He's Here!

Introducing...

Gavin Mitchell Risenmay

May 13, 2011 @ 5:31 pm

8 lbs. 5 oz. 

20.5 in. long

*Warning: This is a SUPER long post

Labor Story: The hospital called the day before and said to be there at 7 AM. I was so excited because it was really early and that meant that maybe he would be here earlier in the afternoon and I wouldn't have to wait all day. Then, I got a call saying they had to put me on call and it could take a while to get me in on Friday because there were so many women having babies that night. I was so bummed but decided to just not worry and reminded myself that the longer he stays in and is healthy, the better. So, I went to bed that night unsure of what to expect. The nurse told me they could call me as early as 6 AM so of course, I was up at 6 AM staring at my phone. Sure enough, it rang at 6:15 and we were told to get there at 7. We live almost 30 min. from the hospital so we rushed to get there and luckily didn't have to wait at all once we arrived. They got us in, started my IV and broke my water around 8:20 or so and I was dilated to a 3. I decided to wait it out as long as possible without an epidural and let me tell you...OUCH. Contractions are rough! I just didn't really ever have any with Brady so I wanted to experience them and man, I am so grateful for epidurals. I had to wait about 45 min. before the anesthesiologist came in but it was so worth it. My epidural with Brady made me really sick so I was nervous about that but it was a lot better this time. I did throw up once but they gave me some zofran and I was totally fine after that. Around 2:30 I had only progressed to a 4 and slowly made my way to a 6 around 4:00. Things were progressing really slow and the nurse finally discovered that Gavin was posterior (face up) which made it hard for his head to descend. They rolled me on to my side then on to my other side and moved me around a lot and suddenly I was feeling a lot of pressure. The nurse checked and I had gone from a 6 to an 8+ in 20 min. and Gavin had turned to face down. We hurried and called my mom and sisters to get here quick. I starting feeling more and more pressure and even had to breathe through contractions so I didn't push. How do you not push when the urge is so strong!? I was having such a hard time with that. I told the nurse she might have to deliver this baby because he was coming whether or not the Dr. was there. She said she had done it a million times :) Luckily, the Dr. made it in and so did my mom and sisters. Luckily, my mother in law was already there with us. I immediately started pushing and only pushed 6 times through 3 contractions and my beautiful little boy was born at 5:31 PM. They put him directly onto my chest (something I didn't experience with Brady because he was under too much stress and they took him away immediately) and I just cried and felt so much emotion and love for this new baby. He was absolutely perfect in every way and definitely meant to be a part of our family. Gavin looks a lot more McCuistion than Brady so it's going to be fun to see how he turns out. He is nursing pretty well. I put him on about 30 min. after he was born and he latched right away. What a blessing! We are both doing great. The recovery is going so well and I have not been in much pain. This has been such a different experience than with Brady. Almost night and day difference so it has been wonderful and very calm and nice. I am so grateful that my mother in law, my mom, Kristin, and McKenzie were here to celebrate the arrival of our little guy. It was great to share this experience with people we love. 

My sister took a lot better pictures than these and as soon as I get them, I will post them.