Thomas' Birth Story

I AM A MOM!!!! We had little Thomas William Calton at 11:52 PM on Tuesday, July 15th.  He was 7 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long.  I totally expected him to be a little bald alien baby, but he's not (or at least I don't think he is)!  The doctor put him on me after he was born and I instantly fell in love because he was actually cute!!!  We love our little man.  He's pretty stinkin' adorable.  

       Ok here's the full story now.  On Monday (3 days after my due date) I went to the doctor to get my membranes stripped. It was VERY uncomfortable, but it was worth it because I started having contractions and things were moving along.  The doctor told me to watch for contractions that were five minutes apart and lasted 1 minute each.  At 2 AM I was having contractions like that for a while so I called the doc.  He said I could wait a few hours and have contractions at home or go to the hospital if I didn't want to wait at home.  I tried to go back to sleep and waited until 5 AM when they started hurting pretty bad. After that I tried to slowly get ready and by about 6 we were at the hospital in American Fork.  The hospital was really busy.  In fact, when the lady at the desk in labor and delivery asked me why I was here she looked annoyed that I was ready to have a baby.  Yeah... weird.  Anyway, they put me in a room and kept checking me for progress for a few hours but I was dilating as fast as I should've been to be in what they call "active labor".  I was still contracting and still dilating, but it was a little bit of a slow process.  I wasn't supposed to be able to be induced until Friday (I had an appointment set just in case) but the nurse said that since I was already overdue and I would be coming back either in a couple days to be induced or more likely a couple hours to have the baby, they'd keep me.  Plus, my bishop's score (if I spelled that right) was high enough for them to induce me.

     After I was finally admitted into the hospital, they gave me an epidural (AMAZING) and then they broke my water around noon to try to get the contractions coming faster and harder.  Oddly enough, breaking my water actually slowed my contractions down (weird), so an hour later they put me on a little bit of pitocin.  Contractions started coming really hard and frequent, but I had to wait like that for a few hours before I was fully dilated and effaced.  Matt kept watching the monitor show really intense contractions and kept looking over to see if I was in pain, but folks... I was in my happy place haha.  After all that, the doctor wanted me to sit criss cross apple sauce for an hour and a half so that the baby's head would come down further and I wouldn't have to push as long.  I sat like that until my back KILLED (even with the epidural) and then they let me lay down.  

     After being in the hospital all day I found out that "clear liquids" did not just include ice and water.  I assumed clear meant colorless so I was missing out on all sorts of great things... mostly these delicious italian ice popsicles :).  I had the most incredible popsicle of my life and then (finally) it was time to push.  

     I pushed for two hours but nothing happened.  No baby.  I was getting nervous because I could see the doctor and the nurse exchanging concerned looks.  Pretty soon they said that nothing was really working.  The doctor told me that we could try some different positions and see if that helped, but after that the options were forceps or a c-section. I looked right at my doctor and basically told him that I was not a quitter and I was not ready to give up yet.   Realizing that it was after 11 PM, I started getting more motivated because I wanted to push this baby out and in my mind I HAD to have this baby by midnight.  Anyway, soon after that, I got his head past the pelvic bone and I was feeling a lot better.  I pushed again and the next thing I knew, the doctor was jumping up to put all of his gear on.  The nurse sounded excited and I knew this little man was finally coming.  Eight minutes before midnight the cutest little boy came out and we were the happiest parents in the world.  

     It turns out that Thomas was posterior (face up).  The doctor and nurse had tried to feel around before and they both thought that he was face down so this was a surprise to all of us.  The other funny little surprise is that he came out pooping.  Thomas ended up being 7 lbs. 15 ounces, but the doctor laughed and said he was probably 8 lbs before he pooped haha.  All and all he was perfect.

     I feel so blessed to have Thomas in my life.  It's incredible to feel so much love for such a tiny baby.  You hear that it's love at first sight, but it's such a crazy feeling when it happens.  One minute you have this giant baby bump and then the next minute you're staring at a perfect little child that was just in heaven.  Matt and I would do anything for this little guy.  We are so blessed.  

All psyched and ready to head out haha... totally something Matt would say

40 weeks and 4 days

 Our very first family photo :)

Because I wasn't progressing very fast but was having strong contractions for so long, he had a huge bruise while we were in the hospital. It cleared up pretty quickly but left a little scab for a couple weeks. Poor little buddy.

 Matt and Thomas... my favorite. He is such a sweet daddy.