Saturday, June 5, 2010

Levi Joseph Schmidt

On Monday, May 31st I was scheduled to be induced at United Hospital in St. Paul due to my blood pressure that wouldn't go down. So Sunday night, both Grant and I were mixed of emotions and didn't get much sleep. I woke up and had to call the hospital at 6:30 and they told us we could come in between 7-7:30.... So off we went! It was a very nerve racking car ride, but I knew it would all be worth it. We got to the hospital right at 7:30, got checked in, and the fun began!

We got all settled into our delivery room and the nurse started the Pitocin at 8:30 am. It took about a half hour for me to start feeling contractions, but they were easy to deal with at this point. The plan was to up the dose every forty minutes. At 9:00, Dr. Huberty came in and broke my water. She doesn't mess around! That was more of a mess than I ever could have imagined, I am glad I did not get my wish granted of that happening at home. After this it took about a half hour and the contractions started coming about 3-7 minutes apart. I was dealing with them okay at this point, just felt like a period cramp. I breathed through them and of course Grant was right there to say something funny to get my mind off of them. They started picking up more by 11:00 so I asked for some Nubane in my IV. This helped for the time being.

After that started kicking in, I sent Grant down to get some lunch. I had Joline via text message right by my side while he was gone. Contractions started getting a little more intense around 1:00 and I had the nurse check me. I was between 4-5 cm dilated so I asked for the epidural. That was my goal to get to before I asked! Once I got that in.... ahhhh sweet relief. It was the best thing ever. I didn't feel another contraction the entire day. After this was in, I got the catheter in which was way easier than I ever imagined it to be.

5:30 I was checked again and now I was 6-7 cm dilated and his head was very low. Slowly progressing....The nurse noticed baby's heartbeat was starting to decrease, so she put me on an oxygen mask. I was starting to get naseous by this point, I was so hungry! I couldn't have anything besides ice chips, so Grant was great and kept them coming. I ended up throwing up all over at about 6:30, in the oxygen mask and all! After that mess was cleaned up it was now 8:00. The nurse checked me again and I was now 9cm. This day was getting very long for us! Just before 8:30, I was fully dilated and it was time to push. Pushing went on FOREVER it seemed like. His head was super low and would just not come down any further! The nurse saw his hair and said he had a ton! There was my heartburn the last few months :)

She called in the Dr and she had me push a few more times and then decided she would try the vaccuum on his head to help him come down. She did that three times and he just wouldn't move. So after 2.5 hours of pushing, a tear, and a vaccuum, I heard the word I dreaded, C-Section will be needed. At this point I was so tired and exhausted that I just wanted it to be over and I wanted to see that baby! SO Grant and I looked at each other nervous as can be, and off I went. Once in the OR it went very fast. Once they finally got into where the baby was the Dr said, "That's why he wouldn't move!"... He was so low and sideways in there that his head couldn't move any lower. So I patiently waited there for that first cry and when I heard it, that long exhausting day was SO worth it.

Levi Joseph Schmidt was born at 11:46pm weighing in at 7lbs, 6ozs, and was 20 inches long. Grant was already a perfect dad right at that time. He stayed with him when they cleaned him up and went to the nursery with him while I was getting stitched back up. When I finally got out of recovery and could hold him, it was the happiest day of my life.

The hospital stay ended up being way longer than we wanted, we just got discharged yesterday (Friday). So five days total. Levi has a little jaundice so we had to stay extra to have him in the special bed and then they sent us home with a blanket yesterday. A nurse is coming by this morning to check his levels and I hope we can send the blanket back. I hate having to have him in it the whole time.

That is how are week has been! I got very emotional towards the end of the hospital stay, I just wanted to go home. Grant was the best partner I could have asked for through the whole week, he is always there for me. I want to thank everyone who visited, sent messages, or called, it really helped us get through the week. We are lucky to have so many family and friends in our lives! I also want to thank Joline for coming to the hospital four different times with the kids, she knows they can always make me feel better. My recovery is a lot harder than I wanted, but I am getting through it. I am not used to moving so slow, so it is taking some getting used to. But, I think I am getting better everyday. We are settling in at home now and we wouldn't want it any other way. "Our little surprise" is the best thing that has happened to both of us. I will post a ton more pictures later, but here is one for now.....

1 comment:

  1. WOW! You did have quite the long/exhausting day! But it definitely looks worth it. =) He is so stinkin cute!! I can't wait for some more pics, and I REALLY can't wait to see you guys... just 2 more weeks!! YAY

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