Our birth story

Well, it's time to write about the birth of Liam before I forget all the wonderful details.

Our story begins on the 4th of July.
That evening, during the firework celebration, I started having regular contractions. They started out every 10 minutes or so and progressed to every 5 minutes by the next morning. They didn't really hurt that bad, they were just uncomfortable.
We decided to go into Labor and Delivery to get checked out. After spending an hour hooked up to the machines, I was released with orders to "drink more fluids". I was a tad dehydrated and they brought on some Braxton Hicks contractions.
I was a little let-down. I really thought maybe I'd be meeting my son finally.

You can tell I wasn't in too much pain yet.

So these BH contractions lasted for the next several days with no rhyme or reason to them. It was finally getting hot in Oregon (in the upper 80's) so I spent a lot of time down at the pool.

Tuesday, July 10th, we went swimming yet again. Right when we were about to leave I started having more contractions but this time they were hurting more. They were still spaced apart with no pattern to them and I was able to breathe through the pain.

4 am, July 11th... Contractions had lasted through the night but now I was having ones that hurt really bad. I had to get out of bed and rock myself back and forth just to get through the pain. They were every 20 minutes and the on-call midwife said to wait until they were every 5 minutes and then I could come in. By 8 am I couldn't stand it anymore and they had progressed to every 5 minutes so I woke up Chad and said "it's time!"

We got to the hospital and got hooked up to the machines. My contractions were off the charts they were so strong. When they checked me I was already 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced. I was officially in active labor and having this baby! I called my mom and she came to the hospital to be with us. After a few agonizing hours they moved us from triage to our labor and delivery room. I had decided by this point that the natural birth plan I had wanted for months wasn't going to happen, I wanted that epidural. I didn't know how painful it would be and his head was so low that the pressure was indescribable. They checked me again and I had progressed to 6 cm and 90%. They called for the anesthetition and he came to put in the epidural. I was going so fast that I almost missed my chance for one. I was shocked at how smooth and easy the procedure was. My mom stayed with me... Chad doesn't do needles well. I curled up into a ball and barely felt anything. When it was over I felt relief and was able to relax. The epidural slowed my labor down, as I knew it would, but I refused to allow them to give me pitocin to pick it back up. I was able to rest for a couple hours.

This was pain!

Getting to our room from Triage.

My mom, gramma, and sister keeping me company.

Blurry picture of Chad and I taking a nap.

Then we had our scare. Liam's heart rate dropped and the doctors sprung into action. I was put on oxygen and the made me flip onto my hands and knees to relieve the pressure on my baby. I was thankful that I had a relatively low dose of pain meds and was able to control my legs still. They kept throwing out that I may need an emergency c-section. Although I know that I would do anything to keep my baby safe, I truly did not want to have major surgery. After some time his heart rate returned to normal and I took a break laying on my left side.

They checked me again and I was 9+ cm and 100 % effaced. It was almost time to start pushing. The nurse decided to have me flip over to rest on my right side... and the second scare began. Baby's heart rate dropped again and this time they rushed the doctor in. My midwife was in the middle of assisting with a c-section so the on-call doctor ended up being with us. It was time to get this baby out! We got all set up and with four good pushes and some help with a vacuum extractor, baby was born at 3:29pm. I was so thankful for the doctor's experience and knowledge. If it were someone else I probably would have ended up in surgery. I ended up with a 2nd degree tear but my baby was safe and that's all that matters. They immediately put him up on my bare belly for some skin-to-skin contact. They cleaned him up a little and we tried nursing. He latched on right away and ate his first meal. Then he spent some time skin-to-skin with Chad. We hadn't completely decided on his name yet but after a while of looking at his precious face we chose Liam Robert Griffiths.

Giving a practice push

And he's here!

First kisses.

Our happy little family.

After about an hour of special family time, we let everyone else come to meet him. He also got weighed, measured, had his first bath, and ate again.

Meeting Grandma Jamie

Auntie Patty

He also met Great Gramma Margie, Papa Jay, and cousins Maddie and Austin... my camera memory filled and I haven't gotten those pics off my mom's phone yet.

He didn't like getting measured.

Daddy never left his side.

His first bath.

There were a ton of babies born that day so it took a couple hours to get moved to our room. We stayed two days and it was filled with visitors, getting to know Liam, and trying to get some rest. I enjoyed our stay but we were ready to get home and try this parenting thing on our own.

You can see his swollen head in this photo. It went down right away.

Meeting Mary.

Meeting Loralei

Cousin Maddie loves me so much!

Eating like a champ!

Our first night together.

Napping with Daddy

I knitted him this blanket.

Showing off his pretty blue eyes.

Getting dressed to go home.

He loves his Daddy. And I think Daddy loves him too :)

2 days old and he's already got a strong neck.

Ready to face the world.

Getting in the car seat for the first time.

His first car ride. He loved it!