This is how it all went down...

My little Bode. I wanted him to come so bad. Much like Tessa, I was so miserable that last 5 weeks and I was even more stretched out and big bellied with Bode. I love my children and I am grateful and recognize how blessed and lucky I am to be able get pregnant as easily as I do. But I do not love being pregnant. For 10 months you just don't feel like yourself. Dr. Faraz started commenting on how she thought he was going to be big sometime in December. She told me to take it easy on the sweets at Christmas time, I pretty much ignored that. For heavens sake, it was CHRISTMAS!! And to deny myself the one pleasure, I mean really. Hindsight, I should have listened...

At my 38 week appointment, I asked her to strip my membranes hoping to induce labor. I think she could see the misery in my face. She suggested we give it a few more days and if I hadn't gone we'd set an induction date. I didn't want to be induced if I didn't have too, knowing one intervention often times leads to another, but I was miserable and Dr. Faraz was getting really concerned about his size. A few more days went by and all my attempts to induce labor failed. On Tuesday the 18th we set an induction date for Friday. Tutz came into town on Thursday, I climbed stairs, jogged, ate spicy food to no avail, I would be getting induced. C'est la vie. On Friday night, Tutz took Tessa Jane to her hotel at 7, at 9, Wade and I went to "The Kings Speech" and then headed to the hospital at midnight.

We settled in by 1 AM and around 2 AM, I was started on Pitocin. I really thought it would go quickly and we'd have a baby by daylight. Twas not to be, Bode would take his time! I knew from past experience that I'd want an epidural and didn't feel the need to push as far as I could before getting one. So I ordered in the anesthesiolgist around 4! It took awhile to get it right, initially only my left side went numb. We tried to rest and sleep but with the nurse coming in every 30 minutes it was hard to do so. At each check I seemed to be progressing well, I was dialating and effacing fairly quickly, but Bode was not dropping down. At about 8AM, Dr. Faraz showed up and broke my water, we were hopeful this would initiate B's travel down to the birth canal, but again he didn't want to be persuaded. I continued to contract, definitely feeling more than I did with Tessa. I don't know if the epidural wasn't as strong, or my contractions were stronger or what, but I definitely could feel more pressure. At 10 AM, Dr. Faraz came back, I had fully dialated and contracted, but he remained high, she expressed concern, said something to the tune of, "Gosh, I hope he's not bigger than 8 1/2 lbs." to which I replied something like, "Uh, yeah, me too!". She suggested we up the Pitocin and hope for the best. She would later tell me that when she left that time, she thought she was coming back to do a c-section. Well, apparently Bode thought that was hysterical that we had under estimated his weight by nearly a pound and a half so he decided to drop on down and give us all a show.

Once he dropped down, it went quickly, the contractions got really strong and I felt them a lot in my lower back. I kept telling the nurse, "I swear by epidural is wearing off, I am feeling a lot!" She kept reassuring me that it was not and that I should just push my little button that is supposed to give me a little more juice. I became convinced that little device is purely for pyschological reasons and yields no medicinal results. By 11 AM the nurse had called Dr. Faraz and told her to come back, that I was ready to push. Once she arrived, I started pushing and Bode arrived at 11:39 AM. Considering his size, he came really fast. I only pushed for about 30-40 minutes. Probably due to my stellar strength and pushing. A few adjustments had to be made, because like Tessa, when I initially started pushing, his heart rate would drop. But adjust we did and everything was fine. A few noteworthy comments post delivery:

Wade (My favorite): Awesome babe, you did so good! He's here!
Dr. Faraz (Upon Bode's immediate exit): Oh my gosh! You're huge!
The Nurse (I told you!): Oh my, he is big! We needed that epidural to be not quite so strong, we needed you to have some incentive to push. (Because I was planning on just taking it was easy!)

Dr. Faraz had called in a Neo-natalogist to be in the room when Bode arrived. She wasn't sure how the delivery would go because of his size. He came out quiet, and she thought she'd perhaps heard his collar bone snap when he came out. It took them a bit to get him crying and he had loads of fluid in his mouth and a bit in the stomach, but after some suction and a once over it was determined he was a-ok. Everyone gasped when he got on the scale, I was astounded, gave myself an imaginary medal and felt overwhelming relief that he was no longer in me.

I had wondered often throughout my pregnancy with Bode if I would feel the same immediate love and connection with him as I did with Tessa. Concerned at times if I had the capacity to love another person as much as I loved Wade and Tessa, that's a lot of love floating around in one person! But it was instantaneous. I loved him so much, so immediately. There is nothing on this earth that can replicate that moment, nothing that brings heaven so closely to earth, nothing that produces that same amount of love, so quickly.

I cherished those days in the hospital, knowing once I got home I wouldn't be able to hold him as much as I wanted or whenever I wanted. My little mister. I am so glad you're here. I am so glad you're healthy and squishy and sweet. I love you like crazy.