At my last doctor's appointment, I wasn't dilated at all and baby was still sitting up high so it was decided that I would go into the hospital the night before instead. We were scheduled to come in Thursday evening at 10 PM on April 30, 2015. Clayton was just called to be a seminary teacher and had a training meeting down in Parker that same evening at 7, so I just went with him and we dropped the boys off a little early. My friend Krysten watched them for us, and they were pretty excited to have a sleepover with their friends.
Just before heading into the Parker Adventist Hospital, we stopped at Red Robin for a hamburger, a "last meal." I've been craving a really juicy hamburger this whole pregnancy and was finally able to get it! I don't think I've ever enjoyed a hamburger more than that one.
We then went to the hospital. It was raining pretty hard that evening so Clayton dropped me off at the front. Since it was past visiting hours, we had to go in through the ER entrance. He parked the car and we walked over to the maternity wing. They took us to room 302 and there we waited an hour before they were able to get things started. Apparently they were pretty busy. Around 11, they started taking my information and getting me hooked up to the monitors and put my IV in. I was given the Cytotec just before midnight, which is supposed to help me to start dilating. This time they were able to give it to me orally, which was a nice change from the other two times. My doctor also prescribed me some sleeping medicine, which I was happy to take. They came and checked me at 3:30 AM and I still hadn't progressed very far so they gave me another round of Cytotec. Almost instantly my contractions picked up. Not too long afterwards, I asked Clayton if it was too early to get my epidural. Clayton said that if I felt like I needed it, I should get it. Unfortunately one of the other ladies requested it just before me so I had to wait a little while before I could get it. When it was myu turn, the anesthesiologist gave me two options, one that would wear off after two hours (this was around 5:30 am) but would give me almost instant relief, or the typical epidural that takes some time to take effect and is a little more invasive. I opted for the traditional epidural because I thought there was no way I would have that baby in two hours. Both the nurse and the anesthesiologist said that I was doing a really good job breathing through the contractions, which made me feel good since I haven't had any sort of "natural birth training." Once I got the epidural I decided it was time to take a nap. I turned on some relaxing piano music and prepared myself to wait awhile. At 6:18 AM I was talking to Clayton and all of sudden I felt a 'pop' and my water broke. With the other two pregnancies, they broke my water for me, so this was the first time I had it break on its own. There was some meconium in the fluid, so that was bit of a concern, but they just made sure to have someone from the NICU when he came. Once again I got ready to try and take a nap, but shortly after my contractions really picked up, even with the epidural, and I started to feel some pressure. I called the nurses in just to check, I thought surely it wasn't time to have the baby yet! But Tyler was ready to come. My doctor came in and had to hold his head in while they got everything set up for the delivery, When they were ready, we waited for the next contraction, After two pushes, Tyler Wheeler Shaw entered the world at 7:18 AM on May 1, 2015 weighing 6lbs 9 oz. and 19.5 inches long. He had the cord wrapped around his neck three times and was a little blue when he first came out. He recovered quickly though and I was able to hold him right away. There were two other babies born within an hour of Tyler, so the staff was stretched pretty thin. It's okay though, because it meant that I got lots of skin to skin time with him.
This was by far the easiest and fastest delivery. Originally my induction was scheduled for May 5, but I'm glad we moved it up with both the meconium and the cord wrapped around his neck. We were able to avoid a lot of problems!
After a few hours, they moved us to room 308, where we spent the rest of the time. Clayton picked up the boys from Krysten's house later that afternoon and brought them to meet their little brother for the first time. They both have done so well and it's very apparent that they love Tyler.
The recovery has been pretty smooth. I was able to come home the next day (Saturday) from the hospital. Since being home we are beginning to adjust. The first two nights, Tyler didn't sleep very well during the night. I think he had his nights and days mixed up. On night three and for the rest of the first week, he only woke up once a night! It was really nice to get some decent sleep. Now that the sleepiness has worn off, he wakes up 2-3 times a night. He's gaining weight like a champ, too. He dropped down to 6 lbs 4 oz, but at his two week check up he was up to 7 lbs 2.5 oz.
The Monday after Tyler was born, Clayton's mom came out to help. It was a huge help having her here. She took really good care of me. She cooked all the meals, made sure I took a nap every day, watched the two younger ones as I picked Ryan up from preschool, and was an extra set of hands whenever I needed it. We were really sad to see her leave on Friday.
Since then we are starting to settle into a routine. There are moments when I have felt like a horrible mom because I've lost my temper with Ryan and Derek. It's hard to find the balance of spending time with them and meeting the needs of Tyler. It helps to remember that this is only temporary and it is really a crazy time. But we are so happy to have Tyler here. He is already such an essential part of the family. We love him so much and are so glad that he is finally here!
