Stockton's Birth Story

Wow, where has the time gone? I've finally finished writing about Stockton's birth. It's a little long, but I want to remember everything. I'm really glad we had my friend Amanda take pictures for us to help keep the memories!

Stockton's Birth Story:

Well, I got my birthday wish!

March 9, 2016

4:00 pm: When Nathan got home from work we went for a walk around the block hoping to help our little boy come. We cut it a little short because I was starting to get cramps. I told Nathan I just needed to sit down for a little bit and then we could go to the Olive Garden for my birthday.

5:00 pm: The cramps didn't get any better and I was feeling them about every 5 minutes... In fact they were starting to get stronger, but I kept saying that it wasn't because my doctor said I would cramp from getting my membranes stripped at the appointment.  So Nathan went to Zupas to get me a delicious birthday dinner. Sadly I could hardly eat it because my "cramps" (that I now realize were contractions) were too distracting.

6:00 pm: I decided that maybe soaking in the bath tub would help me feel better and it definitely did. It helped me relax and I was able to eat a few bites of my dinner. By this point my contractions (that I was still convinced were cramps) were about every 3 minutes apart. Nathan kept asking if we needed to head to the hospital and I told him I didn't want to be told I was just cramping and sent home. So we continued to wait it out.

7:00 pm: I got dressed in comfy sweats and tried to lay down in bed and munch on Cheese Its. I was finally starting to think that maybe I needed to go to the hospital when all of a sudden I felt like I was going to pee my pants. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom right as my water broke at 7:10! I turned to Nathan and told him we should head to the hospital. We grabbed the hospital bag, texted our photographer, and headed to McKay Dee Hospital. The car ride wasn't too bad, but the contractions were getting stronger, especially in my back. The elevator ride and getting checked in seemed to take forever. I was all checked in at 7:47 pm.

8:00 pm: Once I was all checked in they took me to a room to get in a gown and see how far I had progressed. They said my water had definitely broken and that I was dilated to a 5+. Then I ended up having to switch rooms because the computer wasn't working in the first room. Walking to the other room I kept thinking, "When do I get to have the epidural?" The pain wasn't unbearable, but it was starting to make me feel sick. I was having hot flashes, but I was cold and shaky, and my heartburn was kicking up. More than anything I did not want to throw up. Once we were all set up in the new room they checked me again and I was dilated to a 7+. The nurses were surprised how quickly I was progressing for it being my first baby and said he was going to be here before midnight.

9:00 pm - 12:00 am: I got the epidural around 9:00 pm and it worked wonders! Other than my heartburn, I felt great! Our photographer, Amanda, made it to the hospital a little after I got the epidural and then it was the waiting game. I had to be on antibiotics for at least 4 hours because I had group strep B. While we waited I ate some popsicles and talked the night away. I feel bad that Amanda was there so long, but it was fun having her around to talk to and get pictures throughout the whole night.

I loved my nurse!

March 10, 2016

1:00 - 2:00 am: Once I had the antibiotics for 4 hours we started getting things going again. A nurse said they were having a doctor come break the rest of my water to help things along, but the doctor got stuck down in the ER. The nurse tried positioning me on my side in the bed with my leg elevated and about 10 minutes later there was a "pop" and the rest of my water broke. The nurse then sat me up in the bed so that gravity could help our little boy work his way down for me to push.

3:00 am: The nurse had me do some pushes to help get my baby to start crowning. I pushed for about 15 minutes and then they called for Doctor Houpe.

4:00 - 5:00 am: My doctor arrived a little after four in the morning and she and the nurses finished getting everything ready. I started pushing around 4:20. It was really weird trying to push as hard as I possibly could, but really I felt like all I was doing was holding my breath. Everyone kept encouraging me and telling me, "That was a good one. Do it again!" Nathan would tell me how much you could see of the baby, which helped motivate me.

When my baby boy was out far enough the doctor got really excited and said, "Look at all of that blonde hair! We never see blonde haired babies!" I was so excited! I was secretly hoping for a cute blonde haired boy like his daddy!

The contraction monitor decided to stop working while I was pushing so the nurse would have to feel my stomach to check for tightening to tell me when to push. Every once in a while Dr. Houpe would say she might have to do an episiotomy, which made me try and push harder.

Nathan was amazing! I don't know what I'd do without him! I'm a lucky girl!

"Come on baby boy! I just want to meet you!", I said, and then everyone started to get more excited! "He's coming! Keep pushing! You're doing great! Almost there!" At 4:47 a.m. I gave one final big push and I felt my baby slide right out! In Dr. Houpe's hands was my little boy!

I can't believe how quickly everyone worked! Dr. Houpe swiftly suctioned out his mouth and nose, had Nathan cut the cord, and then my sweet baby was put on my chest while a nurse wiped him with a towel!

Time seemed to stop in that moment! I was overwhelmed with joy! My heart was bursting with love for this sweet little boy that I could finally hold in my arms and kiss! I had the biggest smile and tears in my eyes! I looked at Nathan and could see the love he had for both of us in his teary eyes.

After having skin to skin time for a while I handed my baby over to the nurses to check and measure. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 21 inches long. (He gave the nurse some excitement by peeing on the scale... haha) When they were done they wrapped him up and handed him to Nathan. I loved seeing Nathan hold our son for the first time. He was so happy!

We enjoyed holding our little boy and admiring how perfect he was. He was wide eyed almost the whole time quietly staring at everything around him.

6:00 am and on: Once everything was done and cleaned up they wheeled us to the recovery room. I was finally allowed to eat and ordered a ton of food for breakfast. I was hoping for a much needed nap, but by the time I ate, had all of my vitals checked, and tried to feed my baby we had visitors coming.

We officially decided on our little boy's name in the afternoon. Stockton James Ballard. We both really like the name Stockton and James is also Nathan's middle name.

The day went by very quickly with all of our friends and family visiting. It was a wonderful day. I don't know what I would have done without Nathan! He was amazing and helped me so much through the whole process. We couldn't believe how perfect everything was with Stockton's birth and are so in love with him.