Gratitude

As a side note, Travis and I are so very grateful for all the help and support we have received from friends and family during the first few weeks of Skyler's life. It was much needed and appreciated! Love you all!

Skyler has arrived!

Wednesday, February 15 I had my check-up appointment with Dr Jones. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, baby Skyler was doing good and as far as we knew he'd be arriving around the expected March 10 due date. That weekend Travis and I were planning on going to West Jordan to celebrate his birthday with the Plott family. At almost 37 weeks, Dr. Jones said that we would be fine and to make sure it was our last out of town trip until baby arrived. Well Feb 16 rolled around and Travis headed off to work. I awoke and spent the majority of the morning in bed due to pelvic pressure that caused pain when I walked. This wasn 't anything new, but I was a little nervous to leave town. I called Michelle my other dr. and she told me to come in and she'd check me to ease my mind. I had yet to be checked before and so I was quite nervous. It was about 4:30 when I went to the hospital, and I called my visiting teachers to let them know I'd be home at 5:30 for our meeting but might be a few minutes late. I arrived at the hospital where Michelle proceeded to check me and see how far I had progressed, if any. To all of our surprise, she couldn't tell how dilated I was due to Skyler's head being so far down in my pelvis and against my cervix. It took 3 dr.'s and an ultrasound to discover I was almost 3 cm dilated and fully effaced. They then told me that I would not be traveling over the weekend, in fact I wouldn't even be going home! "you're going to have this baby" they say. Well I just sat there shocked, I didn't even register what was going on til later. So they put me on a stretcher and off to the delivery room I went. By this time, I had called Travis and after he arrived home from work he rode his bike to the hospital to meet me. We were both surprised I would be having Skyler so early, we didn't even have a hospital bag packed or anything! So here we are in the delivery room where I got hooked up to an IV and monitors. I was having consistant contractions about every minute and a half to two minutes, but they weren't unbearable. Dr. Jones arrived after 8:00 pm and said, "well isn't this a surprise?" lol. Yes it was, and so he checked me and I was still about a 3. He mentioned that we would be in no hurry to deliver, where I was so early, so we spent the night in the hospital just waiting for further instruction. The next morning came and my contractions had slowed down and were less painful as well. Dr. Jones came in sometime around 8 or 9 and checked me again, still at about a 3. He had reviewed the ultrasounds and decided there was no worry in delivering this early and we could go ahead and progress the labor. He stripped my membranes and that put me at a 4 and caused my contractions to pick up again. They hurt more than before but I was managing them just fine with a little focus. Dr. Jones suggested that we could have the baby earlier and he would break my water, but I needed to mentally prepare myself. I was so excited to have Skyler here but at the same time I was so nervous for the pain and all. Well I bit the bullet and said 11:00 you can break my water. So 11 am comes around and  I was still at a 4. Dr. Jones then broke my water and I had a quick feeling of relief, that is until the next contraction. Each contraction after my water broke was EXCRUCIATING! I was shaking, and having panic attacks. My back my uterus and everything were in pain. I had oxygen, and trouble I feel due to athsma and panic. It only took 30 min for me to get an epidural. So much for the natural method. lol. What a relief though, after the epidural I didn't feel any pain at all and was able to relax, which is good since I still had a ways to go. After that, Dr. Jones came in every few hours only to find that I still hadn't progressed at all. He said he very rarely can stretch someone the whole way the way he did me. My uterus had given up and I couldn't dilate at all on my own. So he stretched me from 4 to a 5, then a few hours later he was able to stretch me to a 7. He said it was a very unusual delivery. I still wasn't dilating at all and so about 5:15pm he came in and said, "you are so thin (effaced) and the head is so low, I think we can stretch you to a 10 with some pushes". Wow, this was it, this was the end and I had no idea what to expect. With only a few practice pushes I was at a 10. Then the Dr and nurses got ready and I began to push for real. For a total of 45 min from the time I was a 7 I pushed until little Skyler was born at 6:07 pm Feb. 17 2012. He was 6.6 lbs and 20 inches long. He was the cutest baby I had ever seen, and began breathing on his own as soon as he came out. Travis watched him get cleaned for a bit, then with concern came by my side as the Dr stitched up my 2nd degree tear due to an episiotomy. I didn't feel anything but the pressure of Skyler's head as he slowly moved his way down and out. Thank goodness for that epidural. After what seemed like a million stitches I held my baby boy for the first time! I didn't know what to expect, but it was amazing how quickly I reverted to mommy mode. I was no longer afraid to hold him or change him, or raise him. I immediately felt comfort and blessed. Both daddy and I love Skyler Dean Plott so very much, he couldn't be any more perfect. I felt great after only 1 week of healing, and Skyler has been such a good, chill boy. We are finally a family of 3 and feel blessed beyond words for the little miracle that entered our lives and hearts!