Sawyer - 1 month old

I am going to try to start blogging more since Sawyer has been born as a way to help me record the memories made and to be able to share them with close family and friends. Just for the record I am not a writer by any means, so bare with me :)

Weight & Length: He weighed 9 lbs 15 oz at his last doctor's appointment, so I think it is safe to say he is over 10 lbs now. The last time he was measured, he was 23 inches long.

Sleeping: The first two weeks he woke up maybe 3 times a night to eat, then the next week he would only wake up 2 times, and now we are down to only once a night :) He likes to nap during the day as well.

Eating: He doesn't have a set schedule yet, so each day varies and can be totally different than the day before. However, he does generally eat about every 2 hours in the morning, then takes an afternoon nap, then once 5 o'clock hits, he eats almost every hour until he goes to sleep for the night around 10.

Diapers: He moved up from his newborn diapers to a size 1. At first the size 1 diapers looked so big on him, but now they seem to fit fine. It was hard for me to move him up because he is growing so fast.

Clothing: He has grown out of a few of his newborn sleepers. Some of his 0-3 month outfits are a little big on him, but most fit comfortably. Daddy dressed him to go vote and he wore his little cardigan that sported the eagle and American flag, very patriotic.

Hair: Same as when he was born, dark blonde.

Eyes: Medium blue, lighter than when he was born.

Personality: So far, he seems to be a very happy baby unless of course he is hungry. He likes to eat and sleep. He also enjoys going to new places and taking in the new scenery. He loves, loves, loves to cuddle and so does mommy and daddy. I could sit all day with him and cuddle. Sometimes he dislikes having his diaper changed or clothes changed, just depends on the day.

Milestones: He smiles all the time, a lot of the time it is while he is sleeping. He also laughs/chuckles when he is sleeping. He must have some good dreams. He can lift his head while on his tummy. 

Firsts: Of course, he had his first bath. His umbilical cord fell off at 10 days old and then he was able to enjoy real baths. At first, he could not stand baths, but now that he is able to take real baths he enjoys getting in the water and floating around. Sawyer celebrated his first Halloween and dressed up as a minion from the movie Despicable Me. Although we didn't go anywhere, we got lots of cute pictures.

Adventures this month: He had many, many visitors to come see him this first month. Sawyer went with mommy and daddy to vote for the first time. He also went out to eat for daddy's birthday.

Sawyer's Birth Story

*TMI Warning*

One month ago today, my doctor told me that it was time for Sawyer to come out. I was 41 weeks and 4 days. I had been out of work since 40 weeks and personally I was tired of sitting at home with no baby. So we were to wait on the call from the hospital to let us know when we were to come in for induction. I was hoping they would say Monday and give me to at least 42 weeks, but nope they said come on in!!! So on October 11, 2012 at 6:30 we headed to the hospital. We stopped at Bojangle's on the way for a quick dinner because I knew I may not get to eat a real meal for quite a while. We arrived at the hospital around 8 and we began the check-in process. I changed into the very fashionable hospital gown and got cozy in my hospital bed. I had debated on wearing my own clothes throughout the labor process, but I figured the less I had to wash when I got home the better.

Right from the beginning I loved our nurse (who I will refer to as Nurse K). We had an instant connection and she made me feel very comfortable as well as the doctor on duty (Dr. G). When Dr. G checked me I was 2-3 cm dilated and she suggested that we start with the Foley bulb, it is like a catheter that they put in your cervix and then fill with saline solution that helps you dilate to 4 cm. It wasn't a medicine and was virtually painless, so I agreed. She put this in around 9 pm and told me to rest and she would check it in a few hours. I tried to rest, but not sure that I got more than an hour before she came back at midnight to check it. She said that it worked better than she expected and that I was now dilated to 5 cm.

Now it was time to start the dreaded pitocin, although it was in my birth plan that I did not want pitocin. However if you are being induced it is usually inevitable. So Nurse K started me on pitocin around 1am. She continued to check on me throughout the night and would up the pitocin when needed. I was not feeling any contractions at this point, but could tell when I was having them from watching the computer screen. Now it was Friday morning and Dr. G and Nurse K's shift was ending :( Dr. G checked me before she left and said I had only dilated to 6 cm.

The new shift started Nurse E and a student nurse were taking over. They were both super sweet and were sure that I would have this baby before their shift was over. I was definitely hoping that I would have Sawyer in the next 12 hours too! Nurse E continued to increase the pitocin and Dr. H came in to check me and informed that I was still at 6 cm, I was so bummed. Dr. H said that I should consider having my water broken. Ideally, I did not want my water broken, but wanted it to break on its own. However things do not always go as planned and I had accepted that and agreed to have my water broken. So at 11 am, Dr. H broke my water. The first thing I wanted to know is if there was meconium in the water. No meconium! Praise the Lord! This was definitely one of my concerns since I was almost 2 weeks over my due date. Now that my water was broke, Nurse E told me I should begin to fill the contractions within a few minutes. Well about 15 minutes went by and I still could not feel them, I knew I was having them though because I could still see them on the computer screen. Then after a few more minutes passed I finally felt them, they felt like period cramps. They weren't unbearable, but they weren't pleasant either.

Around 2 pm, Dr. H came back to check me and now I had dilated to 8 cm, yay things were progressing! Finally!! The contractions were getting stronger and closer together. My hospital room had an amazing view and gave me something to enjoy during this phase of labor. I would look out the window and focus on something while Jody helped me breathe through each contraction. He did an amazing job!  I was starting to go through the transition stage of labor, things were picking up and I even threw up a few times. Although it was nothing but liquid because that is all I had been allowed to eat since I arrived.

Then at 4, I was checked again and Nurse E said it was time to push!! I was at 10 cm and the baby was at 0 station in my pelvis. I pushed for an hour and a half and got the baby to +2, but the back pain was unbearable. I tried to change positions, the nurses tried using counter pressure, but nothing relieved the pain. It was the absolute worse pain that I have ever experienced. It felt like someone stabbing me in my lower back. I tired some IV pain medicine, but it only dulled the pain for a few minutes. I told them I couldn't push anymore and asked for an epidural. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist was tied up because of an emergency c-section. I waited almost 2 hours in agonizing pain. Jody was by my side every minute, trying to comfort me in anyway possible. I know this was extremely hard on him because he hated seeing me in pain and feeling helpless. I know I cannot stand to see him or anyone I love in pain, it is almost harder on them then it is the one in pain.

It was now 7:30 and the shift changed, Nurse E left us. Even though I was in a lot of pain I was happy to see that Nurse K and Dr. G were back!!! And my doctor (Dr. A) came in as well (the practice I go to does not have an on call doctor, they only work certain weekends, so there is a very small chance that your doctor will actually be there for your delivery)! And the anesthesiologist came in! Things were definitely looking up. Once I got the epidural, the pain went away within minutes. It was amazing, I didn't feel any pain what so ever. I debated on taking a nap, but I was ready to meet my sweet baby! So, Dr. A said let's get to pushing. The epidural slowed down my contractions to about every 3 minutes. So when the contractions came I pushed and then I would rest till the next one. The only thing I could feel was some slight pressure.

Jody and Dr. A would tell me how much I was progressing and keep encouraging me. I would continue to push and rest between the contractions for about an hour. Then at exactly 9:00 on the dot, Sawyer Levi was born. He was born sunny side up, which explains why I had such terrible back labor. They placed him on my chest and my world hasn't been the same since! It was love at first sight. I just could not believe that he was finally here!! He was absolutely precious. He weighed 9 lbs 1 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

Final thoughts: Although things didn't go as I had planned, I knew that God was in control no matter what. Before I even went to the hospital I had accepted that and just wanted a healthy baby in the end. Looking back on my 25 hours of labor, I would not change a thing even the back labor. Everything turned out perfect in the end. We had the most amazing nurse and doctors there for the delivery. I was so happy that my doctor was able to be there. He had been monitoring my progress all day from his office and was sure that by the time he got to the hospital that he would miss the delivery. And as much as I didn't want an epidural, I was glad that I got it in the end. I was actually able to enjoy the birth of my child. I was also glad that the epidural slowed down the contractions because I believe this helped me to have only a very small tear. Since the contractions were farther apart, it gave the area time to stretch.

All the pain is forgotten once you have that precious baby in your arms! As I type this today, my precious baby is asleep on my chest. He is perfect in every way. Thank you God for blessing me and Jody with this sweet baby boy.

Waiting on Sawyer

View from hospital room

Our sweet baby boy