..."Alexander Keenan Martin." Isn't he the most beautiful little person ever (see pics on the Home page or Photos section)? He is so sweet. Officially, Xander is one week old today. His stats at birth: 6 lbs, 7 ounces, 19 inches long, born at 3:48am on November 20, 2009. He came into this world crying and screaming and a little over 3 weeks premature (the term used by the hospital was that he was a "late pre-term baby"). He is healthy, by the grace of God. His first pediatric appointment went well, and the pediatrician said he is only a few weeks behind full-term newborns, in terms of his sleep patterns and feeding patterns and will catch up very soon. Whew!
My labor started with my amniotic sac rupturing while I slept at 4am on Nov 19. Less than 15% of labors begin with the "water breaking". Most women have their waters broken by the doctor during labor. I had no contractions, no pain, just some light cramping and a constant leaking. We packed (we had no suitcase packed since we weren't planning on going to the hospital for at least a few more weeks, if not a month), and arrived at the hospital about an hour later. After hours, one must ring a bell outside in order to be admitted, and Michael pushed the doorbell and exclaimed: "My wife is gushing," to which the receptionist laughed and let us in. Since my water broke, the hospital admitted me immediately, and checked for signs of infection. I was only 1 cm dilated and they told me it was gonna be a long time before I even started active labor, so "get comfy." When the stores opened, Michael went to get all the items we were lacking for the nursery (again, we weren't planning on our little man coming for quite a while, so we were a little unprepared). He drove back to the house and picked up more items for the hospital stay, since the nurses told us we were gonna be there a while and that Xander may have to stay in the neo-natal nursery for 24 hours after birth for observation, due to his "preemie" status. We asked if we should contact our family to tell everyone we are in labor, and they said not to b/c I was gonna be in for a long labor, since I was not even having proper contractions. This period of early labor lasted 16 hours; I was hooked up to many machines and IV's for monitoring and given meds to help me efface (thinning out of the cervix) and to begin proper contractions (I was not in any pain at all during this early labor period). By 8pm, I was 100% effaced and 3 cm dilated and the doctor said it probably would be the next day before I would deliver. I was given pitocin to speed up contractions, and hooked up to more monitors. Michael called our family members and told them we were in the hospital and that visiting hours did not start until the next morning; the doctor and nurses had said I would be in labor throughout the night and would probably deliver late the next morning. By 9pm, I was 4cm dilated and feeling some pain (Michael had been breathing with me and massaging me and being a great coach throughout the process so far, but I was ready for pain relief), so I requested my ordered epidural. Just my luck, there were 2 C-sections ahead of me! So I labored in active labor with Michael as my coach for 2 more long hours waiting for the epidural to arrive. By midnight, the epidural was given (with me having 3 hard contractions in the middle of it), and I was hooked up to even more machines and checked for infection again. I was 5cm dilated by this point. I felt so much better immediately!!!! Epidurals are Godsends for laboring mothers- at least, it certainly was for me. Michael and I settled in for a nap. The nurse would come in to check me and by 1:30am, I was 8 cm dilated. By 3am, I was in a lot of pain again, and I was 10 cm dilated and ready to push! AHHH!!! Since, no one expected me to be ready to push that early, the doctor was not even present and in fact was home asleep! They started me pushing about 20 minutes later. The doctor and nursery nurse arrived about 3:30am and I pushed some more. With Michael holding one leg and the labor nurse Vanessa holding the other leg, I grabbed my thighs and pushed our little man into this world. It was the most amazing experience. He was placed on my tummy, kicking and screaming, while Michael cut the cord. Then he was whisked away to be cleaned/checked and for Michael to hold him, while the doctor and nurse patched me up. The nurses and staff and doctors were all wonderful- and as a side note, after not eating for over 24 hours, hospital food is soo yummy! November 20, 2009, is the BEST DAY EVER!!! More to follow regarding parenthood, as Michael and I get into a routine and somehow figure out how to get over sleep deprivation...
