The day Ace was born!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 was the greatest day of our lives. That is the day our son was born. It started at 4:00am. I was being induced because Dr. Appel was afraid I was getting pre-eclampsia (sp?). We had to be at BSA by 5:00am. By 6:00am I had my IV in and was started on the pitocin. I was afraid of the contractions, I hadn't had any yet and was not sure what to expect. I know that drug induced contractions are supposed to be stronger. They weren't too bad. My wonderful nurse, Janet slowly upped the dosage. Dr. Appel broke my water around 10:00am. Shortly after I got my epidural. I wasn't hurting that bad but Dr. Trehurn would be unavailable for and hour or two. I was afraid the contractions would get worse and I'd have to wait in pain. So I went ahead and got the epidural and it was nice!! By 3:00pm I was dilated to a 6. Janet couldn't tell which way Ace's head was facing so I tried different positions to make him turn face down. An hour later I was still at a 6. Janet thought Ace's head was turned to the side so we tried a position called the fire hydrant. I was turned way over to the left and my right leg was up in a stirrup. That was not fun. My epidural drained over to the left side and I could feel contractions on the right side, very painful. Ace didn't like that position so we quit that position. At 5:30pm or so Dr. Appel came by to check me and I was still at a 6. Dr. Appel said Ace's head was turned to the side and she wanted us to try the fire hydrant position again. Lucky me. This time it didn't seem to bother Ace so I was in that position for 30 minutes. I felt every contraction on the right side. I thought I might not make it. They hurt SO bad. All I could do was cry. I have NO idea how anyone can go through labor without an epidural. They must be very strong women. After 30 minutes Dr. Appel wanted me to go for another hour. I did not want to go for another minute. Janet talked her into checking me again. Guess what? Still a 6, no change. We decided to go ahead and do a c-section. I really didn't want to have a c-section but by then I just wanted to stop hurting and wanted Ace to be here already. So off we went to the OR and I was still feeling the contractions on the right side. Finally (after maybe 10 minutes) Dr. Trehurn pumped me full of some good stuff and all my pain went away!!! Then I could hear and sort of participate in everyone's conversations as they were getting everything together. Jalen had a cd in that she wanted to listen to. Michelle took the cd out because she said Ace had to be born to country music. I was trying very hard to feel Dr. Appel cut me. I didn't think it would hurt, but I thought I would know when she did it. I didn't. I only felt a lot of pressure when they were taking Ace out. And guess what was on the radio...George Strait. Can you believe it? Carrying Your Love With Me was on the radio when Ace was born. I couldn't see him because of the sheet and he wouldn't cry. Michelle said he was holding his breath. When he finally did cry I did too. When Dr. Appel pulled him out she said he was little. He was 6 lbs, 15 oz. Everyone thought he would be big, like 8 lbs. I also heard her say his cord was wrapped around his neck twice and there was a true knot in his cord. There was NO way he would have come into this world without a c-section. We are very lucky things worked out the way they did. When Buster got to bring Ace over for me to see him I was speechless. I had been dreaming about meeting my son and imagining what he would look like. It was an amazing moment. I was so happy (doesn't quite explain it)! Buster and I have been blessed with an amazing and wonderful son. He is the new love of our lives. We can't wait to watch him grow and to see the world through the eyes of our child! I love you Ace!