Ezra is here!

We welcomed Ezra Joseph Patterson to the world on January 7th, 2013!

He was born at 3:46 pm, weighing 6 lbs 14 oz. Here are a bunch of pictures and if you want to know the birth story, it'll be at the end.

Grandma came!

The Birth Story

I know some people like to read birth stories, but I am writing this mostly for myself, so it will be very detailed. Sorry if you were looking for a quick read! Ezra was due on January 3rd. I was dilated to a 4 well before Christmas and the doctor said he would be really surprised if I made it to my due date. We thought we may have a Christmas baby. So, I walked around at a 4 for a long time, and nothing happened. At my appointment (which was his due date) the doctor said it must be because I had a lot of water (he also told me that it would be a pretty embarrassing experience if my water broke in public, because I had so much). The bag of water was pushing on my cervix and got me dilated to a 4, but was too soft to get me any further. He scheduled me to be induced on the 7th at 6 AM.

The night before I headed to the hospital, my cousin, Merissa, sent me a message on facebook. She told me that she had been induced before and pitocin can be great for progressing labor but is very painful for starting labor. She suggested that I try having my water broken and giving it some time before starting the pitocin. The doctor wasn't very happy about that, but he didn't try to pressure me. He said if I wasn't already dilated to a 4, he would argue with me, because labor could take a VERY long time that way. I asked him to give me an hour to see if I progressed on my own.

The Dr. broke my water at 9 am. By noon, I had dilated from a 4 to a 7 without pitocin. The pain wasn't bad at all, which surprised me. But within an hour, I was begging for an epidural. I was definitely having back labor. My back hurt SO bad and wouldn't stop. I always thought it was only painful when you had a contraction, but the pain was continuous, just a lot more intense during a contraction. So I got my epidural  and soon everything was great. Tom and I made guesses about when he would be born. Tom said 3:45, so I said 3:46 just to be a brat. About an hour passed and Tom decided to go get a drink and walk around a bit. As soon as he left, the nurse came in to check me. She said, "Woah, we're ready to push!" I panicked a little because Tom wasn't there but he walked in about a minute later. 

I pushed for 2 1/2 hours. The nurse brought me a mirror, which I originally thought I wouldn't want but it helped a lot to see little peeks of his head. Finally she called in the doctor, who came in and said, "He's right there, we'll have him out in 2 pushes!" And we did.

The NICU nurses were there to clean out his lungs and stuff because he had pooed a little before he came out. I had to wait to hold him and it killed me! The first thing I said to Tom: "I win." He was recorded as being born at 3:46 PM exactly. I'm probably leaving stuff out but that's the bulk of it! And yes, I required some stitches, but nothing too awful.

Adjusting

Learning to breastfeed has definitely been the most difficult part of his first week of life. If it weren't for my mom's support, I would have given up for sure. It took almost exactly a week for me to feel at all confident about it, but I think we've got the hang of it now. The issue now is sleep...and I think that will be an issue for a long time. Yay.

39 Weeks

 

How Far Along: 39 weeks.

Size of the Baby: 7 pounds

Weight gain/loss: I think about 25-30 lbs.

Sleep: Not good still, but that's normal. I regularly wake up and whatever side I've been sleeping on is numb, so I switch sides. And switching sides has become a challenge too. For some reason I don't get numb as often when I sleep on the couch. Which is pretty much every night.

Best Moment of the Week: Well, this made me laugh a couple weeks ago (since I don't update every week). I went in to the doctor and he checked and said I am 4cm dilated and 80% effaced, but that there was a lot of water and wasn't sure if he was feeling the baby's head or just the bag of water. He wanted to make sure the baby was head down, so he did an ultrasound. In the ultrasound he said, "you have a lot of water. If it breaks before you go to the hospital, it's going to be really embarrassing!"

It was also cool to see the baby in the ultrasound. He is so much bigger and he was making sucking motions with his mouth. So cute.

Movement: Still moving like crazy. Now it just hurts. I had some spicy food and that REALLY got him going.

Symptoms: Really uncomfortable. I can feel my lower abdomen and such stretching and that can be pretty painful. I got my first varicose veins too. One on the top of my stomach and one on the side. They're not terrible but I thought I'd make it through without them. The acid has gotten a little better since he dropped, but it's still pretty bad. My ribs hurt BAD. I thought it was my back, but Tom said it is right where my ribs connect to my spine and my ligaments have loosened, meaning they don't have much support. No matter what I do, I can't relieve it.

Food Cravings: I had a weird craving for cough syrup last night. Don't worry, I didn't drink any.

Gender: Boy

Belly Button - In or Out?: Kinda both. When I have a contraction, it's really outtie though.

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Just anything that brings on acid reflux. I haven't been super nauseous, I just don't like food.

Labor Signs: I have been having some contractions. The doctor showed me I was having one at my appointment and just didn't realize it. But now they have been getting painful at times. Just not regular.

Wedding ring on or off: On

What I Miss: Being comfortable and sleeping in my bed.

What I am looking forward to: Not being so uncomfortable and holding/meeting my baby!

Nursery: I made a mobile :) Turns out the crib we got has some holes filled with glue and stuff, so it's not going to work. Bum deal. So we need a crib, but we have a glider (courtesy of Grandpa Edwards/Mom), a changing table (which needs some fixing up), and my mom will bring a dresser when she comes to help with the babe.

Emotions: Pretty normal, though I have my moments of rage.

Stupid things I have done: I ate some rattlesnake bites (fried balls of jalapeno and cheese) at Texas Roadhouse and that was a BAD idea. I knew it was, but I did it anyway and really regretted it about an hour later. The acid KILLED me.