Jameson Royce Roggy made his entrance into the world at 1:42 A.M. on Wednesday March 18th, 2015. His birth weight was 7 lbs, .04 oz, and he was 20 3/4 inches long. He was born with a full head of hair, and is perfect in every way. In his typical fashion, he went thru labor, and delivery on his own time. We were in labor for 48 hours; here's how that adventure unfolded:
I woke up on Monday March 16th at 2:00 AM with intense contractions. These didn't feel like the braxton hicks I had been having for weeks. They were pretty far apart though so I didn't think too much of it. I figured I'd fall back asleep eventually like I always did, but at 10:00 A.M., they were still coming in steady every 8 minutes. They were intense enough that there was no falling back asleep between them. I had Clay still go to work, because we'd had enough false alarms, and I knew that we couldn't go to the hospital until they were 5 mins apart anyways. I obsessively timed the contractions all day, packed some sandwiches/snacks for Clay in our cooler for the hospital. (They don't feed daddy's at the hospital, and mama doesn't get to eat until after delivery.) I didn't know how long it would be until we could go to the hospital, but I was pretty sure today was going to be the day. By about 3:00 P.M. there were still no changes, but the pain was getting difficult to manage at home. I went, and got my nails done. For some reason, it was easier to manage, or at least conceal the pain while out in public, but it was holding steady at every 8 minutes. Clay got home right after 5, and we immediately went for a walk. We walked every night after work the last few weeks so I knew that the contractions would probably get closer together on the walk, then stretch out back at home. Whew, my goodness did they ever get closer together! The whole walk, they were 2-3 minutes apart, and intense enough that I had to stop walking when I would have one. Our walk was significantly shorter than it usually was as I was thinking we'd be going to the hospital once we got home. True to it's normal fashion, as soon as we got home, the contractions spread out. I still hadn't, and couldn't sleep, and was quite irritable at this point. If this was labor, why the heck wasn't it speeding up, and if it wasn't why was it so much more painful today than it had been the previous weeks? We watched Better Call Saul while I bounced on the exercise ball, which I struggled thru. I then went up to bed to try to get in a position that the contractions weren't so uncomfortable. I spent the next 3 hours tossing, and turning with every contraction, then BAM! Right at midnight, they got way more intense! I spent the next 2 hours hunched over, or on the floor in the bathroom. I had left my phone in the other room so I went to grab it, and timed them at 3 minutes apart, and they were knocking me to the floor with every one. I couldn't stand, couldn't walk, couldn't talk thru them. Holy Shit! Things were progressing, and FAST! I yelled into the bedroom that it was time, and Clay moved very slowly. I'm sure this was because of all the other false alarms, but once he got into the bathroom and saw me on the floor, he picked up the pace pronto! He asked if I was going to get ready before we went /how long I'd be (I always said I'd want to be home for a while, shower/do my make-up & hair, etc before going to the hospital.) HA! Not a freaking chance! Labor contractions are a whole different story than braxton hicks. And with how close they were together, I was flipping out thinking we were going to have him in the car. Clay ran around in a rushed, but calm fashion. He kept asking what he could do for me, and all I'd get out was pack the car, and feed the dogs.
We left the house shortly after 2:00 A.M. on Tuesday March 17th, called our Doula, and were at the hospital by 2:15. Just being in the hospital made me relax a little bit. We checked into Triage, and the nurse checked to see how dilated I was. Mind you, at this point I had been in labor for 24 hours..... she said I was only 2 cm! I somewhat yelped out the "F" word in a question fashion. I could not believe that was all that had progressed from the day full of contractions I had been having. She told me not to worry, they weren't sending me home! Since I was already 41 weeks, and scheduled to be induced the next day, they were admitting me right away, and I could get the epidural at any time. We got moved to our labor/delivery room, and told they typically like to see labor progress a little bit more before giving the epidural, but I could have it if I wanted. I declined, and said I wanted to walk for a while/ try to speed things up. Clay, our Doula, and I walked laps around the delivery floor for an hour. The contractions were getting closer together with every lap, and more intense. We went back to the room, and went thru other positions to try to help with the contractions. We unpacked some, and killed time while waiting to get checked again. At 7:00 A.M. I was only dilated 3 cm. 5 hours later, and only 1 more cm than when we checked in. I said screw it, can I have some pain meds. I wasn't ready for the epidural, but wanted to see how the pain meds in the IV helped. Wow! They were amazing! The nurse advised that I could have 4 doses of them. Each dose would last about an hour, but with each dose they wouldn't work as well. Only the first, and second dose would really make a difference. The first dose put me in total relaxation mode. I couldn't sleep, but the contractions were barely bothering me for this hour. Once the meds wore off, they were back with rampage! I immediately asked for another dose, and said lets go ahead and schedule the epidural. Thank God I asked for it then because it took the anesthesiologist 2 1/2 hours to get to me. The second dose helped some, but not as much as the first. When it started to wear off, I needed a distraction big time so I started to do my hair. Call me crazy, but it helped. It gave me something to focus on other than the pain. Around this time, we were told that Clay wasn't going to be allowed in the room when I got the epidural. I was WAY nervous about this, but there was nothing we could do about it so he went home to check on the dogs. I got the epidural at 10:30 A.M. and the rest of the day was smooth sailing! Seriously, that thing is amazing!!!! Labor may have been long, but it was pain-free after the epidural. I don't care how long it takes, it's worth it. Jameson's heart rate kept dropping so they kept having to shift me into different positions. He'd mellow out shortly after, and it was never a big concern. The Dr/Nurses said this is totally normal during delivery. Because of this though, I still wasn't able to sleep. The whole day progressed slowly, until we hit 6 cm. I got really nauseous, and had a headache/ felt kind of flu-y. I never threw up, but was NOT feeling well for a few hours. At one point, I even looked over at Clay, and told him I wasn't going to be able to push if it was time soon. We went from 6 cm, to 9 cm by the next time they checked me.
At 9:00 P.M. I was 9 cm, and we were sure we were going to have a St. Patty's day baby. Welp, he had other plans in mind. Jameson shifted onto my sciatic nerve, and left hip. I don't know why the epidural didn't numb this, but DEAR GOD! That pain was worse than any of the contractions. The only relief was a tennis ball being rammed right into where the pain was. Clay, and our Doula took turns on tennis ball duty. This pain lasted about an hour, then the second it stopped was this rush of exhaustion/relief. I immediately fell asleep....... for 3 hours! The nurse woke me up 2 or 3 times to ask if I felt like I needed to push, but I didn't, and I'd fall right back asleep. I don't know how to describe that feeling, but that sleep was like my body just shut down to prepare for pushing. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Then, right at midnight, 12:00 AM on Wednesday March 18th, 2015 the nurse came in, and turned the lights on. I woke up, and immediately felt better. She checked me, and said it was time to push. It was a whole new feeling. I was rested, and excited/ ready to push. Those few hours of sleep were exactly what I needed. It was just the Doula, Nurse, Clay, and I for the first while of pushing. Once he started to crown she called the Dr in, and things got a little weird. Jameson wasn't lined up straight in the birth canal, he was in it at somewhat of an angel. Because of this, his head was stuck behind my pubic bone.After an hour, and a half of pushing he finally got around it, and the Dr saw that he had meconium. Meconium is when the baby poops in the birth canal. This is really dangerous because they can ingest the stool. Things changed in the delivery room once she said that word. A few more nurses rushed in, she went back to the tool table, and told me that she needed to get the baby out now, and had to do an episiotomy/ was I ok with it? I, of course, said yes. She did what she had to do, and with the next push, Jameson came FLYING out! No joke, he flew out! I didn't even know that with that push he'd come out. Or that it would happen that fast. I expected it to be a somewhat slow process. NOPE! Clay said it reminded him of a dolphin! Lol! He was so slippery the Dr almost dropped him. She threw him up onto my stomach, which he promptly slid off of. The Doula caught him, raised him up, Clay cut the umbilical cord, and then our baby was rushed away to the medical table on the other side of the room. Everything happened so fast, and it was all some what of a blur. Clay kept kissing me, and telling me how proud he was/ that our son was perfect. From the bed/ with all the nurses around our son, I couldn't see him, but since Clay was standing up he could. Jameson was WAILING! The Dr was smiling, telling me that was a very good thing, and I'd have him back as soon as the nurses finished with him. It felt like forever, but he was finally put into my arms. That moment, that first look at him, his first time looking into my eyes, how he immediately stopped crying when he was laid on me......can only be described as perfect. Every single pain felt thru pregnancy, every single minute of anxiously waiting to go into labor, every worry, and false alarm/ scare we had along the way was worth it. In that single moment, it was all worth it, and it has only continued to be more amazing every day since then.
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| Trying to see him on the nurses table |
Welcome to the world Jameson Royce Roggy. We love you with a kind of love we've never known before!
