We are so happy that Rueger is here and a part of our family! It has almost been a week since he was born and we are all in love with him. We think everything he does is cute... everything... and we all know that newborns don't do much. :) He can do no wrong. It is so much fun to watch him and wonder what he will be like as he gets a little older and what his personality will be. We do know one thing for sure, he was on his own time table getting here and there was nothing that was going to stop him from making a proper entrance.
Adam went out of town for work to Toledo, Ohio on September 30 and was scheduled to come home October 11th at 9pm. Originally I calculated my due date to be October 24th but after an ultrasound they wrote on my chart that my due date was October 18th. Eden was born 11 days early and I knew that Adam's trip was cutting it close, but I was feeling pretty safe that we would make it until he got home and Adam was sure we had nothing to worry about.
Everyday in our prayers we prayed that baby brother would stay put until daddy made it home and while I know that Heavenly Father listens and answers our prayers, I also know that he has a different plan sometimes that is different than what we would like it to be. On Tuesday October 8th, I had a doctors appointment and they found me to be 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. After that appointment I began having a few cramps but nothing to really be concerned about and I thought it was just from the doctor checking my progress. On Thursday October 10th, Eden and I dropped Montanna off at school and went to the library to return our books and movies and get stocked up on some new ones when I had my first real contraction. It was not painful, but it was different than what I had felt up until this point and it reminded me of what I had felt in the beginning stages of labor with Eden.
I called Adam and asked him to look into getting an earlier flight home and he said he would look into it. Since it was already 2 hours later there and he was in a work meeting and an hour + away from the airport the earliest flight he could get out of Detroit, Michigan was an 8am flight Friday morning.
I decided to pick up Montanna from school and just really take it easy the rest of the day. I had heard that taking a bath could slow down labor and I knew that if I was walking around or trying to get things done that it might speed up my labor, so the girls watched movies and I got in the bath and we read stories and just had a quiet night at home. At about 7:30 I got the girls ready for bed and in bed and took another bath to try to get the contractions to go away and wait until morning, but by 11:00, I knew that I better get the girls over to Lauren's house before my contractions got so bad I couldn't drive.
I packed up the girls and delivered them and called Adam and told him I was headed to the hospital and he needed to make sure he was on that earlier plane in the morning. I got to the hospital but didn't go in because I wanted to make sure that my contractions were close together enough that they wouldn't send me home. At about 1:30 am my contractions were about 4 minutes apart and lasting about 45 sec - 1 min and I headed inside to labor and delivery. They checked me in and started monitoring me. The nurse told me that she had already seen 2 other moms that night and sent both of them home and she needed to monitor me for about 30 minutes before she would admit me and hook me up to the iv and start me on antibiotics since I was Group Strep B Positive. She checked me when I walked in and I was 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced and after 30 minutes I was feeling the contractions pretty hard and was worried that I wasn't progressing, but I was 3 cm and completely effaced after 30 minutes. I let her know I wanted an epidural and she called the anesthesiologist and I called Adam and let him know I was getting ready to get the epidural.
As soon as I got off the phone with Adam I had a contraction and the baby kicked at the same time and my water broke. Everything happened so fast after that. The contractions came one right after the other and I started feeling so nauseous. The nurse brought me a cool cloth for my forehead and a bag just in case I threw up, which I gagged and dry heaved but thank goodness I hadn't eaten much that day and didn't have much in my stomach, but that motion made me quickly dialted me more. I was at 5 cm right after my water broke, after dry heaving twice I was at a 7 and within a couple contractions I was ready to push.
I panicked since I was to that point and they told me there was no way I was going to get an epidural and the baby was going to come. There was nothing I could do to stop him from coming. My body pushed automatically almost without my control and I felt so out of control and scared! The doctor asked if he had time to change his clothes and all the nurses shouted "NO!" and he rushed in put on gloves and delivered Rueger. They didn't even have time to break down the table. He said, "That was fun, it's been a while since I delivered a baby on the table." I'm glad it was fun for him :)
I couldn't believe that it was over and I had my baby laying on my chest. He was so purple, but it was just because he didn't have oxygen yet. Since Adam wasn't there they let me cut his cord and he started screaming. It was such a wonderful sound, but then the took him away so they could work on me. I realized how nice the epidural was during labor but it is equally wonderful after the baby is born because I needed quite a few stitches and I think he used a whole bottle of lidocaine on me. I had nurses pressing and massaging my stomach and by this point I thought I better call Adam and let him know that his son was born.
He was sitting in the airport waiting for his plane and was so surprised because the last time I talked to him I was only 3 cm dialated and getting ready for the epidural and it had only been about 15 minutes. A seriously crazy 15 minutes. After the doctor fininshed up, they brought Rueger to me and I really held him for the first time. He was just beautiful with so much dark hair just like his sisters. He latched right on and started eating for a few minutes and then the nirse asked me if I would like to sit in a bath for a while. That sounded heavenly at this point and they took Rueger to get a bath and checked out while I soaked.
Adam's plane came in at about 1:00 that afternoon and it was so fun to introduce him to is adorable son. I wish more than anything he could have been there and so does he, but there is nothing that matters more than the fact that Rueger is healthy and arrived safely with no complications and Adam got home safely and we are just enjoying spending time together as a family. Montanna and Eden were able to meet their new brother Friday night and are just as in love with him as the rest of us are. They are such good helpers and wonderful big sisters. He didn't have a name until Saturday night when Adam and I had some time to throw some name ideas around. I love that I don't know anyone with his name and I think it fits him perfectly. Welcome to our family, Rueger!
