Salvatore Edward Feliccia
04-15-11
12:40 A.M.
7 lbs 7oz
20"
Sammy's entry into this world was both what I wanted and prepared for and what I feared most. On April 12th I told my boss I needed to stop working and start my maternity leave. I was feeling very crampy, tired and uncomfortable. On April 13th I started to loose my mucus plug and was feeling off and on cramping. That night I was able to sleep which made me unsure of if I was moving towards labor or not. The morning of April 14th Gianna and I met my mom, sister and nephews at the library to do a craft. It took me quite a while to get there because I had moved from feeling crampy to actually having regular surges. Because of my hypnobirthing classes I knew the best thing I could do was to remain relaxed. After the library we went to the park and things once again began to intensify. I finally left to go home and be with Frank while Gianna went to my mom's for a nap.
While at home I continued to have surges but was unsure if I was in labor or if this would go on for a couple of days. Hubby kept on asking me if he should go to work or not. It was so stressful trying to figure out if this was it or not. That night G went to bed around 8:00 and I got into the tub shortly after. The tub was super relaxing and helped me stay calm through each of the surges. I talked to my sister around 9:45 and she was heading off to bed and told me to call her if anything changed. I then called my friend Chelsea and while we were talking I suddenly moved to a new level. I couldn't talk any longer and had to go so I could focus. Frank had been gone to his parents and came home about 10 minutes later. I told him things were progressing and he suggested I get into bed and he would read me a hypnobirthing script. I got into bed and immediately jumped out because the pain was too intense. The only place I could deal with the surges was sitting on the toilet. I began to sweat and shake and at that point I told Hubby that I needed to get to the hospital. He called his parents and his dad rushed over to our house to stay with G while she slept.
Hubby frantically drove me to the hospital and about 3 minutes before we got there my water broke. Did I mention we were driving our brand new van:) I could barely walk into the hospital and at one point fell to my knee's. Water was dripping down my legs, I was pale, sweating and in a ton of pain. We were taken to a delivery room where they checked me and to my shock we found out I was dilated 10 cm. My first thought or actually the first thing I said was, "you mean I can't get an epidural?" I was completely panicked and could not believe I was going to deliver this baby without any pain medication.
Thankfully my Douala Jenna Anderson showed up shortly after and was able to reassure me that I could do this. Then my OB showed up and the pushing began. I pushed somewhere from 6-10 times and finally out came my Sammy. I yelled through each of the pushes. Sammy was put directly on my tummy and after his umbilical cord stopped pulsating Hubby got to cut it. I got to hold my Sammy for 2 hours without anyone trying to take him away. It was such a sweet time of bonding with him.
My mom, sister, mother-in-law and sister-in-law all showed up minutes after he came out. Initially I felt like everything had gone completely opposite of what I had planned on. I really wanted to have a pain free birth and that was all I could think about. But in hindsight I can see that everything went according to what I had prepared myself for. I was able to labor at home and was relaxed through all of my surges. I used my birth breathing and did not panic as my labor intensified. I got to deliver my Sammy with out any medication, and he came out peaceful and alert. I am thankful for my experience of birthing naturally and being surprised by the gender.
Sammy is a sweetie and I can't wait to see his own unique personality develop. Hubby was so very happy we had a boy especially since this is most likely our last. I am sure having more than 2 kids would be great but I cannot imagine going through pregnancy again. This has been the most stressful and trying season for our family and our marriage. I am so thankful to not be pregnant any longer!
Now my task is to survive the first couple months of sleepless nights and having two kids. Gigi loves Sammy but has been acting out because of all the change. I can see things slowly improving and I will be so happy when we get into a new routine.
