Labor of LOVE!

So here goes, my birth story! From what I remember anyway :)

I was having contractions all day on my due date, 5/26/11. I ran a couple of errands and got a massage and just hoped they would get stronger and stronger throughout the day. AND THEY DID!  So, I talked to my doctor and she said to head on in to the hospital around 7:00. So we had dinner and went on in to the hospital. I got all checked in and was having regular contractions but wasn't dialating much so they gave me something to help soften things up. And so we waited! My mom and sister arrived a few hours after getting to the hospital. It was nice to have them there to help me get through the contractions. At this point they were getting pretty painful and coming every 3 min. It was getting pretty late so we were all going to try and get some sleep. My mom and sis went to their hotel till the morning and Doug slept in his little man area in my room. I attempted to fall asleep, but my contractions HURT! I always thought I was pretty tough, but wow, I guess I was wrong! I could not sleep and I was miserable, so I decided to get the epidural early the next morning (I was really nervous about this, but it ended up not being so bad!). That gave me alot of relief so I could sleep for awhile. I continued to sleep/ get checked/ eat ice chips/ dialate slowly for the rest of the day. My stellar support group was there for me every step of the way doing everything/ anything I needed along the way!

I wasn't dialating at a very good pace so we decided to try some pitocen, which made my contractions painful again and also made me puke the whole rest of the day (so much fun when you are already in enough agony... NOT) well, I hadn't eaten in quite some time so I was basically just dry heaving over and over. I was also pretty much stuck to laying on my right side because the baby's heart rate would jump up if I changed positions, and I would also puke more when I would lay on my back/left side... awesome! So I was about 7cm dialated at this point- almost 24 hrs into labor, and we were so hopeful that I would dialate the rest of the way quickly and have our baby soon! Well over the next couple of hours I got to 8.5-9 cm and then just stayed there. I also got a fever of  100.5 and baby's heart rate jumped again, even though we were off the pitocen at that point. So after alot of discussion and some tears our doctor said I had given it my best shot, but it was in the baby's and my best health interest to go ahead and do a c-section. I was really disappointed to have to come to that but at that point I had been in labor at the hospital for 27 hours and I couldn't do anymore. So, off to surgery I went. I had to drink this funky tasting stuff beforehand (which I threw up during the c-section- more awesomeness!) and they wheeled me back to the opperating room. I hated being back there at first without Doug and having no control over my body. It was such a weird feeling. I got another big dose of my epidural until I could feel pressure but no pain and then Doug got to come in when they were done setting up. I was so happy to see him. Once they started cutting it was really only about 5-7 min until I heard the most wonderful sound I have ever heard, my little boy's little cry! He was born at 9:33pm. They gave me the quickest little sneak peak and took him to get cleaned off. Everyone commented on how much hair he had!  Doug went over to be with Jude while they sewed me back up and being the "funny guy" he is he thought that I needed a good laugh and said from across the room, "hey honey, we have the same sized weiners!" What a dork!
After what seemed like an eternity I finally got to take a good look at my little angel when he was brought over to me. I immediately fell in love with the most beautiful baby of all time! No, really, he is! :)
I felt too shaky to hold him right away so when they wheeled me back to my room Jude got some daddy/ baba/ and aunt mimi time and a little while later I felt strong enough to hold him and feed him for the first time! I can't even describe how amazing it was! I couldn't believe how much I loved him :)
After that all the visitors left and it was time to get some sleep.
Over the next couple of days we had lots of visitors and were growing quite tired of being in the hospital. We got to come home on Monday (Memorial Day) and it was a very exciting process! Daddy drove about 30 mph with his blinkers on and mommy made fun of him :)
Since being home we have had Doug's mom stay with us for a  few days and now my mom is here for the week! She is such a big help and I am going to miss her next week!

I can't believe my baby boy will be 2 weeks old tomorrow!!

Still in the happy stages of labor!

Welcome to the world Judah Jameson Hilder! 8lbs 11oz 21 1/4 inches!

First time holding my son :)

Chubby Cheeks!

Proud proud parents!

He had better get used to kisses!

Jude and Aunt Mimi!

Jude and his Baba!

Jude and his Cousins! Kohen, Kennedy, and Kade!

Jude and Uncle Nick!

Jude and big brother Riley!

So, that's our boy! We love him so much and he is such a good baby! To sum up the way I feel about my labor experience... it is what it is. It didn't go as I would have liked, but it could have been worse. I tried to stay positive and relaxed the whole time and I tried my best, but a vaginal birth just wasn't in the cards for me I guess. I do get a little sad when I think about the fact that I will probably never experience that, but then I look at my amazing baby boy and realize that it really doesn't matter how he got here, only that he is in my arms now :)

Oh, and a BIG thanks to ALL  for the flowers, meals, words of encouragement, gifts, visits, and so much more! We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives!!