Bono's Arrival Part 2: A Labor of Love

Apparently the record heat that we have been having is having a big affect on the pregnant women of Kenosha.  In my last post, I wrote that I was preparing to go to the hospital that evening (Friday, June 29) to start the induction process.  We were supposed to get to the hospital between 9:30 & 10:00 to start things off and get some rest before the induction on Saturday morning.  However, at around 6:00 on Friday evening, we received a call from the hospital saying that so many women had come in to deliver that there was literally no room in the Inn!  I cringed at first, because I thought she was going to say that everything was canceled (and once I had wrapped my mind around delivering early, I was really ready to meet our little one), but she just said that we would have to come in on Saturday morning instead.  Thus, we spent the rest of the evening taking some final preggo pictures, packing, and then getting a Culver's dinner and custard with my parents (who came down that night for the upcoming arrival of Bono).  

On Saturday morning (after an evening with very little sleep), we got our stuff in the van, had some breakfast and then headed to St. Catherine's Hospital for our 7:00 am appointment.  

Heading to the hospital

At the 4th floor of St. Catherine's...about to enter the Birthing Inn

We were not sure what to expect when we got into the Birthing Inn.  We thought there may be a chance that they would tell us the induction was a no-go again.  However, as soon as we showed up we were taken to a delivery/birthing room, which would be our home for the next few days.

The morning started off pretty easy by getting the paperwork completed, the monitors set up, and the IV inserted.  I was having some light contractions, but nothing major.  Our nurse was Mindy, and we hit it off right away.  She was great, making us feel comfortable and at home with her witty remarks and humorous sarcasm (which we can always appreciate).

Apparently, it was quite cold in our room (or so Eric thought).  I was quite warm, but he was freezing and needed to put on his sweatshirt & socks for additional warmth.  It was a bit strange for him to be the one complaining of being cold for once.

All set up and waiting for the action to really begin.

At around noon, I was asked if I wanted to get my epidural.  It was still a bit early, but my doctor said she was fine with me getting it whenever, and the nurse said it would be a good time because the anesthesiologist was already around to do one for another patient.  Although my pain at the time was still pretty minor, I figured I might as well go for it...why feel pain at all if I don't have to, right?  So, a few minutes later the anesthesiologist came in with a new nurse.  Apparently my awesome nurse Mindy had been reassigned to a C-Section, and now my new nurse was impersonable and cranky because she seemed to think she had too much to do and better things to do.  Meanwhile, Eric was forced to leave the hospital room during the epidural (which I have been told is St. Catherine's Hospital policy), so I was alone with the two of them and scared about what the epidural might feel like.  I remember wishing that Mindy would come back, and that the nurse that was there needed to focus on her current patient rather than all of the other ones she thought she needed to be attending at that moment.  Thankfully the anesthesiologist was very good at trying to talk to me to keep my mind off the matter.  He asked me what I did for a living, which then was followed by where I went to school.  When I told him that I went to the University of Michigan, he was really excited.  He had done part of his Masters at UofM and was on the faculty at the Medical school there for 7 years.  Thus, he was very familiar with Ann Arbor and a huge Maize & Blue fan!  We continued to talk about the school and town as he proceeded to place the epidural catheter into my spinal area.  I had a hard time keeping still, but it wasn't as painful a process as I thought it'd be.  When he had finished inserting the catheter, he told me that he needed to do a test to make sure that it was in correctly and had not hit any veins.  He told me that if I felt anything unusual (heart racing, headache, etc) to let him know right away.  For the test, I was told he injected epinephrin into the catheter.  Normally, he does this and nothing happens.  For me, however, the reaction hit about 15 seconds after the injection.  Very quickly I was hit by my heart racing and feeling like it would pound out of my chest, my head throbbing like a migraine, and my body shaking uncontrollably.  I told the doctor and nurse of my issues, and they were shocked that I had reacted.  I was told that in the 25 years the anesthesiologist had been doing this, I was only his 2nd patient to have a reaction.  The nurse said she had never seen a reaction before, and was shocked.  They told me I should be a lottery ticket (as if that was top on my to-do list).  While this was going on, Eric was growing impatient in the hall, and came to the room to check up on me.  Unfortunately his timing could not have been worse.  He came while the reaction was happening and could hear me crying and the nurse and doctor scurrying around and trying to calm me down.  This really freaked him out.  He felt so helpless and was panicked about what was going on.  Once the nurse and doctor had got things under control and I had calmed down some, the nurse did go and talk to Eric and told him what was going on.  Then, they had to wait a while until my symptoms had subsided, so that they could try the epidural a SECOND time in a different location...lucky me.  So, I went through the whole process again, and thankfully the second time I had no reaction to the catheter's location.  Unfortunately, I was left with a massive headache for the remainder of the day...good times.

Because of my massive headache, Eric kept a cold towel on my forehead and over my eyes for most of the rest of the day.  We also pulled the blinds and kept the room as dark as possible.  When we had gotten our room, we were bummed that we got an inner room with few windows and no view.  When I look back on it though, I see it as a blessing, because I am not sure I would have been able to handle additional sunlight in our room that day.

Not only was a suffering from a major headache, but I was also suffering from major swelling.  My arms and hands were probably double the size (they looked a lot like Aaron's hands).

After a the epidural kicked in and I had rested a bit, I began to feel a little better.  The drug was not in full working mode yet, but I could feel my lower half starting to tingle and I could feel less of the contractions, making me happy.  Eric and I decided to enjoy the time of limited pain by watching a movie (we were watching Eagle Eye).  As we watched the movie, I asked Eric if he would scratch my feet, saying that they were REALLY itchy.  He complied, but then asked if I should be feeling my feet at all.  I didn't know what I should and should not be feeling.  I thought that I was supposed to feel pressure, but not pain, which seemed to be the case during my contractions.  When the nurse came back (by this time my cranky nurse had been replaced with nurse Emily...I was VERY thankful for that), she asked if I was feeling any pain during my contractions.  I told her that I was feeling some pressure and that my feet were itchy.  She seemed concerned by this, and proceeded to touch different parts of my legs to see what I could and could not feel.  Apparently, I wasn't supposed to feel any of it, but I could feel ALL of it.  As she continued to try to figure this out, I began to feel more of the contractions and soon I was back to feeling everything and the contractions had become incredibly more painful than they had been in the morning.  Thus, the movie was turned off and all focus went into pain management.  The nurse told Eric he could give me additional boosts of pain medication and that should help.  He did so, but they did nothing for me.  Then she talked to my doctor and the new anesthesiologist on call, who decided that we could up my medication dosage from 10cc (I think that is what they said), which is what is typically given, to 15cc.  Again this did nothing, and I was in increasingly more and more pain.  Finally, they called the anesthesiologist that had administered my epidural in the first place.  Although he had already left for the day, he happened to be next door at Target and came over to see me.  Because I was a Michigan grad and I am sure because he felt bad for what had happened, he told everyone that I was a VIP patient and that they needed to figure out how to help me.  He ended up adding another drug to my epidural, and after a little while, that seemed to help. As the pain seemed to melt away again, we turned the movie back on and tried to relax a bit for Bono came.  Again though, the relief did not last long, and soon I was in full pain mode again.  My doctor came in to check on me, and apparently my body had made a lot of progress in the last hour.  Because I was in a lot of pain, this made me excited as I thought that meant the baby would come soon.  Unfortunately though it was still a while before Bono arrived, and because I was so far along, they said there was nothing more they could do to help with the pain.  I was on my own, and the pain was indescribable!  I trudged through the rest of the day, with Eric by my side.  I am so thankful for him and could not have made it through the day without him.  I really felt sorry for women who go through that experience alone, because Eric was my rock that day (& everyday before & after).  Finally, around 9:00 pm that evening, my doctor said that I was close to being able to push, and I was SO happy.  When the time finally came, I was determined to get it over with as soon as possible.  Unfortunately though, my contractions went from being on top of each other to spacing out with a few minutes in between, making the process take even longer.  I was so exhausted, that after every push (in between the contractions) I would almost pass out and fall asleep.  Eventually, Bono arrived and after my doctor got the umbilical cord from around his/her neck, we worked together to get him/her out the rest of the way. I remember feeling the relief when Bono was in the world and out of me, thinking that he or she may be the only child we have after that long experience.  As my doctor lifted him/her up, she tried frantically to get the umbilical cord out of the way so that she could determine the sex.  Then I heard, "It's a Boy!".  As I looked on my new little man, all of the other thoughts faded away, and I was in love.  They wrapped him up and placed him in my arms, and I savored the moment as I snuggled my new baby boy, Asher Robert Migrin.  (Asher means blessed...and God has truly blessed us with him.  Robert came from his Great Grandpa Klingenmaier, Grandpa Migrin and Uncle Rob who are all named Robert, and also his Grandpa Klingenmaier and Uncle Aaron who have Robert as a middle name...I guess it is also after me, as my dad always called me "Tracy Robert")

First time holding my little man.

After I had gotten a chance to hold him for a minute, they took him back to clean him up and get his vitals.  He weighed 8lbs 4oz., and was 22" long.  I thought he would be a chubby baby, but since he was so long, he is actually quite skinny.  When they placed him on the table, Eric followed along to check out his little man and then watched as Asher took his first pee and arched it up onto the nurses!  :)

5 fingers on each hand accounted for.

5 toes on each foot accounted for, but we don't think they are Migrin toes anymore.  Instead they are super long toes...may be takes after Uncle Aaron?

Once Asher was all cleaned up, they gave him back to me and I snuggled him with tears welling up in my eyes.  I could not believe that after 3 1/2 years of prayers, waiting for this bundle of joy to arrive, he was finally in my arms.  He looked right into my eyes and I gazed back with abundant love.  I will never forget that moment.

Gazing into the beautiful eyes of my new man.

Our family (not including Emma).  This is a terrible picture of me, but representative of how swollen & exhausted I was,

It wasn't until about an hour after Asher was born that Daddy finally got a chance to hold him, but when he did get that chance, I thoroughly enjoyed watching him snuggle up to our little man, God's blessing.

As Eric snuggled up with Asher, I called my family to give them the news of his arrival.  Then our life as parents began as we started our first evening together.