After filling out some paperwork and getting my IV, my doctor came and inserted a suppository of cervix-thinning medicine at about 10 pm. We slept that night in the hospital, and the nurse came in at 5:30 am to remove the suppository and start the pitocin. My body responded right away, and regular contractions began. My doctor was supposed to be in some time before 8 am to break my water. With Beckett, things moved really fast once my water was broken, so I requested to get my epidural as soon as the doctor broke my water. Well, he came in at about 8:30 am, but was heading in to do a c-section, and would be taking the anesthesiologist with him. He could break my water right then, but I would have to wait another hour for my epidural. I opted to wait the hour or so for them both to come out of surgery before he broke my water. He checked me before he went into surgery, and I was at 2.5 cm and 70% effaced. My doctor came back at 9:30 am and broke my water as planned. I was now at 3 cm. The anesthesiologist came in right after, got things prepped, and gave me my epidural at 10 am.
Now we just had to wait it out. The nurse came in an hour later to see where I was at, and I had progressed to a 5. Half an hour later at 11:30 she came back in to check me because she noticed the baby's heart rate drop during contractions. She suspected that I was moving along quickly and that the baby was making its way into the birth canal. He was doing just that, and I was dilated to a 7, so she started to prep the room because she thought the baby would come soon. Once she had things ready it was noon, so she checked me again to give a report to my doctor. At that point I was 9 cm. My doctor wanted me to let the baby labor down on his own rather than have me start pushing right when I was a 10. He had another c-section scheduled at 1:30, so I knew I had quite the wait ahead of me if I wanted him to be there for the delivery.
(As a side note: I am O+ and Jeremy is A-. My blood carries antibodies for types A, B, and AB blood, so when I have a baby born with type A blood like Beckett was, there is always a chance that the antibodies in my blood will attack the baby's blood if our bloods mix. This makes the baby Coombs positive...the typical result being an early onset of Jaundice. Beckett was A-, Coombs positive, and spent a day and a half in the NICU with dangerous Jaundice levels. I knew the odds were that this baby would be type A as well, and my best chance at avoiding blood mixing would be to have an episiotomy rather than tear, which means...wait for the doctor.)
At 1 pm I started to shake uncontrollably and feel a lot of pressure through contractions, so I called the nurse in. She checked me again, and said I was fully dilated and effaced and the head was right there. She wanted to see if the baby moved down during the contractions. We waited for the next one, and the baby started to move down...almost to the point of crowning without me pushing. The nurse promptly closed my legs, and went to have my doctor told what was going on. He was just heading into surgery again, so we would have to wait until 2:30 for him to be out. At this point, I knew that I could just let things happen on their own and have the nurse deliver the baby, but I had no problem waiting for my doctor as long as the baby wasn't in any kind of distress. We waited until the doctor came in, and started pushing at 2:40. After one contraction of pushing, the baby was crowning and I was stretched to my max. My doctor worked to stretch me as far as I would go, and then cut me just before my next contraction (not even half the amount he had to with Beckett, probably because Lincoln has a smaller head). I gave one more small push, and at 2:43 pm our sweet Lincoln was here!
I really could not have asked for a smoother labor and delivery. The nurses throughout our whole hospital stay were amazing, as well as the attending pediatrician. Lincoln was A +, and Coombs positive. My blood attacking him did not affect him though, so we were lucky not to have him end up in the NICU. He is a very mellow and happy baby who rarely cries (mostly just grunts), and we could not be happier. Two kids is definitely an adjustment, but I know that in another month or so when I get a bit more sleep at night, things will be a little easier. Beckett has been a good boy for the most part (only slight potty regression, and one meltdown). He is very loving towards his brother, and has shown more interest in him than I expected. I'm so excited for them to grow up together and be great friends like I was with my sisters.
