The arrival of our little Hunter, just as Haaken's, was nothing short of a miracle. That God chose me to carry this little bundle, nurture and raise him, makes me realized how blessed I am!
Hunter's due date was Monday, December 13th. My OB appointment the week before revealed that I was dilated to just 1-2cm, but essentially nothing was happening. I visited the spa at Grand Geneva on my due date for a massage and pedicure! :)
The next day I had some Braxton Hicks (false labor) contractions throughout most of the day. My OB appointment in the afternoon had me hooked up to a monitor, where they could see some of my contractions and monitor the baby's heart rate. He was a bit sleepy, so they gave me some soda to drink to get him to move around more. When checked, I was dilated to 3-4cm.
On Wednesday, December 15th I had SOME Braxton Hicks during the day, but they seemed to subside when I rested. That evening, my parents brought pizza for dinner. As we were all sitting around the dinner table, I keeled over ... my mom immediately realized what was happening and said "It's 6:15!" - knowing we needed to start timing the contractions right away. I took a shower, and even blow-dried my hair - wanting to be "sure" that labor had indeed started and the contractions were coming fast enough to go to the hospital.
By 7:30pm I was on the phone with my doctor and the contractions were coming faster - much faster than the minimum five minute interval my doctor had given me! We headed to the hospital and arrived just before 8pm. Once settled in the room, the nurse said I was dilated to 4-5cm. I immediately requested an epidural but had to have IV fluids for about an hour before I could have it; the contractions got harder and harder, coming about every 2 minutes but still a bit irregular. By 8:45 or 9pm, I was up to 6-7cm; my OB was on her way and the anesthesiologist came up to give me my epidural.
I was situated with the epidural by 9:15 or 9:30pm, but my left side went more numb than my right - I still had some back labor on my right side which, needless to say, was quite frustrating! By around 10pm my OB came in and broke my water - she also tilted the bed almost upright to get the baby to move down more.
By about 10:25pm, I started pushing. The contractions were coming about every 4 minutes, but slowed down - we spent considerable time 'twiddling our thumbs' and waiting for the next contraction! Thankfully, we didn't have to wait too long - Hunter Jonathan was born at 11:01pm!
When he arrived, Hunter was greeted by Mommy, Daddy and Auntie Megan (who was waiting in the hall!). His arrival and photo was also broadcast via text message and Facebook within the first hour! When he was just 45 minutes old, he nursed for the first time - for about 45 minutes!
Hunter nursed again at about 2:30am. Then, while I was waiting for my epidural to wear off, the nurse took Hunter into the nursery for his first bath, hearing test and first photo so that Mommy and Daddy could sleep for a couple hours. At about 5am, I got to take a shower and we moved into our recovery room.
Later that morning, Hunter was greeted by his big brother Haaken and his Papa and Grammie Giesler! He was also visited in the hospital by several friends and family, including Great Grandma Hovestol and Great Uncle Joel & Aunt Annette!
Hunter came home late in the afternoon on Friday, December 17th!
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