Liam Andrew Dodge
Our precious little guy was born at 11:30 am on January 20th. He was quite punctual as that was his official due date. My water broke at 8:00 pm on January 19th. We were at my sister's house watching the UFC fight. My brother-in-law actually guaranteed that watching the fight at his house would put me into labor. Well, he was right. So, we went home, grabbed our bags and headed to the hospital. We got settled into our room and were given the option to start pitocin immediately or wait until 2 am to see how much progress I could make on my own. We decided to give my body a chance to dilate on its own.
At 2 am, the nurse checked and I had only dilated 1 cm which put me at 3 cm. Bad news! My contractions weren't painful up to that point and the nurse said that would all change quickly as soon as the pitocin kicked in. I swear it was no more than 10 minutes after the pitocin started dripping through my IV that I finally felt a 'real' contraction. I tried to get through each contraction using breathing techniques and squeezing the blood out of Jeff's hand. They were so painful and I started to shake uncontrollably. I realize that's a natural reaction to pain but it really scared Jeff so he called in reinforcements (my mom!).
It's unbelievable how my mom walked in the room and I was instantly at peace. Jeff was also much calmer and relieved to have mom there for support. At 3:30 am I asked for a Stadol. It's a pain pill and it helped a little bit but only lasted for 1 hour. What kind of pain relief is that?! Anyway, my nurse had to leave for an hour to assist with a delivery. She asked if I wanted to get ready for the epidural or wait until she was done with the delivery. Well, at that point, the Stadol was still working and I thought I was strong so I opted to wait. I quickly changed my mind as soon as it subsided and we called in another nurse in order to start the water IV which has to be completed prior to receiving the epidural. I thought that the bag of water would never empty. As soon as it finished, the nurse checked me again and confirmed that I was at a 5. Yes, now please get me the epidural! Jeff left the room and my mom stayed while the epidural was administered. I will never forget trying to stay absolutely still through 2 contractions while the doctor was putting the epidural in. But man was it worth it!! It took a few minutes to kick in but once it did it was smooth sailing.
At 10:30 my nurse, Casey (who by the way was amazing) checked me and said that her plan was to come back at 11:00, push for 30 minutes and be done. That's exactly what we did. Liam was out by 11:28. Poor Jeff tried to endure through the delivery but took one look at Liam crowning and had to lay on the couch with a mask on. My mom was by my side and I'm so thankful for her. I was also grateful for Jeff's support (even if it was from the couch). He really did try and felt so bad for not being at my side but it really wasn't a big deal. However, the doctor and nurses all got a kick out of it.
It was the best and worst day of our lives. At 10 pm that night, Liam could hardly breathe on his own. They took him for observation and submitted him to NICU at 2 am Jan. 21st. We were devastated and scared. I can't even explain how heart wrenching it is to see your newborn baby lying there with tubes, IVs and monitors all over. The pediatrician ordered a chest x-ray and determined that Liam had a lung infection (possibly pneumonia). Thankfully, the doctor was very aggressive with the treatment even if it meant keeping Liam until the 27th. I was released on the 22nd and we basically camped out at the NICU until we could bring him home.
We made our first trip to the pediatrican on the 31st and she said that Liam's lungs sound clear and basically gave him a clean bill of health. However, she did advise that we keep him in lock down for 4-6 weeks to help avoid a relapse.
Our first night was extremely comical. We attempted a diaper change at 2 am and were greeted with a poop geyser. I took the brunt of it but it also went all over the sheets, floor and bassinet. We just had to laugh about it. Talk about breaking us in!
We appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers. We'll let you know when Liam can see visitors. We're dying to show him off.
At 2 am, the nurse checked and I had only dilated 1 cm which put me at 3 cm. Bad news! My contractions weren't painful up to that point and the nurse said that would all change quickly as soon as the pitocin kicked in. I swear it was no more than 10 minutes after the pitocin started dripping through my IV that I finally felt a 'real' contraction. I tried to get through each contraction using breathing techniques and squeezing the blood out of Jeff's hand. They were so painful and I started to shake uncontrollably. I realize that's a natural reaction to pain but it really scared Jeff so he called in reinforcements (my mom!).
It's unbelievable how my mom walked in the room and I was instantly at peace. Jeff was also much calmer and relieved to have mom there for support. At 3:30 am I asked for a Stadol. It's a pain pill and it helped a little bit but only lasted for 1 hour. What kind of pain relief is that?! Anyway, my nurse had to leave for an hour to assist with a delivery. She asked if I wanted to get ready for the epidural or wait until she was done with the delivery. Well, at that point, the Stadol was still working and I thought I was strong so I opted to wait. I quickly changed my mind as soon as it subsided and we called in another nurse in order to start the water IV which has to be completed prior to receiving the epidural. I thought that the bag of water would never empty. As soon as it finished, the nurse checked me again and confirmed that I was at a 5. Yes, now please get me the epidural! Jeff left the room and my mom stayed while the epidural was administered. I will never forget trying to stay absolutely still through 2 contractions while the doctor was putting the epidural in. But man was it worth it!! It took a few minutes to kick in but once it did it was smooth sailing.
At 10:30 my nurse, Casey (who by the way was amazing) checked me and said that her plan was to come back at 11:00, push for 30 minutes and be done. That's exactly what we did. Liam was out by 11:28. Poor Jeff tried to endure through the delivery but took one look at Liam crowning and had to lay on the couch with a mask on. My mom was by my side and I'm so thankful for her. I was also grateful for Jeff's support (even if it was from the couch). He really did try and felt so bad for not being at my side but it really wasn't a big deal. However, the doctor and nurses all got a kick out of it.
It was the best and worst day of our lives. At 10 pm that night, Liam could hardly breathe on his own. They took him for observation and submitted him to NICU at 2 am Jan. 21st. We were devastated and scared. I can't even explain how heart wrenching it is to see your newborn baby lying there with tubes, IVs and monitors all over. The pediatrician ordered a chest x-ray and determined that Liam had a lung infection (possibly pneumonia). Thankfully, the doctor was very aggressive with the treatment even if it meant keeping Liam until the 27th. I was released on the 22nd and we basically camped out at the NICU until we could bring him home.
We made our first trip to the pediatrican on the 31st and she said that Liam's lungs sound clear and basically gave him a clean bill of health. However, she did advise that we keep him in lock down for 4-6 weeks to help avoid a relapse.
Our first night was extremely comical. We attempted a diaper change at 2 am and were greeted with a poop geyser. I took the brunt of it but it also went all over the sheets, floor and bassinet. We just had to laugh about it. Talk about breaking us in!
We appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers. We'll let you know when Liam can see visitors. We're dying to show him off.
posted by April at
12:47 PM
3 Comments:
I'm so glad he finally got to come home and that he's doing better! Maybe in a month or two we can have our first official play date! (whatever those are, I've just heard that's what kids do these days!) Now please post some pictures!
April, yeah!!! I've been checking on your blog daily to see when your little one was born! So glad you posted. I loved reading the birth story. Can't wait to meet him in person - he is beautiful! I think he looks just like you, seriously. Congratulations!!!
hey, how are things going with the little guy? can't wait to see some new pics, they change so fast! max is starting to get chubby - I already miss the newborn!
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