Kasen Grey Cox was born August 14th, 2008 at 10:53am. He weighed 9 lbs. 2oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Labor and delivery was awesome! We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 am to be induced. I was a "generous 4cm." They broke my water at 8am and started pitocin. Shortly afterward I received my epidural. It was perfect! Enough to not feel any pain, but I could still feel pressure. I'm thinking it was between 9:45-10 am that the nurse put the foley cath in and then checked me. I was at 6cm. Pretty soon after that, I'm thinking between 10-10:15 am, I thought I was feeling pressure. We called the nurse in and I was complete! The Dr. came in and I pushed around or less than 15 min and he was here! It was really good. No tears or rips. It was such a totally different experience than with Jayden. I was so aware and part of what was going on. I could feel him coming out, but not in a painful way. I could see him come out when I leaned forward. There were quite a few people in the room, numbers one and two were Jesse and Jayden! Yes, Jayden decided to watch! He really enjoyed it and wasn't freaked out or anything. Then Jesse's Mom, My Mom, Jesse's Mee-Maw, Jesse's Cousin (Chris,) and Jesse's sister (Abbey) were in the room. It was neat to me to let them all experience watching a baby be born. It was also funny to watch some of their faces! When we first got to the hospital I was very anxious because I wasn't sure how everything was going to go. I was worried that I wouldn't get an epidural in time and that I would feel him come out. Once I got the epidural I was so relieved and could finally relax. After he was born I was so awake and alert and full of energy.
There were so many things that happened that were just God things. As we were waiting to find out who our nurse was going to be I was watching each one come in and receive their assignments. I was just praying that God would give us a good one. God picked out Cyndy for us. Little did we know how awesome this was. Once the cat was out of the bag that I am a nurse she was so relaxed. Lots of nurses kind of freak out and worry. Cyndy said she had lived through teenagers and that nothing bothered her anymore. She was a wonderful advocate for me when it came to making sure I got my epidural sooner rather than later, and that the dosing was just right and not too much. She sat with me while it took three attempts to get my epidural. The first one went in good, but flushed with difficulty. So rather than attempt to use it and have to replace it later we tried again. The second cath wouldn't thread. The third attempt was a little lower and went in wonderfully and flushed wonderfully. She listened to me and my concerns the entire time. After Kasen was born she saw Jesse's Dad and recognized him from somewhere. Turns out that she goes to our church! She has a disabled daughter and so she arrives last and leaves early so we had never met her. It was great to be able to be a support for her and encourage her as far as church goes. Now, she knows someone else (a lot more someone else's) and she can feel more connected. It was just amazing to see God working through all that.
All of our nurses were great. They were very calm even though they knew I was a nurse and did a great job with the teaching. When Jayden was born the teaching we received was horrible! I went home feeling like I hadn't learned much at all. I really had a wonderful experience and can't complain.
The recovery this time around has been amazing too! I had some swelling the first 24 hours, but otherwise nothing major. I was up and walking around within a few hours. I even walked to the nourishment room that night! Pain meds wise, I've been taking Motrin only for the most part. I've only taken Vicodin twice. Both times were at night more to help me sleep than anything. The pain has really been minimal. It's just amazing. The recovery was horrible with Jayden.
Nursing is going ok. It's always hard at the beginning. It's the only thing I've really hated so far. He does ok with his latching on. Sometimes it takes forever though and is really frustrating. My milk came in Sat morning so that's helped too. Friday night he ate at 8:30pm and 3:30am and again at 9:30. (8ish seems to be the time EVERYONE in the hospital comes in to assess and check on you) So, he's pretty content with that. Peeing and pooping well. The only time he really cries is while we are trying to latch on. Otherwise it's just baby noises. The first day he was really squeaky, but that has decreased a lot! His billi this morning was 10.3 so we are keeping an eye on that. Otherwise he's chill.
Jayden of course is LOVING be a big brother! He spent a few hours with us each day at the hospital during the day, but the nights and mornings he spent at Grandparents. Last night was our first night all together. We are doing really good!
Jayden's story is really not as bad as I make it out to be. For a first time Mom it was really good actually. It's the recovery that was so hard last time. That and just learning everything as a first time Mom. The unit where the boys were born had just opened so things weren't as smooth. The nurses really slacked off on patient teaching and I went home feeling very unprepared. I wasn't even comfortable bathing him the first time at home. I felt lost when it came to breastfeeding. I kept asking for the lactation consultant, but no one called at first. (With Kasen they kept asking if I wanted one to come in!) Those were just some of the things that made it hard. This time not only am I a second time Mom, but I'm a NICU nurse so I take care of babies for a living! I am more confident for sure. The hardest thing for me now is breastfeeding (which is still SO much better than with Jayden) because I don't deal with it that much at work. So, on to his story:
I was induced with Jayden also at 39 and 4 days. When I went in that morning I was 3 cm dilated and was having contractions 4 min apart already. They broke my water and started pitocin. That was probably around 8am. Around 10ish I was really starting to hurt so I asked for my epidural. They checked me and I was at 7 cm! They went ahead with the epidural anyway though. Once they finished I felt tingly in my chest and arms. I felt like I couldn't swallow and my legs were dead to me. I couldn't move them at all. (I think I was either really sensitive or they laid me back too fast and too flat or they gave me too much - probably a combination of all three.) So, before we knew it, I was complete and it was time to push. My family had gone to the cafeteria for lunch so Jesse had to go get them! When I tried to push I could feel nothing and couldn't tell if I was pushing effectively. I pushed for what seemed like forever. Finally, I could feel one spot on my lower left abdomen to tell when I was having a contraction and push against it. He was finally born at 3:31pm after almost two hours of pushing! The Dr was in the room for at least an hour of the pushing and his head was right there. I just couldn't push hard enough.
I tore and was really swollen after all that pushing. It was really hard for me to walk afterwards because my legs still felt like weights and when Jesse and the nurse walked me into the bathroom they let go of me so I could sit on the toilet and I fell. My legs gave out and I ended up with a huge scratch and bruise down my back. I was in so much pain. The recovery took a long time. I was still sitting on pillows a couple of weeks after! Thankfully, we lived with my parents (my Mom is a NICU nurse too!) so they were such a support for us (along with all the other family too of course!)
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