The Adored Abode

Baby BOY arrived on September 14th at 6:41pm, weighing 7lbs 6oz and 21.25 inches long. Leo William, we love you so! We were so sure baby was a girl for some reason, but we are so very happy our little guy is here. He is the prefect addition to our family and just who our hearts were waiting for.

As I am writing this Leo is just over 2 weeks old. 2 weeks! Time really does fly. How did we get so lucky to be this perfect little nugget’s parents? I am so happy is all ours.

Leo’s Birth Story

I was scheduled to be induced the evening of Sunday, September 13th, which was 40 weeks 1 day, if baby didn’t decide to arrive sooner. Since I had been getting extra monitoring in this pregnancy my doctor did not want me getting to 41 weeks and we agreed that we would just rather have baby here.

Despite consistent daily Braxton Hicks contractions for the 2 weeks prior, eating spicy food, eating dates every day, drinking red raspberry leaf tea and doing as much walking as my very uncomfortable pregnant body could handle I did not go into labor early like I had hoped!

We knew the baby was posterior, meaning face up toward my pubic bone instead of face down toward my back (you want baby to be face down!) and my doctor warned that if the baby stayed posterior it could make the labor and delivery process a little tougher. Sure enough, baby was still posterior right up until induction day.

It was a very strange feeling having a scheduled date to be induced. We knew the weekend of September 12th would be our last one as a family of 2 (or rather 4 with the dogs). We spent the weekend cleaning, re-cleaning, walking and doing everything possible to keep our minds occupied. We were nervous and so excited to meet this little person!! We had waited so long for this moment and it felt like it couldn’t come soon enough.

Finally, Sunday evening rolled around. We ate a big dinner since at our hospital you can’t eat anything but clear liquid items once induction begins (popsicles, jello, juice etc.). My parents came to pick up the dogs around 7pm and we headed to the hospital at 7:40pm – our scheduled time to be there was 8pm.

8pm, September 13th

Nathan diligently jotted down the timeline of the events of Leo’s birth in the notes app on his phone. I am so very glad he did because the details of everything are so fuzzy to me without the notes!

We arrived at the hospital, went through the Covid check-in process, and were shown to our labor and delivery room. It felt surreal – this is the room we will be meeting our baby in! I was still 1cm dilated, just like I had been at my 40 week appointment on Thursday. After the nurse got everything prepped I was started on Cervidil at 9:45pm to help get my cervix ready for labor and starting Pitocin the next day. The Cervidil was left in over night. I contracted and cramped on and off all night and did not get much sleep, which I expected.

The one thing I did not expect was having to labor in a mask/stay in a mask whenever someone beside the two of us were in the room. I had a Covid test on Friday before I was induced and it was negative – I had been told I wouldn’t need to labor in a mask if it was negative. That ended up not being the case. I survived, but I know labor and delivery would have been a teensy bit easier had I not been wearing a mask.

7am, September 14th

The next morning the nurse removed the Cervidil at 7am and I was able to take a shower. My doctor checked in on us at 8am. She checked me and I was 1.5cm dilated and she was able to break my water to get things moving a bit more. Once she broke my water she told us the baby had a bowel movement (known as meconium) in the amniotic fluid and that as a result the NICU team would be in the delivery room for the birth to make sure the baby hadn’t ingested too much of the fluid. After my doctor broke my water the nurse started Pitocin at 8:30am. Once the Pitocin was started my contractions almost immediately changed and I knew they were the real deal.

10am, September 14th

I wanted to try to labor without an epidural for as long as I could and I requested a birth ball and the wireless monitors so I could move around the room more. Laboring in bed/on my back for contractions made them feel much more painful, once I was on the birth ball they were a little more manageable. At this point the contractions were much closer together anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. I was checked again at 11am and was 3.5cm dilated and 90% effaced. Then the contractions were consistently 30 seconds apart. The back labor I was experiencing at this point because he was posterior was really intense. As Nathan put it: “So this is labor”. Around 12pm I decided I wanted an epidural. I was really nervous to get an epidural before, but in the moment I knew would not make it laboring like this for the rest of the day and still have the energy to push. The epidural was administered around 1pm and almost immediately I felt like myself again. I was checked again at 1:20pm and was 5cm dilated. I was hopeful that I would give birth today and at this point it was starting to feel like it could really happen! My nurse suggested I labor for a while on my side with the peanut ball between my legs. This seemed to help a lot (plus my body was finally able to relax with the epidural) because by 3:25pm I was fully dilated! My doctor wanted me to continue laboring with the peanut ball to help move the baby down a little bit. At this point I spiked a little fever and needed Tylenol. After the Tylenol I continued to labor with the peanut ball until my doctor and the nurse decided the baby had descended enough and it was time to start pushing!

4:45pm, September 14th

My doctor gave the go ahead that I should start pushing. The nurse and Nathan helped situate me since I couldn’t move around much due to the epidural and held my legs for each push. I was still wearing a mask while pushing. Only pulling it away every few pushes to help catch my breath. I pushed almost consistently for 2 hours. Since Leo was posterior he got a little stuck in the birth canal. I was starting to get to the point where I felt defeated and that this baby was never going to come out vaginally. No one every suggested a c-section, but my mind kept drifting there knowing it was possibility, especially after an hour of pushing when the baby’s heart rate was dropping a little bit. Luckily, it would come right back up after each push. Thankfully, despite my despairing thoughts, I had made enough progress that my nurse decided it was time to call my doctor back since the baby was getting so close! My doctor came in with tons of energy and really helped get me in the right headspace for the final minutes of pushing.

6:41pm, September 14th

At 6:41pm our little guy made his entrance into the world! My doctor immediately put him on my chest and we learned we had a baby BOY! He didn’t make a peep, which freaked everyone out a little (mom and dad a lot!). Since he had meconium in his fluid and wasn’t crying they had Nathan cut the cord much quicker than I had hoped for, but he needed to be checked out to make sure he was alright so I knew it was for the best. Nathan went to be by Leo’s side while the NICU team checked him over. He still wasn’t crying at his point, but he was breathing and his heart was beating – my doctor kept assuring me he was just fine because I’m pretty sure I kept asking her if he was okay and why wasn’t he crying (though it’s very fuzzy). After a few minutes (10? 30? I have no idea) my doctor finished fixing my tear (I had a slight 2nd degree tear and needed just a few stitches, which I was honestly very happy about – I thought it would have been much worse) and delivered the placenta. Then the NICU nurses brought our baby boy back over to me. He was perfect! Just calm as could be observing the world around him. He still hadn’t cried and didn’t cry until a few hours after he was born, but then he let us know he had some loud pipes and they worked really well.

Our First Few Days with Little Leo

The first night in the hospital after Leo was born was pretty hazy. We stayed in the labor and delivery room until around 9pm when they moved us to a recovery room where we stayed the next 2 nights. By the time they transitioned us to our recovery nurse it was nearly 11pm. I hadn’t eaten a meal since dinner the night before and Nathan hadn’t eaten since about 1pm. We were both very hungry and the hospital cafeteria was closed so Nathan went to one of the only places that was open to get food – McDonalds. That night there were many checks on both Leo and I for vitals and to check my bleeding and push on my uterus. I was prepared for the pushing on the uterus part, but not how frequently or how hard they did it! With all of the nurse check-ins we did not get much sleep our first night. The next day was filled with more check-ins and newborn testing for Leo. The check-ins the second night still felt pretty frequent even though I know it was less than the first night. It still felt like there was someone in and out of our room at least every hour. Everyone was so helpful and so kind during our stay at the hospital and we would have been lost without the nurses. Despite the lack of rest, we still soaked in every minute of our little miracle. Watching Nathan hold, console, and talk to Leo was my favorite part of our time in the hospital. It filled my heart to a level that I did not know existed.

Because of Covid we weren’t allowed any visitors in hospital. As new parents running on zero sleep I can honestly say I’m glad we had to wait to have any visitors until we went home – I think it would have been too much for me in the hospital. I really needed that time to recover. I was a little surprised at how much of an issue I had getting around the 2 days after his birth. I could barely get out of bed myself, let alone get Leo out of his bassinet. I don’t know why it hit me so hard – I ask myself if it was all of the back labor I experienced or the 2 hours of intense pushing or if it was just how my body responded after labor, regardless, I knew this pain and discomfort were temporary. I was just so grateful our little boy was here! I kept telling myself it would get easier physically and it did each day. About 2 weeks after he was born I really felt like I could walk around (and sit) normally.

We did not officially name Leo until our last morning in the hospital! Leo William was our top boy name, but we still had trouble deciding if it was the right name for him! Eventually, we decided it was the perfect fit. Leo, our little lion.

We were discharged on Wednesday morning, 2 nights after Leo was born. I was glad we stayed 2 nights if only to allow me a little more time to recover while we still had the help of our wonderful nurses. Overall, we had a really great experience at the hospital and I would definitely plan to deliver there again if we are blessed to ever have another baby. All of the nurses and hospital staff were incredible. We delivered at Advent Health Shawnee Mission for any KC locals.

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Even though we had a great stay at the hospital, we were so so happy to go home. It felt amazing to sleep in our own bed again and really start settling in with our newest family member.