a walk in the park

truman alder eggert
born august 15, 2008
6 lb 14oz
19.5 in


there is something to be said about the power of prayer. i had no idea so many people- you people, and family, and friends who don't read this- were lifting me and jon and conrad and truman up in prayer on friday. no idea. and i am SO GLAD you all did because the Lord was SO GOOD to me and He answered your and mine prayers: it was such an easy delivery! like, i can't believe-couldn't believe at the time-it could be so manageable. especially after conrad's. and believe it or not, but if labor could ever be thought of as enjoyable, this one was.


i went in at 7:30 that morning. conrad had-had a rough night so both jon and i were already exhausted from a broken 6 hours of sleep. around 8:30ish my doctor got there and gave me some "side attack", but hours later the contractions were too irregular to be considered active labor, and the baby i discovered with the contractions in my back, was sunny side up. our nurse was in bold capital letters, awesome. she couched me through various moves i could do to get him to turn and within a hour it had worked. once truman was in the right spot things started progressing. still, my contractions were a little too irregular so the hooked me up to an IV and gave me petocin.


earlier that morning i debated with myself and the nurse if i should do an epidural or not. i know i said i wasn't going to this time around, but my labia has been uber swollen for months now and i've been a tad nervous how that would play out with pushing. around the time i got to 5cm, which was about 3pm, i turned to jon and said, "i think i'm going to do the epidural after all". which was funny because he and i both knew i was going to cave it was just a matter of time for when i would. 5cm was my time.


the anesthesiologist made it there sooner than later and i credit all the smoothness such as that to the nurse God gave to us for that day. she was on it, every second, always thinking of ahead of what i might need or what might be going on, and so every time we might have run into a delay or a problem, she had already problem solved it.


shortly after the epidural i went to 7cm, and within a hour of that, i was at 10cm. unlike with conrad i was alert of everything going on around me, i was part of the labor. my labor with conrad was so different: you know, conrad was in the red because of the deciles, which meant the stress in our room was of the charts-there was a flurry of whispers and random medical professionals coming in and out, loud beeping, a hundred different things connected to me and being told to me, i pushed with him for 3.5 hours at 8cm, of which, i know now there was no epidural present, and by the time he was born perfect and healthy- i was semi-conscience from exhaustion and pain.


with truman. oh man. sure it was painfully, i mean it was still labor and all, but i never felt that hellacious burning from crowning and the contractions were, like i mentioned above, totally manageable. i had adrenaline pumping through me making me quiver and within three contractions of pushing, he was out. we're talking 5 minuets of pushing...maybe. the doctor unwrapped the cord, which was around his neck three times, and cleared his mouth and nose and gave him to me all slimy and beautiful. jon was behind me, i was crying and laughing, and truman was snorting. he's a snorter. it's weird but we love him.


that was at 7:15pm on friday.


since then there hasn't been much sleep but holy moly how different and easier number two is. i didn't realize how effortless taking care of a newborn can be when you compare it to the energy exerted with a two year old. it's a perspective having more than one only can bring. truman is a good baby too. he has that snorting thing going on, which is part of the fatigue today because he was up last night quite a bit trying to breath out of his nose but having a hard time because it was semi-clogged and not being able to breath adequately enough out of his mouth because he hasn't yet quite grasped how to do it without snorting. so up i was bewildered and concerned with a crying, rapidly breathing baby...until we gave him some saline and all was good and slightly snorty again.


the after birth pain is really bad this time. something i guess most people know happens after the first one but i was unaware of. the cramps are comparable to the contractions at 5cm, those very contractions that made me turn to the reality and need of an epidural. while at the hospital i was given some heavy duty muscle relaxers every four hours, but when we left we were only given ibuprofen and a prescription for the real drugs, and with this being medford and pharmacies closing at 6pm, last night was also long as i was in quite a bit of pain.


still, compared to conrad's grand entrance, this time around is like a walk in the park. a bumpy park.



not having a contraction

having a contraction

waiting

not waiting

conrad was beaming and overly excited!

jon was beaming and entralled.

truman, well, he's just chill.