Baby Beck's Arrival
The day has finally arrived, it is time for our baby boy to make his debut into the Bryson family! This is the day that you anticipate and think about for 9 long months! You really start to feel like it is never going to come, but it does eventually come. Time just passes more slowly during the last 6 weeks! We have been packed and ready for him to arrive any day but he was not in any hurry. We finally decided to get induced which made the whole experience completely different! Instead of the made dash to the hospital it was all calm, cool, and collected!
We dropped Cole off at Cody's parents the night before,
because we had to be to the hospital by 7:30a.m. It was an emotional good-bye
for me as I realized our family was going to be different the next time we were
together! We would officially have grown by one, and Cole would be a big
brother. It has been just me and Cole
for a long time, and it was going to be a big change for all of us. He, on the
other hand, was not one bit emotional. He couldn't kick us out fast enough! It
was his time with his grandparents and he was THRILLED! He couldn't wait to
sleep in grandma's big guest bed. I knew he was going to have a blast.
Even though we had planned on several errands that night, we actually decided to go out for dinner after we dropped
him off instead. It was really a sweet and special memory I will never forget. We sat
and talked about what to expect the next day, how our family was going to be so
different, and how grateful we were for all our many blessings. The emotions
behind having a baby are so crazy! You are nervous and scared, but SO EXCITED
at the same time.
The first thing our waiter said to us was, "Wow you
look like you are ready to have a baby!" I am always surprised by how
forward people can be. I said, "Yes indeed, tomorrow morning in
fact!" He informed me he was a former EMT, so if anything were to happen he
would know what to do. I was very reassured ;)
Afterward we went home and finished a few last minute
preparations, and made sure everything was in place for the big day. Then we hit the sack.
This was taken right before we left the house the morning of my induction. You know that phrase "ready to pop?" Well, a picture is worth a thousand words!
This is the classic thumbs up "I'm ready to do this" picture.
Our official white board with our soon to arrive baby's name on it.
It was all so much more calm and organized this time around, or so I thought anyway! We got there and got checked in, and they started my pitocin drip. I just remember thinking "this is it, no turning back!" She said they would just start me off really slow and see how fast I progressed.
So I walked around and we watched some t.v. did a few laps around the halls and made a few phone calls to keep everyone updated. It was very relaxed and easy going. The nurse came and checked on me throughout the process and bumped my drip up a few times. The contractions slowly got stronger just like the did naturally. It was all going so well!
Then Dr. West decided he wanted to break my water around 11:15 a.m. He said before we started I was dilated to about a 4. When I checked in I was at a 2. So in about two hours I progressed pretty well. The plan was to start my epidural right after he broke my water, so the nurse called it in as soon as he left. Within minutes things progressed from slightly uncomfortable contractions to very painful contractions! I started to get a little scared.
The nurse anesthetist came and began the process of my epidural. I wasn't very nervous because the last epidural was virtually painless. This time, however, I felt a little pop and a very strong neurological pain shoot up my spine and down my hip on the right side. I told her so, and she adjusted it a little. She administered the test dose of the medication and I was feeling some relief. So I was relieved it was still working, despite the pain I felt during the insertion.
I laid down and began to relax for a few minutes, but soon all the pain was coming back with a vengeance! Within about 5 or 10 minutes it was getting to the point of excruciating and Cody called the nurse to come check on me. She checked me and said, "Oh my gosh you are ready to go, you are fully dilated." She called the Dr. to come down, but I was still concerned about my epidural. I kept pressing the green button, but nothing was improving. Cody went over to the pump and read the most terrifying words I have ever heard to date.
"Bolus occluded."
My fellow nurses you know what this means. It means I was not getting any of the medication! We told the nurse we needed to get the CRNA back down to fix it. I looked over at her and realized she was frantically ripping open sterile packages and I could see her hands were shaking. She was a new labor and delivery nurse and I could tell she was nervous, which of course made me more nervous. She just said, "Honey I am so sorry, I don't think we have time, he is coming right now." So then I knew it was official, I would be delivering this baby the good ole' fashion way.
They had three nurses and a resident in there until Dr. West got there. It felt like it took him forever! I think they had all those people there just in case!
He ran in and said, "What happened??" I heard the nurse say, "She just went so fast!"
Everything was a blur from that point on. The nurse put a cool wash cloth on my head and I remember thinking (that's going to mess up my hair). I also remember thinking I was squeezing the bed rails and I discovered it was the nurse's arm which was really embarrassing.
I also remember thinking this is the worst pain I have ever felt in my life! I kept thinking it would get to a point where it was the worst, but it just got stronger and more intense with every second! I got to a point where it was so painful I didn't want to push because I was afraid of how bad it would hurt. Dr. West just looked at me and said, "The only way this is going be get over is for you to push!" So that is what I focused on, just getting it over!
All in all, it was three contractions of pushing, and Beck was born! It was only probably about 5-10 minutes of pushing, but it seemed like much longer. I remember them placing him on my chest and hearing is little cry. That moment is indescribable. All the pain in the world didn't matter anymore. I couldn't believe he was finally here! I looked at Cody and his eyes were full of tears and he just said, "You did it!"
I finally heard that tiny newborn baby cry fill the room, and after feeling the most tremendous amount of pain fear, at that moment all I could feel was joy. I could not wait to finally hold that baby in my arms. This was taken just moments after he was born. Sheer bliss.
Baby Beck Joseph Bryson. 8lbs 2 ounces, 20.5 inches long, and practically perfect in every way.
My new friend Charlotte who I get to work with in Young Womens had just started a new photography business. She asked if she could come take some birth photos. Everything happened so fast I called her as soon after as I could and she raced down. These are some of the photos she took. Amazing, and they truly captured the feelings of that moment! I will cherish these forever.
It was a beautiful Spring day with tulips blooming!! A most perfect day to bring a new life into the world!
Getting ready for his very first bath! Whats it going to be, a love or a hate experience? It's a 50/50 chance!
So far so good....
And then came the screaming!!
All clean and all pink! Just like a brand new healthy sweet baby should be!
This was a very common site in our room. I just couldn't let him out of my arms!
The funny thing was, the whole delivery was a bit traumatic for me just because it went so quickly and my epidural didn't work. It seriously made me feel better to hold my baby. It was comforting for me. I would think about how much pain I was in, and then I would just ask Cody to hand me the baby, and I would feel so much better. It worked like a charm.
I couldn't wait for Cole to meet his new baby brother! We had been telling him for months this day was going to come. I bet he didn't believe us after a while! He loved touching his soft fuzzy head!
We would ask him throughout my pregnancy funny little questions about his new brother just to see what he would say. One day we asked him how do you think the baby would get here? His response was, "He will just get a ladder, and climb out of mommy's tummy!" Oh how I wish that's how it worked! We also asked him what to name him, we got everything from Bumble Bee (the transformer) to Jesus, and of course Cole #2! He was okay with Beck :) Although he said it more like "Back." Our baby Back!
Oh Cole was so sweet and gentle with him, it was the most precious site for my mommy heart.
Here he is touching the baby's hands, he couldn't believe how little they were!
Oh and then the inevitable happened. The baby started to cry. This is Cole's "I'm a little embarrassed face."
Which quickly turned into his, "I don't know what to do/worried face." So we told him to just say "sshhh."
So now he is "ssshhh--ing" the baby :) Cole is going to be such a great big brother, and huge help to me!
And here is our brand new family of four!
My three most beloved blessings right there with me! It doesn't get any better.
This picture just makes me laugh! I don't think Cole is excited enough.....
It was finally time to bring home Baby! I had the car seat sitting in the living room for several weeks before d-day. Maybe it jinked me I don't know! However, Cole spent hours practicing buckling and unbuckling those buckles over the course of those weeks! He knew one day it would come in handy. As soon as we set down the car seat, here came his little hands wanting to do the job he had practiced and waited for!
Then of course he wanted to hold the baby! He was so excited to have his brother home.
Lots of tender kisses...
This just melts my heart! I can't wait to watch these two grow up together and be best friends. I am so happy I have my two boys!
A few days later Grandma Nelson arrived to meet her latest grandbaby! We had a lot of fun together while she was here. She was such a big help when Cody went back to work. She did a lot of "Cole entertaining," and I was so grateful. It was one of my biggest concerns post delivery was making sure Cole still got the attention and love that he needed in those first few weeks. I am grateful she was able to fulfill that need for him! Everything really went so smoothly over those first few weeks. I am one happy mamma! I love my family more than anything in the world, I never knew I could love two kids this much!
