The birth of Hogan Graham 2-18-16

My last bump picture! 40 Weeks!

It's been two weeks since Hogan entered the world...time is flying by.  Before I know it, he will be one and I am already crying just thinking about it.

I need to write down the details of Hogan's birth before I forget..and plus, who doesn't love a good birth story!?  Mine was pretty uneventful, but still special and I absolutely loved it.  Hope you enjoy!

Starting at 37 weeks, my doc usually checks to see if I am dilated/effaced etc...to my surprise, I was already 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced! Holy cow, I was so surprised I was already progressing!  So then for my 38 and 39 week appointment, I had gone from 2-4 cm and almost 80% effaced.  I just KNEW he was going to come early. HAHAHA I don't know why I always think that, because it's not been the case yet. I need to get it out of my head that I'll ever have an early baby.

So the day before my due date, I had my 40 week appointment.  Still around 4cm and I was determined to make this baby come. My doctor told me if I wanted to, that since I was already 4cm, he would go ahead and admit me and then break my water to hopefully start the "good strong" contractions.  I told him heck yes please do because let's be honest...I was not sleeping AT ALL, my mom and stepdad were already in town waiting for the call so they could watch Winslow, and when you have NO family who lives in town, you kind of want to "know" when baby comes..at least I did.  It was kind of nice to have an idea of when he was coming and I did NOT want to wait 9 days past his due date like I did with Winslow.  Plus, I had some good strong contractions all day and so I really thought I might go into labor that night.  Not the case...the contractions stopped around 10pm and I didn't have any more. BOO.

So, on my due date, we woke up early and headed to the hospital.  I was very nervous, but excited to know that more than likely, we would be meeting little Hogan that day.  My mom and stepdad were at my house with Winslow and I kissed him goodbye while he was sleeping and off we went.

We got to the hospital and got admitted.  My doc came in and broke my water around 8am and said it may take an hour or so for the contractions to come, if they would.  With Winslow's birth, my water broke on it's own and within 10 minutes, my contractions were 1-2 minutes apart and super strong.  I kind of expected it to happen like that again.  Well, an hour passed and I didn't have ONE contraction to write home about. I had a lot of small irregular ones but nothing big.  10am came and still nothing so my doc came in and asked if I wanted to be put on pitocin to speed things up.  To be honest, I did NOT want to be put on that because I know that the contractions can be super strong and I wanted my body to do it's own thing. But he said we might could be there all day and I really wasn't hopeful that anything would happen.  I agreed to be put on a tiny small drip and so they started the medicine.  Another hour passed with nothing happening.  I just knew he wasn't going to come that day and I'd have like a 20 hour labor. (My labor with Winslow was only 6 hours from start to finish!)

So around 11:30 or so the contractions started.  They weren't that strong and I could talk through them so I sat on the birthing ball just chatting with my nurse, Suzanne, and Seth.  Let me go ahead and say my nurse...oh my nurse, she was STRAIGHT from heaven.  Such an angel and a huge support for me.  I wish she could be there for ALL my future births.  Goodness, she was amazing.  So around 12 o clock the contractions were STRONG and hurting pretty darn bad.  I labored for another few minutes and finally I knew it was time for the epidural.  Contractions while on pitocin are SO different than when you are not on it. So much stronger and deep, at least to me.  With how strong they were, I thought I was going to be 8cm dilated, but nope.  I was only 5.5-6.The nurse stopped the pitocin since my body responded well to it and I continued dilating and contracting.

Well, let's review back to Winslow's birth for a moment, shall we?  When I got my epidural with him, the anesthesiologist inserted the needle or tube or whatever the heck they stick back there INCORRECTLY.  So I really had nightmares/horrible thoughts about getting one again, but I knew I didn't want to go without so I was already super scared about getting it.

The worst part about the whole thing is 1) Seth can't be near me due to the "sterile environment" that has to occur and 2) it takes like 15 minutes to prep your back so my anxiety is through the roof during the entire process.

So my nurse was holding my hand and telling me it was going to be okay and I was praying out loud and she was encouraging me to be strong.  The insertion part was bad, but not as bad at with Winslow.  It hurt (everyone says they just feel pressure) but mine always hurts..maybe my back is whacko.  ANYWAY, that was over with and I nearly passed out, but I MADE it.  NO MORE PAIN.  Praise the Lord, I was feeling good.

From 12:30-1:30 I went from 6cm to 10cm and around 1:30 I was ready to push! Mom, Gerard, and Winslow came by for a visit and my nurse had to kick them out in order for me to push!

and viola.  Ten minutes later, Hogan Graham entered the world. He arrived at 1:41pm.

Oh my gosh, this was really my dream delivery.  There were 2 nurses and my doctor.  And then Seth of course.  Quiet and intimate.  I got to feel Hogan's head and that was so AWESOME.  I didn't think I wanted to at first, but it gave me the energy to finish pushing so I could meet that little man!  My doctor delivered him as slow as he could in order that I wouldn't tear badly (TMI...oh well).  When he arrived, he was placed directly on my chest, I cried, Seth cried, it was so beautiful.  I didn't know what to expect because when baby #2 comes, you sometimes have doubts and worries...how will I love him the same as Winslow? etc.  but of course, the Lord allows your heart to expand and the love is exactly the same! What a blessing.  It was as if I had never even done this before, the joy and emotions.  He took his first cries on my chest, looked me in the eyes, and I just cried.  They let me nurse him, they waited for the cord to stop pulsating (delayed cord clamping..look it up!!) Seth cut the cord, and we cuddled him for almost two hours before they weighed and measured him.

8 pounds 2 ounces (one ounce larger than his brother) and the exact same height, 22 inches!  I was so surprised he was that big!

I am so grateful to the Lord that everything went smoothly and that Hogan has joined our family.  He is the redeeming love that I needed after our miscarriage last year.  Which by the way, the way the Lord orchestrated his arrival was awesome- he came the exact same time I miscarried a year ago.  I found out the horrible news on Feb 17, 2015 and Hogan was born one year and one day later.  Thank you Lord, for this little miracle of life that I get to have.


Hope you enjoy the photos :)