What a CRAZY week it has been...

It all started last Wednesday 9/2/09, when I went to the doctor for my 39 week appt. I explained the situation about my dad and his possible diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and not knowing if he would be back in town or not. She agreed to induce me starting on Sunday night with cervadil. (I am thinking, holy crap, this is really going to happen in 5 days!!) I know she really wanted to deliver my baby and be there for me, she truly is a great doctor!! After my appt, I went to visit my sister's classroom. All the kids were very excited to meet me and learn that my baby would be here very soon. The boys of course were very excited it was a "Boy". When I got home, Pat and I went out to dinner and relaxed knowing, next time at this week, we were going to be parents.

On Thursday, I slept in and lounged around the house, getting ready for my last night of work for 3 months, pretty pumped about that!!! At work, people kept saying you haven't had that baby yet and this night I could finally say, Monday is the big day!!! Everyone was very excited for us, I was starting to get a little nervous, knowing somehow this baby has to come out!!! Work was a nice, uneventful night and I said see you all in 3 months as I was leaving. At the same time, my parents were up at The Mayo Clinic waiting for the results of all of my Dad's tests.

After work, on Friday morning, I go home and go to bed, knowing that when I wake up, I should hear from my parents, plus being 39 weeks pregnant, I was a little tired!! Their appt was at 2:30, I set my alarm for 3:00, giving them some time. 3:30, don't hear anything, 4:30, don't hear anything 5:30 don't hear anything. Finally a little while later, my Mom calls Pats phone and tells us the devastating news that my Dad does have Pancreatic Cancer. We are all in shock!! They had been driving for awhile, but didn't want to call my sister or I yet. Friday evening, Pat and I went over to my sister's house, along with my cousin Jessica. We just hung out and went out to dinner.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 5am to do my usual bathroom trip and was unable to fall back asleep. I turned on the TV and started watching it and then I started to feel something. It was definitely different then the braxton hicks contractions and they were painful. They started off with one about every half hour and progressed as the morning went on. We were supposed to go to our friend's daughters 2nd birthday party and I told Pat to go, but I was going to stay on the couch, cause I didn't feel good. Apparently, at the party, Ellie was telling everyone I was in labor. Little did she know she was right. Pat was only gone for 2 hours and when he returned, my contractions were 5-7 min apart, lasting 45 sec and they had been going on for an hour. Looks like it was time to call the doctor, and Charlie would be coming a day early!!! We called the doctor and they said to come on in.

We arrived at Menorah Medical Center about 2:00. We got settled into our birthing suite and the nurse started to do her work. She started an IV with some clear fluids and pit, checked to see how far I was dilated (I was at a 2 at this point) and asked if I would be wanting an epidural. I said yes, whenever I can have one would be great. An hour or so went by and then the anesthesiologist came in to start the epidural. Once it was started, I was feeling great. Pat and I were watching football, waiting for me to dilate more. Then about 2 hours later the epidural stopped working and boy was I in some serious pain. I don't know how people do it without an epidural and I am not really sure why someone would want to put themselves through that kind of pain. There is no trophy at the end saying, "I gave birth without an epidural!!!" The anesthesiologist came back in and tried some different drugs and manipulated it a bit, but it still was not working. He decided to put in a new epidural, which worked and by that time I was already at a 10, so it was time to start pushing!!!

I started pushing at 10:00 pm, thinking I am going to have a baby soon!!! I was excited, but then I continued to push and push and push some more. Charlie was being very stubborn and did not want to make his appearance quite yet. Finally, after 3 hours of pushing, Charlie was born at 12:54 am, weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz, and 20 inches long. It turned out his head was crooked and got stuck on my pubic bone. For all my nurse friends, his apgars were 1, 9, 9, can we say a little stressed. He was very blue and did not cry for a little bit. We were nervous, but the nurses were suctioning, drying him and giving him some oxygen. He then started to cry, which was a huge relief!!! His fontanels were very overriding and his head was a little lopsided. He also got some scrapes on the back of his head. They put a gel pillow under his head and it looks great now, you would never know it was funny looking at birth. It was an awesome feeling to finally get to hold my new little guy!! He is perfect!! The whole time I was pushing, my parents, sister and Pat's Dad and Pam were all waiting to come meet Charlie. They finally got to come back and meet him at 3:00am. They were all exhausted, but super excited to meet him.