went home in, just like he did with Jayden. It has become an Ostler family tradition.