Introducing Brannock Alan Lude...Labor Story

I went into labor Friday evening at 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant.  I started feeling a little funny while we were watching TV around 10 p.m. but didn't even mention anything to Joe because I didn't think much of it.  After we had went to bed, I was sleeping on my left side (like always) and the contractions started coming strong enough around 1 a.m. that I started timing them.  I was up all night having contractions and by morning they were getting pretty regular, although not quite 5 minutes apart.  I woke Joe up to let him know what was going on.  I told him to make sure he had what he needed in the hospital bag, and told him that I was going to take a shower.  While I was showering my contractions became irregular and ended up completely stalling within the hour.  It was very deflating because we really thought it was going to be "go time".  So after realizing this was all actually false labor we went about our Saturday as normal.  It was a gorgeous day so we took the dogs for a nice long walk.  We made plans to go to Schmidt's for dinner.  As dinner time approached I started feeling a little off again and told Joe I wasn't really up for going out to eat.  So he went and picked up some Chinese instead.  After dinner I just couldn't get comfortable, although I wasn't really having regular contractions.  We decided to start building a 1000 piece puzzle of Ohio Stadium Sarah had gotten Joe for Christmas.  This puzzle will always be "Baby L's" puzzle.  Around midnight I decided to get ready for bed although I was dreading it because I just knew as soon as I laid down the contractions would get worse again and I wouldn't be able to sleep.  And boy was I right!  The contractions came on stronger than the previous night.  I got very little sleep and kept playing puzzle games on my phone to distract myself and pass the time.  At 4:15 a.m. I frantically jumped out of bed thinking my water had broke, but it was actually my mucus plug coming out.  Around 6 a.m. we came downstairs to have breakfast because I couldn't stand laying in bed anymore. I could only stomach one piece of toast.  I decided to call the O.B., it was Dr. Pool on call.  She said it sounded like I was in labor since I was consistently having contractions every 5 minutes.  But she also noticed that I was talking pretty easily through my contractions so she suggested I stay home for awhile.  So at this point it was a waiting game.  I showered (which provided no relief for my contractions this time) and we knew we needed to get the dogs to the kennel at some point.   The kennel has limited hours on Sundays and they are only open from 8-10, and 3-6.  Joe was napping on the couch while I was riding out some contractions.  At 9 a.m. I decided the dogs should probably go ahead and go to the kennel, at which point I started crying.  Buddy was stressed/worried about my contractions, and the thought of not having the dogs there with me just really put me over the edge.  Tears were streaming as Joe drove away to drop them off, I was pitiful.

The rest of the morning/afternoon was spent with Joe coaching me through contractions.  I wanted to nap, but could never get comfortable while laying down.  I wanted to eat (knowing I wouldn't be able to once we got to the hospital) but was having trouble stomaching anything substantial.  I was trying anything from bouncing on an exercise ball to laying down in bed with Joe rubbing my back to get through the contractions.  Movement or bending over the couch ended up being the only things getting me through and giving me any relief.  It got to the point I couldn't find relief no matter what (especially not sitting still), and I absolutely could not talk through a contraction.  Around 2:30 p.m. I told Joe we should go ahead and leave for the hospital, even though I was dreading the car ride.

For whatever reason I was so paranoid about getting sent home from the hospital and being told I was not in labor.  I was drinking a lot of water and trying to eat some almonds in between contractions during the car ride, which was as expected miserable.  Joe asked me where I wanted him to drop me off at OSUMC...this triggered my next sob fest.  I refused to be dropped off because I did not want to be left alone.  So we parked in the 9th Ave. garage where we park for work and walked in together.  Joe told me this was the slowest I have ever walked.  We got inside the building and I had to stop in the bathroom to pee (this had become habit with most bad rounds of contractions...I would have very long 2.5-3 min contractions mixed in throughout my labor that impressed the nurses).  I tried to talk Joe out of going up to Labor & Delivery (I didn't want to get sent home) and suggested we walk around for awhile.  He talked me down and said since we were already here we should go ahead and go upstairs and see what was going on (he knew I was in labor and would be admitted haha).

After checking in I got taken back, changed into a gown, and was hooked up to a fetal heart rate and a contraction monitor to assess my labor.  I was dilated about 5 cm and 80% effaced.  They also verified by ultrasound that Baby L was head down.  Then finally, surprise surprise I was "officially" in labor and getting admitted!  All of the nurses and doctors were surprised I was so far along since I was still smiling and laughing.  I on the other hand was just comforted to know it was go time, because if these weren't the real deal contractions I didn't want to know what real contractions felt like!

My last baby bump picture. Daddy found my gown funny :)

By around 4 p.m. we were all settled in the labor and delivery room.  Very soon after I got my epidural, which I was nervous about getting (and also had heard horror stories of them not working).  The numbing stung but after that I felt like it just tickled, which apparently was a very weird reaction since I was actually giggling.  My epidural was AMAZING.  I had a brief period initially I couldn't feel my legs but that quickly went away.  I was able to move easily throughout my labor but could never feel any of my contractions.  As labor progressed I felt some pressure, but that was it.  I ended up going through 4 bags of the epidural "cocktail" before all was said and done.  And thank goodness I got it because labor ended up taking much longer than expected and was quite a wild ride from here on out.  They came to break my water at about 4:45 p.m. but there was never really a gush of fluid (this comes into play later). But showing up at the hospital with so much progress we were fully expecting to meet Baby L before midnight. Baby L  apparently had other plans.

Around 9:30 p.m. I was 8 cm dilated, yay!!  But from this point on progress slowed, my contractions were not as strong and becoming irregular even with changing my position various times.  Around 1 a.m. Baby L's heart rate dropped while they were moving me.  The OB decided at this point to go ahead and start some pitocin to help kick my labor back into gear.  From about 1-4 a.m. I slept on and off between the various positions the nurse was putting me in while the pitocin worked its' magic.  About 4 a.m. I had a small cervical flap, but that was taken care of by spending a little more time laying on my right side.  By about 4:15 a.m. I was fully dilated and it was time to push!  Joe and I were so excited it was finally time to meet our baby! I spent the next hour and a half pushing.  Joe told me I looked great and beautiful, and he meant it.  I honestly felt great pushing.  I was ready to meet my baby!  I could get in the zone during pushing and breathe/relax easily between contractions. We would have brief periods of being able to see the head, but he just didn't seem to want to budge any further.  Also Baby L was starting to show signs of distress so I was only pushing every other contraction.  I also started having huge gushes of amniotic fluid coming out while I was pushing.  Baby L had been acting as a "plug" the whole time, and because of it I was now running a fever.  Dr. Pool arrived at the hospital and we knew as soon as she took a look while I pushed that something wasn't quite right.  She had me push through another contraction (which was much harder because all of a sudden no one was counting to 10 for me...so I had no idea when to stop!). We were a little nervous at this point but it was really amazing to watch "the wheels turn" in Dr. Pool's mind as she started problem solving.  She asked for an ultrasound, and it was at this point she realized Baby L had went transverse during the labor process (this was extremely frustrating since Baby L had been head down for months).  There was no way I would be able to deliver vaginally like this and I had essentially been pushing against a brick wall.  At this point Dr. Pool made the decision to try to turn Baby L back into position to give me a chance at still having a vaginal delivery.  While looking at the ultrasound she reached in and turned Baby L as I pushed through a contraction.  The pressure from this was crazy! I could not imagine what it would have felt like without the epidural!!! After this it was all a waiting game to see if the flip worked.  I once again was instructed to lay on my right side for another 30 min (that pesky cervix flap was also back!).

I was elated when the next person I see walk through the door was my OB, Dr. Turner (she had taken over).  She had touched base with Dr. Pool.  Dr. Turner never said "c-section" but we had a conversation about the length of my labor, my fever, and Baby L's position.  She said she was going to take a look but we may have to make some decisions to keep us both safe, which I completely agreed.  When she checked me, she got so excited and said "Heather we can do this!  But we need to get this baby out quick."  I was ready!!  She informed me Dr. Pool had magic fingers and always had the best luck with flipping babies (it was at this point I realized the stars had truly aligned, and I know God was with us) and that she would be able to hold my cervix out of the way while I pushed.  Dr. Turner coached/motivated me through 4 contractions, and I pushed as hard as I could.  I could see Baby L's dark hair in the mirror as he was crowning, and then one more push, relief, crying.  Our baby was here!  Before Joe could even tell me, I could see that we had just had a BABY BOY!! They put him on my chest and I just started crying.  He felt so warm (we were both running a fever), and bigger than I expected him to feel. He was perfect in every way.  I was overwhelmed by an instantaneous feeling of love and amazement that Joe and I had created this beautiful baby boy. 

The Conehead

Love at First Sight

We welcomed Brannock Alan Lude on February 1, 2016 at 7:59 a.m.   He weighed 7 lb. 13.8 oz. and was 20.9 inches long.(Fun fact...this date is even more special because it is also the day Joe proposed 4 years earlier).  We both liked the name Bran (Joe liked it from Game of Thrones, and I liked Branson from Downton Abbey).  I also liked Brantley but Joe said it was too hillbilly.  We stumbled upon Brannock in one baby book, and really just decided on the name a couple weeks before Bran's due date.  (Valerie had also dreamed we had a boy named Bran...which we could not believe when she told us that especially since it is not a very common name...but she was off by a couple days on the birthday haha).  As you can see Brannock is very uncommon, and we love that it is so unique.  Alan was the middle name of both of our Dads who have sadly passed away and will never have the opportunity to meet Bran.  We knew all along if we had a boy we would like to honor them in this way.

The next hour was a whirlwind.  Dr. Turner delivered the placenta and stitched me up (I had a second degree laceration, which I have recovered from great! Still incredibly thankful I dodged a c-section and was able to deliver vaginally).  I enjoyed some skin to skin time, and breastfed.  Before I knew it, it was time to move upstairs to the post delivery room where we would spend the next couple nights.  Bran rode in my arms on the way upstairs, but he was quickly taken to the nursery to start an IV. Bran and I both got IV antibiotics for a couple days because we were still running fevers.  They sent the placenta off for culture and were worried we may have gotten an infection from the issues with the amniotic fluid/long labor. Fortunately it all ended up being completely preventative and both of our fevers came down quickly, and there was no sign of an infection.

Our first visitor was our boss Jim, who dropped off a beautiful bouquet of white roses.  Joe and Jim went and took a peak at Bran in the nursery and witnessed his first poop, haha!  Bran was returned to our room and very shortly after we had our next visitors, Joe's Mom Linda and sister Sarah.  My Mom, sister Renee, sister Nicole, Aaron, and Jaden also arrived shortly after.  Some of our perfusion coworkers also stopped in to visit over the next couple days.

 

Proud Daddy

Aunt Sarah

Grandma Roelle

Checking Baby Bran out

Aunt Renee

Uncle Aaron

Buckeye Baby

Aunt Nicole

Grandma Lude

Boy Clothes :)

Admiring our little baby boy

Mommy and Bran

Proud Parents...We Have a Son!

The rest of our time in the hospital is a blur.  We spent two (mostly sleepless) nights in the hospital.  Joe apparently never checked the hospital bag and only packed one extra shirt...so not realizing how little time he would have to run home he ended up wearing the same two shirts the whole time (I found this hilarious!).  I completely overpacked for myself and Bran not realizing I would spend the first while in a hospital gown, and Bran wouldn't be able to wear any regular clothes with his IV in (which didn't come out until right before we left).  We were thankful for the wonderful nurses who kept Bran in the nursery at night between feedings so Mommy and Daddy could catch up on a little sleep.  The time in the hospital is very busy with all of the nurses and doctors constantly checking in.  Breastfeeding took a lot of learning for both Mommy and Bran, and Tuesday night Mommy even had a good cry because Bran was inconsolable.   But the snuggles and love Bran brought to our family have already made all the hard times worth it. 

All dressed and ready to go home after being discharged.

First time putting Bran in the car seat.

Bran looks so tiny in the car seat.

It was a crazy weekend with a huge reward at the end.  I don't think I have ever functioned on so little sleep before.  We were discharged on Wednesday and were so happy to be going home with our baby boy!  Joe left for a bit to pick Izzy and Buddy up from the kennel so they were there waiting when we got home.  Izzy was very interested in Bran and kept sniffing/licking him.  Buddy was apparently very worried when Joe brought them home and I wasn't there and wouldn't leave the entry way.  He quickly relaxed when I came in the door and as always is just a huge sweet heart.

Bringing home your first baby is such an emotional experience.  My coworker Dave shared this video with us shortly after Brannock was born.  I can't watch this video without crying.  I have a whole new appreciation for the song "Closing Time".
Closing Time

Blogging has become much more difficult with a newborn, but I am hopeful to be able to post monthly updates with some of our favorite stories and pictures.  Time is already flying by!