Hayden Christopher Roberts
8 lbs 12 oz
21 1/2 inches
10:47 pm August 4th
This is Hayden literally moments after he was born and was put chest to chest with me. What a miraculous moment!!
Bonding as a family for the very first time. I don't think either of us could believe we had a baby!
This is Dad and Hayden after we were transferred from the labor and delivery room to our recovery room.
He was cute and pink right from the start.
This is Hayden and his mommy on our second day at the hospital.
I just could not stop holding him and nursing was going really well right from the start.
Hayden loves to have his hands up by his face - he must have been like that in the womb.
He is just angelic.....and has little rosebud lips.
This is Hayden getting ready to go home from the hospital. He is in his carseat for the first time!
Finally we are HOME! Thank god - we were so ready to just get back to our familiar environment with Hayden. He loves to hang out with his daddy.
He met the dogs and they are all good buddies now. Dallas really is intrigued by him and wants to keep close tabs and kiss his head whenever he gets a chance. Hayden does not seem to mind.
Hayden met his Grammy Mueller when he was 3 days old and it was love at first site for both of them.
The dogs are feeling slightly neglected......but we are trying to include them ;)
Here is our little thinking man.
He is big on facial expressions - he purses his lips and sucks on them - so cute!
Again with his hands up by his face - his favorite thing. He also really likes to suck on his hands whenever mom can't feed him right away.
He loves being held and he snuggles right in.
He loves his grammy.
And here he is all milk drunk with his mom. Everytime he eats he ends up with milk all over his face and then he passes out while I burp him. Pretty funny.
Hayden met Auntie Lisa and Uncle Joe today and was such a good boy.
He looked so tiny in Joe's arms :)
Meeting Mammaw Debbie for the first time when he was 5 days old! Once again, love at first time.
He is becoming so alert at 5 days old - lots of open eyes and funny faces :)
It is so nice to have both grandmas here. He is always in someone's arms.
One of his distinguishing characteristics are his very long fingers and toes.
He had his first pee incident - he peed all over himself, the wall and the changing table in a HUGE arc. It was funny but sad, and it resulted in his first sponge bath with daddy.
Here he is, dressed in his RMS onesie.
And our beautiful baby boy at 6 days old - what an angel.
OUR BIRTH STORY:
We started our day on Saturday at 7 am with crampy contractions every 8 minutes like clockwork. I had a strong suspicion that this was "it". I wanted to keep them coming, so we went to Home Depot to walk around, and I took the dogs to the dog park. By noon they were closer together and quite a bit stronger, and I was having to really stop what I was doing and concentrate to get through them. We waited until 2:30 when they were 3 minutes apart, but manageable, before heading into the hospital. Triage admitted us at at about 4 pm, with contractions every 2 minutes that were starting to get really painful. I was dilated already to 5 cm at that point. This was definitely labor and we were excited and ready for what was to come.
I labored for 3 hours by walking the hallways with Nate and my doula, and then got tired of walking, and labored on my side in the bed for awhile. They wanted to check me at this point and I was really hopefuly that something had progressed b/c I was really in a ton of pain by then. Unfortunately I was only 5 cm :( It was a huge mental blow to me. Nate sent everyone out of the room because he could sense I was holding back my emotions, and I started crying that I needed an epidural. I was done.
Luckily, my midwife came in at that point and was able to convince me to try breaking my waters and laboring in the shower, before resorting to the epi. She said she expected me to progress quickly once my waters were broken. I agreed, and labored really well in the shower for about an hour. It really helped take the edge off of the contractions, and I was really focused. Unfortunately I had to come out to be monitored, and at that point I lost my cool completely. I had broken my focus and rhythm, and once again begged for an epi as the news was delivered that I was at 6+ cm. It had only been an hour, but I still felt like I should have progressed farther for some reason....even though realistically that was pretty good progress, and my midwife knew that.
Now once again my amazing midwife saved the day. I was super anxious at that point and borderline panicky, begging for the epi. She knew my wish to go naturally, and also knew I was entering transition and would naturally get panicky and doubt myself. Honestly, the fear and anxiety were worse than the pain. She told me I would need a half hour worth of IV fluids before I could get the epi, and in the meantime I needed to really get ahold of myself and find a way to focus through the contractions. She also put a little fentynol in the IV that she said would help my anxiety and possibly take the peak off of the contractions. Then she stayed with me, and rubbed my back while I labored standing next to the bed, leaning over onto it. Nate and my doula took turns rubbing my back, and they all quietly conversed with me between contractions. I’m not sure what it was – probably the combo of the IV painkiller and the diligence and confidence of my midwife, but I suddenly felt very capable of continuing without the epidural. The contractions were certainly still painful, but my anxiety level went way down.
I labored that way, leaning over the bed with Nate rubbing my lower back, for about an hour and a half and I began to really start vocalizing through the contractions to deal with them. Instincts were definitely kicking in by that point. My midwife had left the room earlier, and came back to find me squatting and moaning through each contraction and I told her I had an urge to push. I was 8+ cm then, with a lip of cervix in the front. She told me to go ahead and trust my instincts, and push a bit. So I pushed lightly in various positions while being coached by the nurse and supported by Nate who was extremely encouraging, because I kept thinking and saying that I couldn't do it anymore and I wasn't sure how to push properly. I still wanted an epidural at that point because I was becoming very scared of pushing, however I knew I was well past the point of no return.
Well once I started seriously pushing on the table, everything happened very quickly. My nurse was yelling at me to STOP while urgently calling for my midwife. She got there just in time, and with one big push, he was crowning!! I was in pain and was so scared at that point, and refusing to look down even though everyone was telling me what was happening. She made me slow down and basically I grunted his head out slowly....and then I was persuaded to look down and there he was!! I slowly pushed his shoulders out and then boom he was on my chest. Oh my god – such a miracle!!!
Altogether, my labor was 16 hours, with only about 5 hours of serious pain, and I went from 5 cm to crowning in 3 ½ hours. I only seriously pushed for about 10 – 15 minutes. I had no tears, no episiotomy, and I was up walking around, and eating, within 1 hour of delivering Hayden. It was awesome. I couldn’t have asked for a better labor and delivery ;) Even though it was painful, looking back I wouldn't change the experience in any way - it was such a miracle and I will always remember every moment of Hayden entering this world in such a natural way.
Hayden is doing SO well and I just am more in love then I ever thought I could be. He has very mild fussy moments when he is hungry, but he soothes pretty easily, and he is just the cutest little guy ever. I’m so happy to have him home now, and I just LOVE watching Nate with him. He is so proud. And the dogs are doing wonderfully. They love him and are curious, but not scared or aggressive at all. It just all feels so normal to be a family and to have him here!!
Thanks for lookin!
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