Liam's Birth Story

Last night before Jace and I fell asleep, Jace says to me, "I was thinking about when Liam was born and our stay at the hospital and, you know, that was a really nice experience."

I sarcastically responded, "Well I'm so glad you had a good time!"

Of course I know that what Jace meant was not that giving birth and the after effects were just super fun.  I know that he was just expressing how comfortable the hospital was and how nice it felt to be taken care of by the wonderful nurses we had.  I agree, we had a great hospital experience.  In fact, the whole giving birth part wasn't really that bad either.  In retrospect, giving birth was the easiest part of becoming a mom!  :P

Jace's comment last night got me reminiscing about Liam's birth story and I thought it would be a good idea to blog about it so that I have it written down somewhere and won't forget it.  I also thought my readers might enjoy hearing our story.  Don't worry, I'll spare you all the gross details. ;)

Liam's birth was the result of a scheduled induction on the day I reached 39 weeks in my pregnancy.  Our doctor decided it was best to induce me since Liam was considered small for gestational age (SGA) and she thought he'd have a better chance at growing and thriving outside of my belly.  Although, Liam's measurements were consistently proportional to the rest of his body and it was likely that small was just his normal, our obgyn thought it best to go ahead and get the little guy out here with us.

My induction was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 1, 2012.  We were told by my obgyn that it could take awhile for things to get going and that we shouldn't expect Liam to arrive until late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.  Although I checked in at the hospital at 7:30, I didn't actually receive prostaglandins (used to ripen the cervix) until about 9:30 a.m.

Most of the morning was spent sitting in the birthing room reading the Kindle while Jace did some work for his internship.  Unfortunately, Liam kept kicking the monitor on my belly which meant the nurse continually trying to readjust it while I attempted to eat breakfast (which was delicious and free!).  Around lunch time I received Pitocin to get labor going.  I was only on the drip for bout 10 minutes at the lowest setting because my body immediately started to respond and contract.  For me I just started feeling a little crampy.  Nothing significant in my opinion, just a tad annoying.  Our parents made it into town sometime in the afternoon when I was starting to feel a little less comfortable.  Thankfully they understood that we wanted privacy (I'm not a fan of being the center of attention when I'm in pain.).  I'm not sure what all they did the rest of the day, but then again, I was a little busy. ;)

Around 3 p.m. things really ramped up.  My doctor broke my water (strangest feeling in the world, by the way) and that's when the real contractions started.  My method for dealing with the pain was to squeeze the heck out of Jace's hand and breath, attempting to relax every muscle in my body.  I was determined not to get an epidural if at all possible (anesthesiologists are expensive!) but I did end up getting two doses of a mild pain medication and two doses of nausea medication.

Sometime around 8 p.m. my body started to physically contract.  What I mean is that every time I had a contraction, my entire body would literally convulse.  Apparently my body decided it was time to get the baby out and if I didn't start voluntarily pushing, it would just have to do it without my permission!  When I told my nurse that I thought it was time to push, she measured my cervix, which was completely dilated, and told me that she'd call my obgyn who had apparently gone home to tuck her kids into bed.  I wasn't sure if I could hold on until then but miraculously I did!

When my doctor arrived around 9 p.m. she got everything ready, including me, and I started pushing during each contraction.  No one had to count for me or encourage me to keep going.  I pushed as hard and for as long as I possibly could during each contraction.  Finally, at 9:35 p.m., Liam Patrick Adkins was born!  I admit, my first reaction was to cry.  My tears were of joy, amazement, and relief.  I was so relieved to be done with labor and contractions.  I was amazed at the fact that the little human now laying on my stomach was just a moment ago actually INSIDE of me.  I was also overjoyed that he appeared healthy and perfect.

Liam was all arms and legs when he was born.  When they laid him on my tummy he initiated me as his mom by peeing and pooping on me. :P  Then he stuck his fingers in his mouth and just stared at Jace and I.  He cried when he was supposed to to let us know he could breathe but then just kept sucking on his fingers and staring at us. 

Our firstborn son weighed in at 5 lbs., 10 oz. and measured 19.5 inches long.  Later, at his one week pediatrician appointment we would find out that he was really only 19 inches long (he was squirming so much when they measured him at the hospital that they apparently didn't get an accurate measurement. :P).

Liam was a small little guy but he's always been strong.  Since he was born he's been alert and curious.  He always has a thinking look on his face and we can't imagine what's going on in that little noggin of his!  Liam is also super active.  Even as a newborn he never was still.  He can kick like a mule and he keeps those little legs of his going most of the time.  I think Jace and I might be in for some wild adventures with this boy!