cruz.marvin.reimer
born 11.28.11 @11:10 p.m.
9 lbs. 21 1/2 in.
Well, well, well. I am so excited to introduce you to Cruz, our new little baby boy. He is SO SWEET and I can't wait for all of you to meet him! I am here in the hospital still, about ready to leave for home, and I thought that I would take my some of my last few moments of peace (without the other 3 children) and type up a quick post about his birth. (I only got 2 more paragraphs written, and then was interrupted by the lactation consultant who will never leave...and then all the discharge from hospital stuff....so here I sit, one week after he was born, ahem....now make that 2 WEEKS... finishing this post....I DID have it finished, but then when I went to publish it last night it wouldn't work....and then shut me down and saved nothing!!!! Augh. So frustrating....oh well. Hopefully I will have a little time today to get it finished up.)
As I sit here and snuggle my new little bundle I just want to cry because I am SO HAPPY he is here! I have just been holding him all morning...and I have enjoyed every. single. minute. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this brand new baby time...especially the delivery and the time in the hospital. I am so amazed by the MIRACLE of life and the blessings that children really are.
Well, the purpose of me typing this right now is so that my facts are straight and so I can have a good record of his birth story. THAT being said....I am going to include details....details that you might think are over the line or TMI (especially if you have never had kids). SOOOOOO if you are going to judge me, be grossed out, or feel like I crossed a boundary I will write a quick synopsis for you....then you can read the paragraph below....and glance at the pictures....and then be on your way. For those of you not minding the details...read the long version below the picture.
CRUZ'S BIRTH DAY (short version)
We got to the hospital at 10:50. The doctor 'checked' me and broke my water at 10:55. The doctor left the room. Cruz was born at 11:10. The doctor did make it back in time to help deliver his shoulders and feet.....but just barely. The end. :)
Yes...this is my 4th pregnancy....and Yes...I have a history of short labors and pretty fast deliveries...and Cruz's birth was no exception. Now, just because my labors are fast...they are anything but easy.... :) but, the fact that they are fast, makes them a lot easier to handle without an epidural or anything. (Mostly because there isn't even time to think OR talk about getting an epidural). For Keaton's birth I had an epidural...for Lola's I did GET one, but it had not taken effect yet by the time she was born...and with Nash AND Cruz I wasn't even admitted to the hospital yet when they were born. Now...my true labors are short...but I have contractions...constant contractions...and sometimes pretty hard contractions throughout the last 2 months of pregnancy. Since about September, I have been having contractions pretty much every 15 to 20 minutes...sometimes I was able to sleep through them, and sometimes the pain would wake me up....or keep me up all night. I was VERY sleep deprived by the time I delivered Cruz. So, even though I have short true labors in the hospital....I feel like I am in labor for the last 2 months of every pregnancy. I look at it as a marathon that ends in a dead sprint.
Cruz's birth story (long version)
I had my 28 week appt (yes, this 9 lb baby was 2 weeks early) on Monday morning. I had been having contractions for a couple of months....sometimes strong, sometimes not so strong....but I always feel like my body is a millimeter away from going into labor once I hit about 36 weeks. At my 38 week appt, my OB, Dr. Berger, 'checked' me and said that my cervix was dilated 3 cm. (which it had been at since 36 weeks) but he thought by the looks of things I would be going into labor pretty soon. After my appt when I walked out into the hall from the exam room, he flagged me down and said "Marilyn is working today....here talk to her on the phone!"
back story: when Nash was born...my nurse was Marilyn. She was WONDERFUL. With Nash I showed up at the hospital at about 3:30 or 4...I was having very strong contractions, but wasn't progressing very quickly...I think I was just dilated to 3? Marilyn wanted to wait to admit me until Dr. Berger could check things out and make the decision of whether I could stay or not because I was his patient and he was on call as soon as his office hours were over. SO....he came at about 5:45....he said I was dilated to 4 cm.... broke my water and said (and I quote...) "I'm going to go home and change into my cowboy boots and then come back and deliver a baby tonight!" we said "okay..." and he left the room. THEN about a minute later....a HUGE 11 minute very painful contraction happened....which I am sure involved a little cussing and yelling....and then suddenly....Nash's head was delivered. At this point, it was just Jason and I in the room....Jason casually strolled over and declared "that HAS to be a boy" by looking at the baby's face....and then Marilyn, the nurse, came rushing in along with about 6 other nurses and helped deliver the rest of the baby. I sat there shaking, holding my brand new baby boy, while the nurses brought in the warmer and everything else that they usually have ready BEFORE a baby comes. We signed the papers to be admitted and treated after the fact.... It was CRAZY. In just 12 minutes, I went from dilated to 4 cm to delivering a baby in just 12 minutes. Marilyn was excellent...and because of this we had a special connection. (I have also run into her when Nash was in the hospital for pneumonia last winter and when i have visited other friends and babies in the hospital). Both Jason and I are pretty sure that Marilyn was one of my nurses when Keaton was born too.
So...I got on the phone and Marilyn told me that Dr. Berger had called and warned her that I was probably going to be coming in and she might be delivering another Reimer baby today. (She was on duty til 6 pm) She said "if you come in I am totally handing off any other patients to someone else....See you soon!" This of course got me all excited....so...to play it safe, I hung around Dubuque for the day....just because with Nash....I drove home from my appt, picked the kids up from school and then turned around and came back to Dubuque with jason and had the baby. I finished up my Christmas shopping (I think.) and Lola's birthday shopping....and I had contractions the whole time...and Yes...they were a little stronger than normal, but not by much. Finally at 2:30 I gave up on going into labor and decided to head home. (very disappointed....) We had a pretty normal night around home. I actually sat down and typed up a post about how READY I was to meet this new baby, and how I was hoping to have him/her soon.
It was about 7:30 and Keaton was reading his nightly books to me....and I noticed that my contractions were actually getting stronger and a little more painful....so I started to keep track of the timing. They were 12 to 15 minutes apart....but were getting stronger and stronger. I told Jason "we just might be able to go tonight!"....so we put the kids to bed like normal and then I laid down to watch TV and keep better track of the timing of my contractions. by 9:15 they were regularly 11 to 13 minutes apart (which may not seem close, because most people don't go to the hospital til their contractions are 5 minutes apart) but we knew with my history we should head to Dubuque. We called my mom and when she got here we headed South. We arrived at the hospital at about 10:40 and by the time we got taken up to the 5th floor and to our room it was 10:50. The nurse asked about my contractions (which by this point were 8 to 9 minutes apart, and getting pretty painful) and then gave me the beautiful hospital gown to change into. When I got out of the bathroom the doctor was already waiting for me in the room (luckily he was there already for another patient). This was a doctor who I had seen before for other pregnancies, but really didn't know very well, Dr. Tinsman. He gave me a little speech about how since my contractions really weren't very close he doesn't expect that I would be dilated very far so he would most likely be sending me home.
I told him that we would just have to wait in the parking lot then.... :) He 'checked' and said in a very surprised voice "you are at a 7!" I said "7?" he said "yes, the number after 6, 7..." (I was hoping for 4 or 5.... I was ecstatic!) Jason made some crack about not making us leave then, and Dr. Tinsman said, "well, obviously with your history, you won't have time for an epidural....Do you just want me to break your water and we will have a baby?" I said, sure that sounds great...and I quickly reminded him that Dr. Berger had missed Nash's delivery...and how fast things went after my water was broken. Dr. Tinsman reassured me that he wouldn't miss it....and he would only be 40 feet away....not out of the building. I also asked him to guess the size of the baby by feeling my belly...his guess 7lbs 2 oz. He broke my water and left the room. Shortly after that, I had my 1st contraction while hooked up to the monitors....it was a little stronger than my previous ones had been, but still manageable. Jason, as always, just giggled and observed....and the nurses were just getting things ready for baby to come (at least this time the warmer and everything was set up). A few minutes later, I had my second contraction. Now, the second one was A LOT stronger, and I knew it wouldn't be long. The nurse, Jen (who was EXCELLENT, by the way) said "you just need to let me know when you feel the need to push" and I answered "I'm definitely getting close to needing to push....." and then Jason piped in "I give you 1 minute and 30 seconds to have that baby, because when he broke your water I told myself you would have a baby within 14 minutes....so that means your deadline is 11:10" we all laughed, and then my next contraction began. YIKES.
This was the ONE....I first whined that I needed to push....and the nurse calmly told me to try to wait....to blow through it.... then I started yelling that I needed to push.....she still told me to wait until the doctor came. (Turns out, as she told me later, that they CAN'T tell you to push because they will get in trouble....) I stopped listening to her, and just pushed, and the baby's head was delivered with no Dr. in the room AGAIN! Can you believe it??? Crazy. So, he finally came strolling in to deliver Cruz's shoulders and everything else. No one really announced the baby's gender, but when I looked down I COULDN'T believe he was a boy! I was sure my baby was a girl! I was SOOO happy to be over the hill of labor and delivery....and to finally meet my 'little' baby. We snuggled for awhile, and then they took him and weighed him. When the nurse announced that he was 9 lbs....I couldn't believe it (and Dr. Tinsman seemed surprised too). He was (and is) perfect. His blood sugar was a little low after birth, so they did feed him some formula right away...but other than that, his health is perfect!
So....of course, after he was born....and Jason was done giggling, and I was done shaking....Jason signed the admission and permission to treat papers for me....and some extra nurses came in to help Jen out because she hadn't even gotten to START the admission charting...or anything else for me. The only person we called that night was my mom.... I told her that we would call her and tell her if they were keeping me or not. I called her at about 1 or 1:30 and just said "well, I guess they are going to keep me." and she said "what did you have?" (she is so smart). We finally got moved to my permanent room at about 2....and then Jason headed back home (he thought he would sleep better there and be able to help get the kids to school in the morning....AND share the news with the kids). By the time I got settled in the room they brought Cruz in to nurse again. He had his bath and the nurse Rachel, was SO GREAT with him. She said that he was too big to fit into any of their sleepers except this "Baby's 1st Christmas" one...and she also explained that she couldn't help but style his hair into a mohawk...... She was great. I finally got to bed at about 5AM....only to get woken up by breakfast at 6. Oh well....I will say that one hour of sleep is NO way to start out with a newborn. It took me at least a week to feel like I could function again.
The 1st morning at the hospital was filled with doctors and nurses and rounds and lactation consultants...and so on. They had to cram everything into one day that is normally spread out into 2 because he was born just before midnight. You only get 2 nights in the hospital after the baby is born....so my first night was already done! This was my only real day in the hospital. (that sucked, by the way) Jason came down mid morning, and then my parents brought Keaton and Lola to visit in the afternoon (Nash had a cold, so he stayed with Grandma Reimer). Then that night my sister Tessa and her husband Steve came to visit. We were exhausted, so I was glad that was it. By 8 pm, I was SPENT.... the next day we ended up coming home in the afternoon.
I love the time in the hospital. I love the excitement of labor and delivery....and I love calling friends and family and telling them our news! It was so great telling Keaton and Lola...they are truly so excited....(Nash...not quite something he can comprehend over the phone yet). I could have definitely used another night in the hospital....but what can you do? My nurses were once again EXCELLENT...Jen and Rachel were awesome, and my nurse from Nash, Marilyn, even stopped in to visit!.
Well...I have to say that I feel SO very blessed. Four wonderful, healthy, beautiful children. God has truly been good to us...and I thank him daily for our kids. It is just such a miracle... and I just can't believe how great each and every baby is. It is funny....when keaton was born my thought was "I can't have any more kids, because there is no way I could ever love another one like I love him" and then we had Lola....and now 2 since.... and now when they have each been born my thoughts have changed....now, I KNOW you can love each one just as much as the last....and each one makes you love the others even more. Now, when my kids are born I think...." wow, this is amazing and I can't wait to see how they grow and change and find out their personalities...." and so on. Each child just makes me want to have more! (I know, I know....I thought I might be done after this pregnancy....but now I am not so sure....crazy, huh?)
Praise the Lord!
