Birth story + Thomas' first week of life

10 days ago my life changed. 10 days ago I became the happiest person in the world. 10 days ago my little Tommy baby was born. Honestly, I can't believe it has only been 10 days. It seems like I have known my little guy for an eternity. I can't even remember what my life was like without him. He has made Matt and I so incredibly happy. I become overwhelmed with emotion when I look at how perfect he is. I could just sit all day holding him and starring at his little tiny features.

Love

I wanted to share the birth story while it is fresh on my mind. As probably most of you know I went 9 days past my due date. When I went in to my appointment the Monday after my due date the midwife I saw suggested we set an induction date for the following Saturday (November 24). If you read my previous post you know that I wasn't super excited about being induced but either way, I was excited to meet my little guy.

On Friday, the night before the induction, Matt and I went over to my parent's house to hang out and play games with my family. I was glad we went over there because it took my mind off of how nervous I was for the events the following day. Matt and I left my dad's around 10 so we could try and get a good night's sleep before the induction at 7:30 the next morning.

To say that I had a rough night was an understatement. I was so nervous and anxious. I didn't fall asleep until midnight and then I woke up every single hour. Each hour I woke up very uncomfortable. I would get up, go to the bathroom, and walk around for a second until I felt better. I figured I was just super nervous for the morning. It wasn't until I woke up at 4:30 that I realized I was having contractions. I had been contracting for days before that so I didn't really think much of it. I just laid in bed and timed them. They were consistently 6 minutes apart and they were getting stronger. I woke Matt up at 5:30 and told him I was contracting. The contractions quickly became very strong and only 3 minutes apart. I was pacing around the house and whenever a contraction came I would tell Matt, he would start timing them, and I would sit down because they were too strong to walk through.

I told Matt I wanted to wait until 7:30 to go to the hospital because then if I wasn't in real labor they would just induce me like they were planning on doing. But at about 6 I felt like we should head up. Matt ran around the house gathering our last minute items that we needed. We then got in the car and matt sped up to the hospital.

Matt's parking job. I didn't even notice it but I am so glad Sam did and got a pic. 

By the time we got to the U the contractions were killing me. Matt was so sweet and patient with me as I stopped every few seconds for another contraction. When we got up to labor and delivery they checked me and I was dilated to a 6.

Most of my pregnancy I had felt like I wanted to get an epidural. But for some reason just a week or so before my due date I decided I really wanted to go natural. At this point in labor I was starting to feel like I was crazy and really started wanting an epidural. Thanks to a sweet nurse, my Matty, and some counter pressure I was able to make it through without an epidural.

We got to the room that I would be delivering in and I got hooked up to an IV because I was pretty dehydrated. It took 3 pokes but they found a vein that worked and got the IV going. The thing that saved me throughout the labor was the bathtub. I had heard that a bathtub does wonders during labor. Well.. its true. It was so nice. I laid in the tub up until it was time to start pushing.

For me, the pushing stage was by FAR the worst part of labor. My little Tommy baby was stuck under my pelvis so I ended up pushing for 3 and1/2 hours. It. was. misery. Honestly. There is no other way to describe it. The first hour wasn't so bad but after that I lost my energy, my motivation, and I truly didn't think I could do it.

They thought Thomas was going to be pretty big and they felt like if I got his head past my pelvis he would be stuck at his shoulders. So the midwife called in a team of people to be waiting in case that happened. There were probably about 10 doctors in the room waiting for me to push out Thomas' head.

As I was pushing I noticed my midwife talking with an OB and I could tell something was wrong. They came back and told me that the baby's head was really swollen from being stuck for so long. They said that they would give me three more contractions to get him out and if he was still stuck they would have to take him by C-section.

They took a mirror and showed me just how close he was. I saw the top of my little guy's head, I felt it with my hand, said a prayer that I could have the strength to do this and 7 minutes later, at 1:37 pm, the world became a better place.

Proud papa

Because of the swelling in his head they had to quickly check him out and make sure he was ok. They had him at a table near my bed and there were doctors surrounding him. Every few seconds I would catch a glimpse of this perfect little human. I was laughing and crying and kissing my husband. My midwife told me that If I would have gotten an epidural they would have had to do a c section because I wouldn't have been able to push as hard as I needed to in order to get him out. I think that I was prompted to want to go naturally so that I wouldn't have to end up getting a c-section. Tender mercies.

Finally I got to hold my sweet boy and let me tell you what, it was love at first sight. Since then I have barely been able to put him down. I love snuggling with him and starring at all of his perfect little features. There truly are no words to describe the love I have for him. I thank my Father in Heaven for blessing me and trusting me with such a sweet spirit. He is the best baby. He rarely cries and when he does it is so easy to soothe him. He loves to suck his little hand. He LOVES to snuggle on mamas chest. But I'm pretty sure I love it even more than he does. He is usually awake and alert for a lot of the day and I love watching him look around and learn about the new and big world that he is now a part of. I love when he makes eye contact with me and just stares at me like he is starting to recognize that I am his mama.

I was looking at myself in the mirror the other day and I realized that I'm a mom. A mom. And I will be for the rest of my existence. I can't even believe it. But I also couldn't be prouder to be a mom. Specifically to be the mother of Thomas Matthew Weiler.

I love you, Thomas. My life feels so much more complete with you in it. In your short mortal existence you have made me and your dad so so happy. I can't wait to watch you grow and learn. Just promise me you will never grow out of mama baby snuggle time, ok?

The Weilers. Couldn't be happier.