Rhett’s Birth Story and the Aftermath

Well most of you probably already know this, but I finally had my baby! This post will be the birth story (I’ll try to keep is as non-gross as possible) and how we’ve been doing since.

At 3 am on January 2nd, I started having contractions.

After weeks of false labor, I didn’t even bother timing them. They felt real enough, and I was ready to not be pregnant anymore, so in my mind that baby was going to be born tonight one way or another. When we got to the hospital I was dilated to a 4, and they didn’t want to admit me to the hospital until I was a little further along so they had me walk the halls until my labor made some more progress. It only took about 30 minutes before they gave me a room.

Active labor was super easy.

The contractions hurt, but they were very manageable. Laying in the bed made the contractions more painful, so I ended up using a yoga ball to sit on and that was amazing. It made things so much better! We actually got bored at this point because my labor was progressing so slowly. It was hours before my doctor came in and broke my water, and even after she did that, it was a while before I moved into transition. I thought this labor and delivery was going to be quicker and easier because it was my second baby, but that definitely wasn’t the case.

Transition was hell.

It took my body another few hours to dilate from an 8 to a 10, and I have never felt a more intense pain. I didn’t know it was possible for a perfectly healthy person to feel so much pain without dying. I threw up several times during contractions, and they had to give me oxygen to keep me from passing out. After 10 long hours (total), I started begging for pain medicine. I was told I could have an epidural, but the procedure would take 15 minutes and then another 45 minutes to kick in. I didn’t think I could make it another hour, so I resorted to screaming at the top of my lungs and they finally decided to let me start pushing. About 20 minutes later, Huge-O was born. Ok, that’s not his real name. We decided to call him Rhett, and he weighed a whopping 9lbs, 4oz. I know there have been bigger babies, but they estimated that my baby would be between 5 and 7 pounds. So I was shocked. No wonder labor and delivery was so hard! I was SO sore afterwards. I couldn’t even walk without help. Recovery has been a little slower than I’d like, but I’m getting there.

Not the most flattering picture of me, but Kender and Rhett are adorable <3

After I had Kender, I had really intense anxiety that eventually lead to postpartum depression. I took some preventative measures this time around and it seemed I had escaped it for the first month, but I guess you can only survive on naps for so long when you have a history of depression before it starts up again. The phrase “It takes a village to raise a child” really makes sense to me now. We are fortunate enough to live with my in-laws, and I don’t know what we would do without them. Whenever I’m struggling, they drop what they’re doing to help me. Kender adores them, and Rhett is only 6 weeks old so he doesn’t really care who holds him as long as he gets fed (lol).

Cutie Pie!

I’m one of those people who always compares my weaknesses to other people’s strengths. I forget that everyone struggles, and I start to feel like I’m the only one who can’t seem to get it together. I’m so grateful for the love and support of all the people in my life. Thank you so much for showing me that I don’t have to suffer alone, and that together we can help make each other stronger. You know who you are

I’m so grateful for Ryan. That poor guy has to put up with a lot from me, but he loves me despite all of my many flaws. He is such an amazing husband and father. We are so blessed to have him in our lives. I’m so grateful for my sweet boys, whose snuggles and hugs always lift my spirits. Life is hard, but my heart is full <3