Birth of my son

I started having back pains in the early morning of July 7th. My due date was the 11th so I knew this might be labor. By 8am the pain in my back was so bad I could barely walk around. Peter decided to go do some yard work and said he would check on me around lunchtime. I wasn't sure if I was in labor since all the pain was in my back but I couldn't think what else would hurt that bad!  I eased my way around the house, getting my things together and trying to distract myself.
Peter came inside a little after one and I told him that I thought "it was time" and that we needed to go to the hospital.
He said "OK, let me go finish up a few things outside and then I'll come in and get ready".
My response was "NO, you need to get ready NOW!" 
So he hopped in the shower and we left for the hospital.

When we got to the hospital we walked to the nurses station and a nurse asked "can I help you?"  At that point the pain was so bad I could barely speak, so in a squeaky voice I said
"I think I might be in labor",
"when is your due date?" 
"the 11th"
At that point an older nurse came over, took one look at me and said
"put her in a room, she is having a baby today!" 
So, they got me settled in a room and started the process of getting everything hooked up and ready to go. I couldn't tell how far apart my contractions were because it was all back pain. I wasn't crazy about having an epidural but the doctor on call convinced me to get one. He told me that I needed some relief or I was going to be too worn out to deliver. They gave me the epidural but it didn't really help. With the epidural they give you some pain medication, the pain meds helped but the epidural never took, my legs were never even numb or heavy.
I'll fast forward through the next few hours, the delivery was very difficult but fortunately I had a great delivery nurse, she saved me, stayed right in my face and kept me focused when I really thought I was going to die.
My son, Wythe Carrington Rightmyer was born at 9:59 that evening. As soon as he came out he started shrieking this ear piercing shriek, not the typical newborn cry. The doctor had to leave the room for a bit, he said the screaming was getting to him!  I experienced that euphoria that really can't be explained you are so focused on this baby that just came out of you that you are almost completely unaware of anything else. You want to cry, laugh, sleep, jump for joy all at the same time! He seemed so little and red and angry and absolutely precious. I was kind of taken by surprise when I saw his head...it was pretty misshapen because the doctor had had to use the vacuum to get him out, poor baby had a serious cone head!  But the doctor and nurses assured my it would quickly go away and by the next day it was much improved. They let me hold him for awhile but not as much as I had hoped. When he was born he had a fever and they were concerned about that so they were really checking him out and doing some things to him and then they gave him a bath to try and lower his temperature. Poor Wythe just screamed and screamed.  He settled down for awhile then was up most of the night crying, that was pretty much the pattern for the rest of the hospital stay. Short naps and lots of crying. We didn't realize it at the time but it was a sign of things to come! But we were very thankful for our healthy boy, he weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20-1/2 inches long.

soon after birth, attacking those fingers!

mommy trying to soothe the crying

so happy!

father and son

my little angel

out first family picture

'til next time...

My pregnancy...

We found out we were pregnant in November 2007, I found out first and decided to be creative in telling Peter. I bought a pair of baby booties and put them in a little box. After we had finished eating dinner I told him I had something for him and handed him the box - needless to say we were overjoyed!

"first sighting of offspring"

However, morning sickness hit me quickly and it was hard to keep our big secret. Thanksgiving was especially difficult, as I had to "pretend" to eat and try to saunter to the bathroom instead of making a mad dash. But we were able to make it through the weekend without telling although I did hear later that some wondered why I was so quiet and not drinking alcohol.

We decided to wait until Christmas to tell people our news. We enclosed a poem in our Christmas cards announcing our impending arrival. The reaction was wonderful, our neighbors were overjoyed and our family kept the phone ringing off the hook, it was a fun time. Here is the poem we used.

I do not have a face to see,

Or put inside a frame.

I do not have soft cheeks to kiss,

I don't yet have a name.

You can't yet hold my tiny hands, 'nor whisper in my ear.

It's still too soon to sing a song, or cuddle me so near.

But all will change come summer time,

That’s when they say I'm due.

I'll be the first child and can't wait till I meet you.

So have a Merry Christmas

A wish to you from me.

I cannot wait to be a part

Of my new family!

Over the next few months we got busy preparing for baby. Peter decided to replace the carpet in the nursery with wood flooring. Once that was finished I repainted the walls. We were very fortunate when it came to furnishing the room; I jokingly called it our "budget nursery". The crib was given to us by Peter's sister, we found the changing table on clearance, the dresser we found for $35 at a thrift store (it looks completely different than when we got it!!) and the glider rocker we found on Craig's list.

I continued to deal with morning sickness; actually it was morning, afternoon, evening and night sickness! The doctor eventually put me on a medication that helped although I still felt queasy and was still sick till the end.

In February we had our 2nd sonogram and found out that we were having a boy. Peter claimed that the sonogram only confirmed what he already knew. It was neat to know that it was a boy and be able to start planning accordingly.

"our little boy, you can see his hands up by his face"

In April our neighbors hosted a baby shower for us. We received many nice gifts and were very grateful to have such great neighbors!

I loved being pregnant. I loved feeling the baby move, so much so that I could sit for hours watching my belly move. For some reason whenever I got in the bathtub the baby would go crazy, jumping around so much it looked like he was trying to get out. I was afraid that when the baby was born I would miss being pregnant. Little did I know that I wouldn’t have time to even think about that! My 7th month was probably my favorite. I was obviously pregnant, loving my big belly, I wasn’t as sick and I had more energy. I remember thinking that it would be nice to be 7 months pregnant for several months.

8 months pregnant

9 months pregnant

By the middle of June I was 1 centimeter dilated and was 100% effaced. My due date wasn’t until July 11th and I was more than happy to wait until then. At the beginning of July my doctor was talking about inducing but I was ready. I was getting increasing uncomfortable and tired but I wasn’t as miserable as I thought I should be for 9 months. Then on Monday morning, July 7th, I woke up having contractions and as they say…the rest is history.

'til next time...