Born on the 4th of July

It all started early morning on the third. I woke up having painful and consistent contractions. I had been having them on and off all week so I didn't really think much of it. I figured that I probably just need to drink more water and went about my day like nothing was wrong. We had some friends over, played at the park, had a nice dinner, and stayed up past midnight watching Sons of Anarchy on instant netflix. 

The next morning I woke up still having contractions. I threw on some gym clothes and power walked on my treadmill for an hour while Boz made me breakfast. When I was done I plopped down on the couch to fart around the internet for awhile. I could really feel the contractions pretty strong at this point, so I opened up a contraction timer to see if they were close enough together for me to be concerned. I didn't say anything to Boz because I didn't want him to get worried over nothing. An hour went by and the contractions were coming every 5 min. I thought maybe I was just over thinking it and decided to time them for another hour ONLY pushing the start button when I was 100% sure that it was a real contraction. When the hour was up the contractions were coming every three minutes. I let Boz know what was up and we called the hospital together.

I'm terrified of going to the hospital/doctors. I'm always so worried that whatever I think is wrong with me is just in my head and the doctors are going to laugh at me and send me home. I hate the idea that I might be taking time away from someone else who might actually need serious help. This thought process has gotten me in trouble a few times. 

It's hard to talk when you're having a contraction, and they sure ask you a lot of questions when you're calling the hospital. It got me really flustered, and I had a hard time pulling my head together for the most simple questions. 

operator: "How far along are you?"

me: "uh.....pregnant? .....um....full term-ish....I think"

We were told to come in right away but to head to the emergency room since it was a holiday and the normal hospital check-in spots would be closed. 

We packed up our darling Clementine and headed over to my Mom and Dad's to drop her off. 

Clementine in her 4th of July best!

We got to the hospital around 4pm and were surprised to find out that not only did we not have a proper c-section date (we already knew this) but the hospital had no record of our pregnancy at all.

They took us into a small room and hooked me up to a fetal heart rate monitor and a contraction monitor. They hooked the contraction monitor up wrong at first so it wasn't registering anything and I thought my hospital nightmare was coming true. I thought that it was all in my head and everybody was going to laugh at me, but when the nurse came in to check it and put it in the right spot it started registering contractions immediately! I was stoked to know I hadn't lost my mind.

STOKED!

Contractions were coming hard every three minutes. They were having a hard time getting in contact with my doctor who was out of town with her family for the holiday, and no other doctor wanted to touch me without the OKAY from my doctor. Since I was supposed to be having a c-section, the fact that I was in proper labor with no doctor to give the thumbs up for surgery was pretty bad. I was screwed.

They gave me an IV hoping that I was just dehydrated and maybe fluids would slow things down long enough to find my doctor. They blew out a vein on my left hand on their first try, and it took two more tries in my right hand to get things done.

like a boss

Around 6pm it was pretty clear that the IV wasn't slowing things down, so they decided to give me a shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions completely. HOLY SHIT that stuff is THE WORST! I was shaking like a crackhead and I felt like my heart was about to beat out of my chest. Worst part of it is that my contractions were STILL COMING hard as ever. When the drug wore off the nurse came in and gave me another shot. When she left I started bawling. That drug made me feel like I was about to die. I couldn't believe I was going to have to go through that again.

They brought some paperwork in for me to fill out but I could hardly function through the contractions alone, now add to that bruised up hands from the fail IVs and the fact that my whole body was shaking like a tambourine from the demon drugs they kept giving me, I couldn't even hold a pen.

♥ my hero ♥

It was around 9pm when the phone rang in our room. Boz answered it, and I could tell by the relieved look on his face that IT WAS OUR DOCTOR!! He told her everything that was going on, and I had him apologize for us possibly ruining her holiday. She said that she was out of town with family, but she was on her way and would be at the hospital around 10:30!

THIS WAS THE GREATEST NEWS EVER!

The nurses came back in the room and told us that they were going to keep trying their best to make the contractions stop so I could just go home, like that was some kind of favor they were doing for me. Like that was something I might want after being in labor all day. The thought of them making the contractions stop, sending me home, and possibly going into labor the next day and having to do this all over again was horrifying, and absolutely NOT something that I wanted.

10:30 rolled around and my doctor poked her head in our room, asked us how we were feeling about everything that was going on, and told us to hold on just a few more minutes.

A few minutes passed and she came in again. She told us that the nurses had just switched shifts, and that she was ready to do this if we were! I was SHOCKED and SO HAPPY! We were pretty much convinced that after all this drama we were going to get sent home anyway, Boz had even started packing up our stuff., so this was AMAZING news!

Things moved really quickly from there.

they brought in some scrubs for boz


I got a few more battle scars because they needed to do some PreOp blood work. We called all of our parents to let them know what was going on, and ♥ I got to talk to my darling Clementine! ♥ which totally made my night. Boz's Dad and Step mom came by. It was so nice to see family before I went into the OR, even though things were totally hectic so I didn't get to see them much.

Surgery was WAY more scary this time. When I had Clementine I was so out of it from how awful our labor was, anything felt better than what I had been feeling previously. This time I was much more aware of what was going on, and I could feel every tug, pull, and pinch. No pain, but a lot of jerky movement and blood spurts hitting the sheet that was covering my face.

When they pulled him out Boz peeked over the curtain and the first words out of his mouth were "Oh my god, his balls are HUGE!" I'm pretty sure that if I wasn't numb from the waist down with a catheter in I probably would have peed myself with laughter.

Bowie was born at 11:42 pm on the 4th of July! He weighed 8 lbs 4 oz, and measured 20.5 inhces long.

Boz brought him around the curtain for me so I could see him before he went to be cleaned up and measured.  I didn't get to see Clementine for over an hour after she was born, so this was an awesome surprise. I just laid there glowing while they put me back together. I was just so happy that he was here and that he was healthy.

When I was whole again they wheeled me off to my recovery room. A few minuets later Boz came in with Bowie to hang out with me. I got to hold him and feed him for the first time. It was pretty magical.

Bowie showing his appreciation for all of the hard work I put into breastfeeding.

less than a day old and already a total  punk.

Breastfeeding came so easily for us! I was worried because a lot of my friends have had problems breastfeeding recently. I would have been devastated if I didn't get that same bonding time with Bowie that I did With Clementine.

proud papa

exhausted mama

I hadn't eaten since breakfast on the 4th, but since I just had surgery it was going to be another 12+ hours before I'd get to eat something, and even then I only got liquids.

Boz slept on a pullout chair in my room :3

Bowie slept through the night, but we had to keep waking him up every two hours to feed him and check his diaper.

The next day was like a dream. Partly because They had me doped up on painkillers, but mostly because it was just so wonderful. Bowie is such a rad little nugget! He doesn't really cry at all. He just lets out a little squeak every now and again to let you know he wants something, then he just sits there and waits for it. It's kind of adorable.

our handsome little man

his adorable little feet

long fingers :3

cutie puppy slippers

Pretty soon after lunch people started coming to visit

Boz's Dad and Step Mom

Boz's Mom and her boyfriend Pete

Boz's little brother Sean

my Mommy

and Daddy

AND MY CLEMENTINE!!!

She was so gentle with him :3

She kept commenting on how tiny and Q-T he is. She was wearing her "big sister" shirt to go with his "little brother" onesie, and when I asked her what her shirt said she pointed to the words and told me "It says, I. Love. Bowie!"

My BFFs Shannon, Pitty, and Veronica all came to visit too! Pitty made Bowie this OWL-dorable  (thanks for the new word Kiki) blanket, and Shanon and Veronica brought me a David Bowie shirt, and a tiny shirt for my Bowie that says "Stewed, screwed and tattooed" with some old sailor Jerry art on it. It's all very us.

We spent a total of three days in the hospital. We would have liked to stay one more day so I could get my staples out there, but I guess our insurance counts any time after the baby is born as a full day, and since Bowie was born 20 minuets before midnight those 20 minuets counted as a full day, so we had to leave Thursday afternoon and drive to the clinic on Friday to have my staples out.

As the days went on in the hospital Bowie became more alert and he personality started to shine. He is seriously SO much like Clementine when she was a tiny nugget. All of the same strange little things she used to do he does too.

That pacifier with the giraffe stuck to it is called a WubbaNub. Clementine had one with a pink horse on it  and it was the only pacifier that she would take. Bowie is the same way.

He sleeps like us too

We can't really tell what color his eyes are yet, but they're quite a bit darker than Clementine's were when she  was born, so I've got my fingers crossed that they end up hazel like mine :3

All in all, I'm really happy with the way everything went. All of the doctors and nurses were SUPER nice to us, and told us over and over again that we were their favorite patients.

AND I ALMOST FORGOT!

Boz surprised me with a "Thanks for having my baby" gift......

LITA'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

how amazing is my man?
the most amazing.

To celebrate Bowie being in our lives we're having a little coupon code sale on our Little Bow Chic line! Use the coupon code "BOWIE" to receive 10% off on all orders from now until the end of July!

we're so happy to be home and I can't wait to update again SOON with more pictures of my handsome little man! He is seriously a dream come true <3