Levi David Pendergrass has arrived! He was born on Tuesday, September 14th at 9:37 a.m. He weighed 9 lbs and is 21.5 inches long. I am so proud and hoping this means he will be a big, tall and handsome athlete, just like his Daddy!
Here are a few pictures of Levi's first days in the hospital. I also wrote my labor story because I know a lot of people are interested in that, but I put it after the pictures, because I know a lot of people are definitely not interested in that. So enjoy if you are the curious type!
Here is the Labor story! Feel free to skip it if you aren't into that kind of thing!
September 13th before bed I started bawling. I can't really explain it... I just knew I was going to have the baby the next day and these were my last few moments with only one child. Lucy had predicted about a month ago that the baby would come on a Tuesday. I asked her when the baby was coming and she said matter of factly "Tuesday in September." The 14th is my Grandma's Birthday and I had told her I would have the baby on her Birthday for her. Now it was here, and I knew it. I was worried about Labor and taking care of a newborn and not being able to spend as much time with Lucy. When we decided to have a baby is was 9 months away and so unreal, now it was here and I still didn't feel ready so I just got overwhelmed. Eventually I got over it, realized there was no real other way out of being pregnant and went to bed around 11:00 p.m.
September 14th
3:00 a.m. Wake up to a nice, real contraction. Pretty sure it was real. I wait to wake Dave up. He will need sleep. I stay in bed through a few more contractions coming every 10 minutes.
3:30 a.m. Okay the bed is not comfortable anymore! I get up and go get some breakfast. Going to need my strength today!
4:00 a.m. I am tired. Maybe I can sleep in between contractions. I go get back in bed through 2 more contractions. Dave wakes up. I wish he could have slept longer. I tell him calmly that I am in Labor for reals.
4:30 a.m. Dave and I jump in the shower. Got to look good for my little man's first day on earth! Just kidding. I did it more to feel good, but I do think it helped the pictures turn out a little more to my liking.
5:00 a.m. My shower has turned into a bath. I call the midwife from the bath tub and tell her I can't remember when I was supposed to call and when I am supposed to go to the hospital, but currently contractions are 7 minutes apart lasting 50 seconds. She said I could wait until contractions are 4-5 minutes apart and 1 minute in length, but I could go sooner if I felt like I should. I stop timing contractions because it is annoying. I figure I will know when it is time.
5:30 a.m. I finish packing my hospital stuff. Dave packs some snacks and I eat some ham and cheese sandwiches. I go snuggle Lucy while she is sleeping, wishing I could tell her goodbye, but not wanting to wake her. Contractions aren't too great while lying down, so I sadly stop snuggling her.
6:00 a.m. Dave calls my parents. At this point I have found that my favorite position for contractions is standing hugging Dave or kneeling at the couch like I am praying (or really praying).
6:30 a.m. My mom arrives. We talk for a little while. She give me some good last motherly encouragement.
I can't believe I have already been in Labor for 4 hours. It went by really quickly and was uncomfortable, but not unbearable by any means. Just felt like I was working out really hard and in between contractions I was happy as ever.
7:00 a.m. We leave for the hospital.
The freeway is jammed up, so we decide to take the coast route to the hospital. As we are nearing Moonlight Beach I have an uncontrollable urge to go walk in the water. I beg Dave to please take me to the beach. He asks if I am sure I shouldn't be at the hospital. I tell him "I think I will know when I am about to have the baby. Don't worry about" He jokes about catching the baby on the beach and how he will quote that for forever. We are cracking up which kind of hurts during a contraction while riding in the car.
7:20 a.m. We arrive at the beach, take our shoes off and go stand in the water. I felt overwhelming happiness wash over me. I can't explain how amazing it was. I really wanted to just kiss Dave the whole time we were there, but he kept it appropriate because there were a few joggers and such. I could have cared less. I was so scared the night before, but standing in the water in the early morning sunlight, holding the man I love and thinking about having a new little man to love, just made me start crying. I was crying because I was so happy. I knew I could do it. I knew I would love our new baby. I was crying because Dave had been such a good labor coach, even though he couldn't come to any of the classes. I was crying because Labor hadn't even gotten hard yet. In fact, I wondered if we weren't going in to the hospital a little early. I had stopped timing contractions long ago. To make a long story short, there is no better place to labor than sunrise at the beach with your feet in the water. It was so beautiful. I know it sounds crazy, but I actually cherish these moments being in Labor.
7:50 a.m. Okay, I guess we had better leave. We get in the car and start driving. Labor is so much better at the beach than in the car! Dave and I realize neither of us has ever been to the hospital from this direction and we end up going the wrong way. We were laughing. I wasn't worried. The contractions still weren't unbearable so I figured I was still a few hours away.
8:20 a.m. We check into the hospital and apologize for our sandy feet. They put me in a wheel chair, which I didn't think I needed, but it is always fun to be pampered. The nurses were nice. They doted over me and told me I looked beautiful. They sat me down and hooked me up to the monitors, but didn't give me an IV because I asked them not to. They did put a lead in my wrist just in case I needed emergency blood afterward. They check to see how dilated I am. I get really worried all of a sudden, because last week at my Dr. Appointment I wasn't dilated at all. I told Dave, if I am only at a 3 or something, I am going to just cry, wishing we hadn't left the beach! The nurse says to me "Looks like you have already done all the work. Good job! You are dilated to a 9 with a bulging sack of water. I will get the Dr. in here" I absolutely can't believe it! Was it really that easy? I can't believe I am still happy, talking, joking with the nurses and Dave. In shock that it's not that bad. Okay, I am only talking and happy in between contractions, (during contractions I am completely zoned out, breathing deeply and working hard) but they still aren't unbearable and Dave is shocked that everything is calm and I'm not yelling at him like in the movies (Although I was really tempted to, just for fun, while we were in the hallway!).
Sometime between checking in and Birth: A few more contractions, the Dr. breaks my water, okay. Now the contractions are intense. I was ready to push and on all fours and the Dr. asked me if I wanted to push like that. I said "I don't know" because at this point I felt like I didn't really know what to do, although I had planned to push on all fours or in a squatting position. Somehow the Dr. talked me into lying on my side, because he knew I wouldn't lay on my back. My emotions were confusing at this point. Before I felt like I knew what I wanted and was calling the shots. All of a sudden I felt like I didn't know what was going on, some animal inside me was taking charge and my logical side was gone. It felt scary, but actually really good to become so uninhibited. It was completely just me and my body and my baby, and I didn't care anymore that I sounded like Tarzan roaring in the jungle. The pain was not what I expected and really hard to describe. It felt very natural and unlike anything I have ever felt before. It is not like falling and getting hurt or like a really bad headache. It's more like when you are exercising really hard and pushing yourself to your total capacity, harder than you ever have before. So hard that some higher power takes over for you and you aren't thinking about what you are doing anymore. It was definitely really hard, but it was also an incredible feeling that my body could really do that. And really cool to actually feel your baby coming out.
9:37 a.m. Anyway, I pushed through two contractions and then had a little man! I was a little sad because I wanted him to come right to my arms, but he was blue and not breathing, so they had to cut the cord right away, take him to the table and then called on the intercom "I need help in room 4." Which worried me. The Dr. assured me he was okay, but you wonder all the same. I prayed in my heart for him.
The Dr. told me at first that I didn't tear, but then when he checked again found a little one. He said it was small and he didn't have to stitch it, but it might heal nicer asked what I wanted. I let him stitch it, but regretted that shortly. I am not going to lie. That sucked. I don't know what kind of numbing agent he used, but it seemed like I felt everything and it took too long. And it is a sharp pain, not a muscular pain like labor. I think I deal a lot better with muscular pain, than needles and pokes. I squeezed Dave's hand more while being stitched than in labor!
And then it was over. My baby was okay and they finally brought him to me. We cuddled and nursed and I knew I would love him forever. And that is the beginning of Levi David Pendergrass.
The recovery is going great! I feel ten times better than I did with Lucy. I appreciated Labor being easy because of the epidural with Lucy, but it felt really weird and was a much slower recovery. This time around, I loved being able to walk around and move right after delivery and I felt so happy afterward and still do. With Lucy I felt kind of weird and confused and cried a lot.
Now that I have had both experiences, epidural and natural, I can say that I loved the natural birth experience and will definitely choose it again. It has increased my appreciation for my body and it's amazing ability. My knowledge of God's grand design, the miracle of life and the creation of woman has deepened. I feel honored to be a woman and mother.
