Hello Dexter, Dexter Richins

First, sorry I didn't get this up when I said I would. I hope y'all can understand, I'm a little tired.

Second, this is long and I do give details. Not too much, but if you are sensitive to things that involve labor and all that, then don't read. Just look at the pictures and say you did. LOL! I'll never know!

So, now for the fun stuff.

On Friday I started contracting around 2:30 in the afternoon. By 6, we called Steve's mom and said we thought this was it. By the time she came down here, they had slowed. And by the time we would have been ready to leave, they had stopped.

Saturday was spent outside soaking up the sunshine and getting out of the house cuz it got hot in here.

No contractions at all.

Sunday morning, I wake up at 5:21 and try to go back to sleep.

I couldn't cuz I went to sleep at 9:30 the night before.

I lay in bed playing on my phone for a while.

Wake up Steve around 6, talk for a bit.

Jake and Teage wake up shortly after that, so Steve goes to play video games with Jake and Teage and I cuddle together for a while.

And that's when the contractions start.

Teage and I cuddle till about 7, when the other kids wake up.

We go out to the living room and decide not to go to church because we have two kids with pink eye, two kids with a cough and a hubby getting over the flu.

Steve makes breakfast, and my contractions are getting stronger.

Seriously, the longest breakfast to eat, because by the time I would get done with one bite, another contraction would come.

After breakfast, I take a shower and get "dressed" (yoga pants and a t shirt).

Steve takes a shower, then takes me for a walk around the block.

The contractions are pretty strong.

So, when we come back we get everything ready to go to the hospital and get stuff packed up for the kids, so when I'm at a 6, my mother-in-law (Marilu) can drop the kids off at a friends house and come help me. When that is all said and done, I'm not really feeling the contractions. Which is normal, but Marilu was pretty much saying that this could just be false or pre-labor and not really it.

Not something I want to hear. So I go lay down and cry because I'm just ready to be done and just can't do this anymore.

Steve gives me a blessing and thinks we should just go to the hospital to "check" and go from there. And that's when the contractions come back.

So we leave.

Get to the hospital and go to the "triage" room to see if I'm really in labor. At 1:45 I was a 3 and still about 50% effaced. So, after watching how the baby deals with my contractions (he didn't like some of the contractions right there are first), I was given the order to walk around the maternity ward for one hour and 15 minutes. *FUN*

We walk, and walk and walk and walk. The nursers were joking with us that we were wearing a path into the floor.

At 4 o'clock I was a 4 and "cruising" into active labor. WooHoo!!! I'm gonna have a baby. But I was pretty sure it would be forever!

As soon as I get into my room and strapped in, the contractions come fast and hard. My BP was high because of that. We discuss an IV. I wasn't planning on getting one because I wanted an all natural birth. But, because of my crappy veins, I get one. The first one, well, it didn't work. So I get another, right at the bend of my arm. It HURT so BAD. I ask for it to be removed. After it was out, SO MUCH BETTER! By the end of all this, I asked to be checked because of how hard and fast everything was, and I was a 5!! In less than an hour!!!

My midwife wasn't on call, so I had a different one that I had never met. I can't really remember the first one's name, but the other one (who actually was there for the delivery) was Helen and she was GREAT!! Things move along. I use the birthing ball a lot. Stand some, sit in the bed to rest. It was soooo wonderful to be able to be in charge of my labor and do WHATEVER I wanted to do. At around 6, I start shaking. So I get checked and I'm a very stretchy 6! Transition!!! We let Marilu know, but she can't come till our friends get home (I think they were having Sunday dinner with a set of parents) at 7:30. After talking to Helen, we think I should give the tub a go. She warned me that it could go really fast because the tub just relaxes you and even though they don't do water births, she has delivered there before. We let Marilu the plans (it's about 7:15) and she was dropping the kids off.

I get in the tub and it's just night and day with the contractions. It was so great!! Marilu shows up, and I'm in there for a little bit longer before the nurses want to check on the baby's heart rate. Take FOREVER and once they are done, the contractions come super hard and fast and I start shaking again. They get me out of the tub ASAP and RUN down the hall to my room. I have to go potty, so I go pee and once I'm done I have a contraction that makes me pee on the floor and Steve. LOL! The nurses tell me that it's like Vegas and what happens there, stays here. LOL!!

I try pushing standing up. That was weird, but that's what my body wanted to do. I remember Helen saying that my back was curved with the baby's head, and he is facing the wrong way. She checks me, and I'm a very stretchy nine, she could stretch my cervix over the head and water sack (yeah, my water still hadn't broken yet) and tells me to push and that would make me go all the way. I do and Dexter turns! Perfect!! But pushing is hard standing up, so I get on the bed and kneel. And I lost my gown at that time. That as not planned, but it was all untied because of the rush out of the tub and I was so hot and it was in the way, that we just took it off. Oh well. But kneeling wasn't working for me, so I say I need to get in the "traditional" doctor lay on your back and push. Only, I don't lay on my back, I'm sitting and my feet are still on the bed. They eventually make it into my husband's, Marilu's and Helen's arms.

And I push and push and push and it seems like forever (but we really think it's only about 20 minutes of pushing) and things aren't just happening like I thought it would. I think because my water still hadn't broken, I was push like two heads out. I kept hitting that wall and couldn't get him past my pelvis and past my cervix. Finally, it happens, and I just can't go anymore. I'm grunting, panting, begging to get him out. Saying I can't do it. I don't want to do it. Why did I go natural? What was I thinking? And I yelled for everyone to shut up. Once it was quiet, I had admitted defeat out loud, Helen quietly says gather your courage, you are strong, you can do this. I let go of my leg, grab for Steve's hand and push with whatever I had left and then some. Out comes the bag of water, then his head. Helen breaks the bag and I push out the rest of Dexter. Grab him and up he comes onto my chest. Seriously the best feeling in the world!

Dexter was born at 8:59 pm on June 5th. He was 7 lbs and 14 oz and was 20.5 inches long. He stayed on my chest for a long time and was able to stay with us the whole time. It was great!

We were able to get everyone to let us out early. We came home less than 24 hours after he was born. It's been great. My mother-in-law is staying until Sunday or Monday morning. Steve is going back to work tomorrow (he's client is just down the road and should be really easy one too) and then taking next week off. 

I couldn't be happier that Dexter is finally here! The kids are taking to him really well. No complaints from anyone! We are all happy he is here!

Ok, now for the good stuff, Dex

 Right after birth

 Look at all that hair!

Going home