August 14th,2010
8-14-2010 This Saturday was like no other. Started the mid-morning with slight discomfort,still thinking they were contractions.(not gas as most nurses has thought for the past few days) Anywho,they thought maybe I just need some fluids and so hooked to a bag of IV fluids I went,as well as being hooked up to the Fetal Monitor,for a hour or so,checked my cervix and it was still at the 2cm it had been since I came there. Had my little breakfast,wasn't very hungry and then took a nap. Woke and it was about 3pm and I still had the contractions,so I said I was taking a walk down the long hallway and wanted to see if that made it better,made it okay then walked to the nurses station and as I turned to walk away to go back to room,Anita,seen my face go white and the tears started rolling. She said to go back to bed and she'd call for Melissa(the OBGYN) to come back up and check me.Well from that point on until 4:15 they kept me in bed and on another IV and on the monitor,for contractions. That whole time I could feel them,but they only detected 2 contractions in that hour. Ugh,come on people Im telling you,Im having real contractions and they are becoming stronger and closer. They took the machine off and said lets wait and see,in a hour what happens...I told them,once they shut the door and walked away everything would start.Talk about being right on the money!
At exactly 4:20pm the contraction made themselves very known,Im talking about 5-8 minutes apart,lasting 30-35 seconds each. At 5 I told the nurses and they called Mellisa again and she came up and checked me,she couldnt see my cervix because I was in so much discomfort that I couldn't hold still enough,so she decided to just rush me down to the L&D (labor and delivery room) and check me there..well thank God she did that,cause while she was checking my the contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart,last a bit longer. Got to the L&D and they bed wasn't even fully stopped and Melissa swung open my legs and was like holy crap,get her into the OR NOW!!!!!!!!!!!
So off they run a few doors down with me..and with Melissa holding the baby's bum in,I was 9+cm and he wasnt playing around. I remembered to call John,as I was hitting the OR door,tossed the phone to a nurse there and had here tell him to come home NOW! (he and JR were in Ohio,enjoying a day of racing,like I asked them to do)After a HUGE PAINFUL contraction,I moved over onto the OR bed and they began shoving IV's in my hand and as I was having another HUGE one..while listing to Melissa,calming voice and squeezing the life out of a pillow I made it through the contraction and the Epidural,they did at the same time.(the epi,was nothing)The contractions at that point were smack dab on top of one another and they were lasting a while,maybe a full minute. OUCH!! They were different from the contractions I had with JR though,JR's weren't fun at all..maybe as strong but a totally differ place.These were from the top middle of my stomach,down the left side and in between the crack of my leg and out the who-ha! THEY HURT! They didn't even have me laid down and I was already numb and I couldn't feel anything,from my toes up to my neck-NUMB! The guy was talking to me the whole time,his name was Mike.He was telling me about what was going on,that was nice,cause I felt nothing in fact I barley felt them pushing and pulling.I had to if he was out twice,cause I didn't feel it happen. During this time Melissa was taking a few pic's for me and daddy.Elizabeth come peeking around the curtain,just before Derek was born and that made me feel even more at ease.There was a lot of doctors and nurses in the OR,I believe there was 30.
When Mike said he was here I heard the doctor say,'He's here 7:01 pm'! I looked at the clock in disbelief. WoW I just gave birth to my baby..and did it alone,dad had no clue what was going on,while heading back to the Burgh,and as all that rushed through my head I heard a whimper,no it wasn't a whimper,it was a full cry,that was just soft gentle and it was my baby boy!!! I asked if that was him crying and Mike,said,"Yes thats your baby crying" Wow at that very moment I had a tear trickle down my face. I was so overwhelmed yet relieved,because I knew that Cry was a great sign that his lungs were good,and he was okay!!
It seemed to take forever,for them to put me back together,though they did do a tubal while in there,so it took a bit longer. They brought Derek over for me to see once they did his vitals and cleaned him up..wrapped up like a bug in a rug he looked at me with his dark eyes wide open,and I was amazed at how tiny and and beautiful he was. Melissa was taking pics and I was even able to give Derek,a kiss. Before they cleaned him up and were finished with him,Melissa brought the pics over for me to see..he was perfect.After our first met they continued to finish up with me and took Derek to the NICU. I laid there for about 20 minutes while they did all they had to,thinking how damn lucky I was and how much life had just changed at that moment...and I was hoping Duke and JR made it soon. Once I was done they hauled me off to the L&D room again and there waiting was John's mom,she had just gotten there,two seconds before I was pushed in. At this point I dont remember a whole lot,and I was in and out of sleep,almost a drunk feeling,but a lot worse. I remember talking with here a few seconds and hearing her talk to the nurses,they told her I was gonna be in and out for a while..yea that was the truth. She sat and waited for John and JR to come in,which was maybe 15 minutes later. I was still in and out and cold. It was nice to have Duke there(and JR)even if I was sleeping.During one of my 'in' moments I remembered I didn't even call my mom and tell here,and it had been about 9:30 pm already I felt bad,but I was so out of it,Im lucky I remembered at all.
The New Daddy BIG Brother and Gram,were able to go and see Derek in the NICU,before I was able...that was a relief,knowing someone was with him. They stayed and visited a while with Derek,and then Duke myself and JR went down to the NICU together so I could see him for the first time since birth,as a family..it was nice. They took me there on my bed and I was able to see him for about 15 minutes,then I was taken back to my room where I needed to rest for the night. Duke and JR went home soon after I guess it was about 1 or 2 am maybe later. The baby looked good and we were all very happy to be a complete family of 4.Melissa,told John while I was in the recovery stage that she was holding Derek's bum in and that he shouldn't be upset or mad at himself,for not being there when I had the baby,cause from the time she tried to check me in my room,wheeled me to the L&D up to the moment Derek was born,it was 10 minutes flat! He would've never made it from home,and more than likely he probably would've made it for the birth,from the hospitals parking lot...it was a SUPER FAST Delivery!
August 14th,2010 What a Day to remember!!
DEREK WILLIAM SNYDER was born AUGUST 14TH 2010 at 7:01 PM
He weighed: 2 POUNDS 11 OUNCES & was 14 1/2 INCHES LONG.
He was here looked good and he was all ours...he is beautiful,perfect and a true miracle! He made me fall in love all over!
