Baby Micah has arrived! My labor...

Yet again, it has been a long time since I last posted. That is because my life has pretty much completely changed, for the better!

I felt "different" for about five days before Micah arrived. At that time, I was sure he would be here any day. Each day that passed was disappointing because as I was growing bigger, I was getting more and more uncomfortable. Two weeks prior to his arrival, I couldn't even find it in me to swim, so I was down to only walking. The marathon trainer suddenly found a workout in walking…what!?

Now if you don't want to hear all about womanly issues, now is the time to stop reading. I am going to talk to you about my labor and delivery. If you know me, you know that I give too much information...

At 3:20 a.m. I felt a strange wetness, so I got up and ran to the bathroom. There I saw that I was dripping…YES! my water had broke! Calling Conrad into the bathroom, he glares at me and says that we have time and we don't need to go into the hospital, or call triage. Of course, me being me, I started Googling and found out that I needed to ask triage what their recommendation was. The doctor on call told me to go in, and it only took me an hour to get Conrad to the hospital. If I was in pain, I would have been LIVID :). Everything I read said that, "I would know if I was having real contractions!" In fact, everyone I talked to said the same thing. When I got to the hospital they checked me and I was between 2-3 cm dilated, and still 75% effaced, however they did tests and verified that the liquid I felt was, in fact, amniotic fluid (Conrad doubted me because the last time I thought it was, and it was only pee). Also, they hooked me up to a bunch of wires and found that I was having contractions five minutes apart, and they were very consistent.

They admitted me, and since my water broke, I was unable to do any of the things I wanted to do prior to delivery: no walking around, no bathtub, and no birthing ball for me! We called my parents and let them know so that they could make the 3 1/2 hour drive, and be there for the labor (hey! at least it wasn't in the middle of the night!) We waited a little while before calling Conrad's parents because there was no reason to get them worked up, because who knew how long it would take? I was sent into one of the labor rooms, and let me tell you how impressed I was with the nurses at Presbyterian downtown! If anyone wants a recommendation, I would 100% say that the nurses there are AMAZING. I will definitely have my next child there! Anyway, the nurses told me that I probably had a while so I could just hang tight. I had Group B Strep (this was nerve-wracking), so I was put on Penicillin, and since my water  broke, I also had to take antibiotics (lovely). They decided that it was best to make my contractions stronger, and not let me exceed the 24-hour mark (because of the chance of infection with my water breaking), so they put me on Pitocin. There I was hooked up to all of these wires, plus the ones that monitored my contractions, and Micah's heartbeat. Any time I had to use the restroom I had to get help up (awesome). We sat around, and text messaged our friends. The nurses came in and talked to us about things, asked what I wanted to do and I told them I wanted an epidural when I started feeling pain because I especially didn't want to feel the pushing part (AT ALL).

My parents arrived around 10, and then Steph and Jalen came, as well. Steph was also there to support me through the labor.

The doctor checked me around this time and I was 4 cm, and she noticed that all of my water hadn't broken, so she broke the rest of it. Next, they upped the Pitocin to 10 units. I started feeling the contractions almost immediately around 10:30-11 a.m. and BOY OH BOY did they hurt!
The nurse came in and asked if I could wait for the epidural because there was an emergency C-section. I said that I could probably wait an hour (because how was I to know?).

Approximately an hour had passed and I was in a lot of pain. I asked for alternative pain medication, so they gave me narcotics. The narcotics did nothing except for making me feel delirious and ridiculous. I would not take them again. Thank you very much.

The nurse came back in and told me that she had some bad news. The C-section was lasting longer than they thought it would, and they wouldn't be finished for another hour or so. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe that I would have to be in this much pain for another hour!

More time had passed and I started feeling the urge to push. I told the nurses and they kind of blew me off, because who goes from a four to a 10 in an hour and a half? When the next contraction came, I had my mom go and get the nurses and tell them that I wasn't joking. The nurse came in and checked me and verified that I was indeed a 10, and I was ready to push! I looked at Conrad and I said, "What am I going to do!? I cannot get an epidural now at all!!" He told me that I was going to have to suck it up and do it.
They had my mom grab one leg, Stephanie grab the other, Conrad decided to be my coach at my side, and my dad went behind me to countdown how long I was supposed to hold my breath and push! Let me just tell you, I don't think I could have done it without these four people. NO WAY. After 17 minutes, Micah Avery Ley had arrived, weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces, and 20 inches long!
The last push was scary because the doctor was starting to get nervous. She said I HAD to get him out on that push, and I did.

The last four weeks have been a great learning experience. I never thought breastfeeding would be so difficult, and as Conrad always says, it isn't that difficult for me. I have had an oversupply and Micah chokes a lot, and I've been trying to deal with that. It is hard to know what is normal with absolutely no experience. Everything I read says he should be nursing at least 10 minutes on each side, and I have him feeding on one breast for less than 10 minutes every time. I have learned that not everyone fits into the "most" category (apparently). This whole experience isn't one of the average person. Micah gained two pounds at his two week appointment and had grown 1/2 an inch. This told me that I was successful at breastfeeding. I won't see the doctor for another month, so I worry, of course, that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. Conrad consistently tells me that he is growing and that he is fine.
"FIRST TIME MOM, EVERYBODY!" Conrad jokes.
Having Micah has been the biggest blessing. It makes life so meaningful. He has been so great, and stressful at the same time! :) His daddy and I think he is the cutest baby on earth! We have been very fortunate and blessed.
I don't know what I would do without Conrad. He is such a great daddy. He takes care of Micah so much, and has just been a natural, cool, calm, and collected as he told me when we first met. His support has made this experience so much easier. He was also the best birthing coach I could have asked for. Who needs a doula when you have Conrad?
Also, my parents and Stephanie were AWESOME. I am so glad that they were there for this experience. God has truly blessed our family.

Cousins meeting for the first time-3 weeks apart!

As far as running goes, I am going to start walking and jogging today! What better day to start than New Year's Day!? By the end of the month, hopefully I can run 3 miles, or at least run/walk three miles. I will start half marathon training at the end of January. It feels great to almost be on a schedule again. Micah and I will go on the short runs together, and on Saturdays I will do my longer runs, so Conrad will watch Micah. I hope it works out. Even doing chores have been difficult for me, so pushing myself to exercise may be hard to do, too. I'll be back to talk all things baby and running…yet again!

PS Do you think I am clever because my blog started and ended with "yet again"?