Labor & Delivory...
I woke up at 2am with a painfull contraction, but went back to sleep...they didn't get really bad until around 9:30am, when they were finally lasting a minute and coming every 8-10 minutes. Alexya and Sonny woke up around 7 and Alexya kept coming over and hugging me on the couch and telling me I'm "the best mommy in the whole world." Sonny kept reading to me, his new books he got for Christmas.
We went to walnut creek kaiser and arrived at 10am and I was dialated 6cm. I didn't want an epidural cause it would slow things down. I just wanted to get it over with, cause I was so tired and hadn't eaten all morning. So, they said they would break my water to get things moving faster...but then disappeared. I kept asking for pain meds, to take the edge off, but they kept telling me to wait until they broke my water.
So finally at 12:30 they broke my water and said I was at 9 cm...and it was too late to give me anything for pain! But if I felt like pushing I could push. So I tried to push with the next contraction and it wasn't working. They told me to stand up because my contractions were stronger when I was standing earlier and the pressure of the baby might help. I was helped up and immediately felt insane pain! So I started freaking out realizing that I wasn't going to get Anything for pain and Robert and the nurses had to all scream at me that I could do it! Then came the incredible urge to push!
I was standing and couldn't stop pushing through the pain. It was insane pain and I couldn't stop pushing, until suddenly I felt so weak I was gonna pass out and Robert just held me standing up. I let him hold me and was resting my head on his forearms when the next push/contraction wave hit and I had the primal urge to bite his arm to deal with the pain. I actually put my teeth on his arm and then somehow realized what I was doing and stopped! Crazy!
I kept pushing and they told me they could see the head, so I had to get back on the bed right away. They threw a pillow on the floor underneath me, just in case, and told me that I was "hurting my baby by not getting on the bed," which is the only thing they could have possibly said to make me move at that point.
I got on the bed through the pain and feeling of his head coming out. I gave two last huge pushes and out he came! The entire pushing from standing to finish took only 9 minutes, but felt like forever!
Marcus Francisco Hernandez was born at 12:49pm weighing 8lbs 6oz and 21 3/4" long, on December 26, 2013 (the day after Christmas)! He is a perfectly healthy and handsome little guy and an amazing addition to our family!
I still can't believe I did it with no pain killers, not even ibuprofen! But at least it made it go fast and furious and it's all over now. What an experience!
Since we've been home....
Alexya and Sonny are so in love with Marcus. They constantly check on him and talk to him and watch him, even while he sleeps. They think every little thing he does and every little noise he makes is so cute and funny. It's so nice to have helpers who will run upstairs and get me things when I need them (cause I really don't want to go up and down stairs right now). They keep talking to him and showing him things and he just stares and calmly watches what they're showing him. It's going to be so fun to see what his little personality is like, thrown into our family that is definitely got a variety of personalities!
The best thing so far is Marcus's relationship with Robert. When he was in my stomach he would sometimes go crazy, kicking and thrashing, and every single time Robert would start talking to him, he would freeze...like he was listening to him. No matter how much he would move, Daddy's voice would make him calm down and listen. I was wondering if this would continue once he was born, and it has! He gets fussy and cranky and sometimes is crying so hard I can't get him to calm down. Robert will just walk over, grab him and say the magic words, "Marcus, it's ok, Daddy's here," and he stops to listen. He'll sometimes still cry, but it's this softer, sweet version that almost sounds like he's trying to talk back to Robert...this soft little "ah ah ah ah" that sounds like he's explaining why he was crying! It's freakin' adorable! I love that they have this bond already and it seems like Marcus has a special bond with each one of us.
I'm so happy he's here and healthy, and now I know our family is complete. We have a beautiful, smart, confident, outgoing daughter; a thoughtful, sensitive and handsome son; an angel in heaven and an angel here on earth...we are very blessed!
