dylan masters : newborn session

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Dylan's birth day

the day I went into labor started out like any other.  my due date was still three days away and I didn't really think this little one would be early.  of course, there were lots of signs that he was coming soon but I kept telling myself he wouldn't be here until the end of the week.  little did I know when his due date arrived, we'd be heading home from the hospital!

in many ways, my labor with Dylan was very similar to my labor with Clark.  both boys were 3 days early.  I experienced false labor for a few days leading up to their births.  they were even almost exactly the same size, differing by just one ounce and half an inch!  the biggest difference was my labor with Dylan was twice as fast as my labor with Clark.  from the time I checked into the hospital, Dylan was born six hours later!  here is his story...

on Monday morning, February 19th, I woke up with mild contractions.  I didn't think much of them since I'd been having irregular contractions for the past few days.  so I just ignored them and went about getting ready for the day.  as usual, once I started moving, they subsided so I went ahead with the day as planned.

my mom was picking Clark and I up after breakfast for one last Target run before baby.  a few days before we had run out of scotch tape and it was suddenly very important to me that we stock up before the baby.  don't ask me why.

around noon we were on our way to Target when I realized my contractions were back.   I began timing them and realized they were coming about every six minutes.  I wasn't worried though because they weren't painful.  by the time we got to Target they were coming four minutes apart.  I kept my mom updated and she of course, was nearly having a panic attack.  we joked about my water breaking in Target and having the first "Target baby".  luckily that did not happen!

so I went into Target for tape but while I was there I thought I'd get a head start on my birthday card shopping since I was pretty sure it would be awhile before I'd make it back to the store.  I was sifting through the cards but I was still having contractions (and timing them) so I could barely get through one card before having to stop and start the timer.  all of my walking around Target was making them closer together and they were now coming every two minutes!!  they still weren't all that painful though so I continued my shopping.

I decided to head to Marshall's next door because we needed some euro pillows for Clark's bed.  halfway through my pillow shopping I really got annoyed with how often my contractions were coming.  I could hardly concentrate on the pillows with how often I was having to start and stop the timer so I decided to stop timing.

soon after my mom called and told me Clark was awake and hungry so I bought my pillows and we headed to Wendy's.  the last supper!!!  I got chicken nuggets and made myself a chicken salad when we got home.  mmm.

this whole time my contractions were not letting up, although they did get further apart after I stopped walking.  let me tell you, it's not a very pleasant dining experience to eat through contractions.  after lunch I decided to call my doctor's office, just to see what they thought.

the nurse said she thought it sounded like early labor but if I wanted to make sure, I should drink a glass of water and go for a walk and see if they stop.  after I hung up I decided it was a great time to take a walk to the park with Clark.  my mom thought it was a bad idea and kept telling me to just walk around the block but I was determined to make it to the park with Clark!  I think I had a feeling this might be the last time I'd get to take him as an only child.

so we headed to the park...and my contractions got real!  they finally started to be uncomfortable enough I was considering the fact that I might be in labor.  this whole time I was keeping Mark updated at work and as we got closer to the park, my contractions were painful enough I couldn't walk or talk through them.  I finally told Mark he should probably start heading home to pick up our bags.  when we made it to the park I took one last video of Clark as an only child.  my baby!!

I pushed Clark on the swing, watched him go down the slide and tried to keep the tears from coming as I was realizing this was it.  I finally called Mark and told him to come straight to the park because I wasn't going to be able to make it back to my mom's.  when he got there, Clark saw him pull up and of course, wanted to join us in the car.  we let him sit in the front seat for awhile and pretend drive and I was a total emotional wreck.  even though I was in pain, I could have sat there for an hour with Clark, letting him play and enjoying my only baby for as long as possible.

finally, we had to go so my mom distracted Clark and we headed for my mom's house to pick up a few things I had left.  but on the drive there, my contractions got further apart. walking definitely had sped them up and made them more intense but now that I was sitting, I still wasn't sure if it was real labor.  so when we got to my mom's I decided to lay down on the couch for awhile and wait.  I wasn't sure what I was waiting for...more pain I think.  my mom and Clark arrived about 15 minutes after us and he was happy to see us.  while we waited, my mom painted my toenails.  finally, I stood up to go to the bathroom and I got one super intense contraction and said to Mark, "time to go!"

we stopped at Carl's Jr for Mark on the way there and there was tons of traffic so I tried listening to this labor meditation playlist I made on YouTube but that did nothing for me.  the only thing that really helps me is focusing on taking slow, deep breaths through each contraction.  after a few hours of that though, I'm usually chanting words and phrases super fast like, "it's okay," "I can do this, I can do anything," "Dylan," "love," over and over until the contraction passes.  call me crazy but it works!

selfies in labor to distract myself

before I had Clark, I was so curious throughout my whole pregnancy what labor would feel like.  it was the first thing I asked any mom and I would read through pregnancy forums and blogs about different explanations of what contractions felt like.  most people said they felt like strong period cramps, but I never get period cramps so that didn't help.  some people said they felt like gas pains or like a tightening and I think that's a better explanation.  but I realized you can't really describe it.  you just have to experience it for yourself.

I remember my contractions with Clark gradually getting stronger and more intense as the day went on and by the time we checked into the hospital (and I had to wait for hours for my epidural), they were so painful I was crying.  well with Dylan, the contractions were really mild until suddenly they weren't!  I want to say they were more painful at the end than Clark's but it's probably just because they're fresh in my mind.  also, with Clark they gave me some strong pain medication while waiting for my epidural (made me feel like I was outside my body!) but with Dylan I got the epidural faster so they didn't give me anything before.

but I'm getting ahead of myself.  so after we finally made it to the hospital around 6 pm, we headed to Labor & Delivery.  Mark told them we were here to check in but instead of taking me in a room to check me, they just started taking my information.  then they asked what time my induction was scheduled for and I quickly told them I wasn't here for an induction but I thought I was in labor.  when I told them my name, they said, "we've been expecting you!  Dr. Schettler's already been up here twice looking for you."  oops!  I guess when I called the doctor's office earlier that afternoon, they told Dr. Schettler I was in labor and coming in.  he had me scheduled for a pitocin drip so they were admitting me no matter what.  I couldn't believe it was really happening!

we got settled in our room and they had me pee in a cup (not easy in between contractions!) and hooked me up to an IV.  the nurse asked if I wanted an epidural.  "yes please!  and as soon as possible."  no shame here :)  at first she said they wanted to get me started on my pitocin before the epidural but they switched nurses for the night shift and the night nurse said I could have my epidural right away.  I could have kissed her!

it still took about 3 hours from the time I checked in until I got my epidural at 9:15 pm.  that last half hour before I got it was brutal.  I'm not sure how far dilated I was at that point (I think I was a 5 with Clark before I got one but I was also on heavy pain meds) because they never checked me!  they were monitoring my contractions and the baby so they knew I really was in labor.  the nurse said she knows how painful it is to get checked so they would wait until after my epidural.

well when the sweet nurse finally checked me, she had the strangest expression on her face and it took her about 5 minutes.  Mark and I kept looking at each other, getting worried.  what was going on??  finally she said to me, "you know what?  I can't feel anything.  I think you're complete!"  WHAT??!!  no wonder I felt like I was dying!!

I think the pitocin helped to speed things up a lot and even though I really didn't want to be induced, I didn't mind getting it since I was already in labor.  it didn't force my body to go into labor when I wasn't ready, it just sped my labor along.  honestly though, once I got my epidural, I would have appreciated a good long nap before having to push!  with Clark, I got the epidural around 2 am and he wasn't born until 6:53 am so we got to sleep for a good four hours.  but this baby wasn't messin' around!

at just before midnight, two nurses came in and told me to do a little half push, just to see where we were at.  I did and they both immediately said, "stop, stop stop!!  call the doctor, she's ready!"  we waited about 20 minutes for the doctor to get there.  it felt like a lifetime but it also went so fast.  they told me not to sneeze, laugh, or even breathe heavy because the baby's head was poking out!

for some reason, I really didn't want Dylan's birthday to be the 19th.  it felt like such a bad number, so uneven and I just didn't want that to be the day!  hahaha.  Clark was born on the 10th and I felt like that was perfect.  so I really was hoping he would wait until the 20th.  well it's a good thing the doctor took his sweet time because at 12:11 am, February 20th, my sweet little Dylan was born.

our hospital lets mama and baby have skin to skin time and nurse for the first hour of baby's life before doing anything else.  Dylan was a pro nursling right from the start and was able to latch on immediately!

Dyl looooves nursing!  my milk came in the day we got home from the hospital and I'm happy to say there was very little pain with breastfeeding this time around.  I don't think I had the latch right in the beginning with Clark and my nipples suffered through it for about a month until they toughened up.  with Dylan I was only a little sore the first couple days and just at the initial latch.  now we're old pro's at 10 days old :)

we spent the rest of that first night waiting for my epidural to wear off so we could move to our room.  it took like 3 hours since my labor was so short!  then we tried to get some sort of sleep but with all the people coming in and out of our room, checking me, checking baby, we didn't sleep at all.  just like last time, we maybe got two hours of sleep (not consecutive) a night if we were lucky.  the worst!!

Mark holding Dylan for the first time

the evening of Dylan's birth day we had three very special visitors...Grandma, Grandad and big brother Clark!  I was so excited for my boys to meet and their meeting did not disappoint.  Clark LOVED meeting Dylan and Dylan obviously loved Clark!  he even smiled at him!!

Clark was so gentle without even being coached!

the day we left the hospital, our discharge nurse was Clark's discharge nurse (our favorite nurse!), Paula and we discovered that she is LDS!  she actually asked us if we were because she thought I looked familiar.  we talked with her for a long time and it was one of those moments where you know you're in exactly the right place at the right time and everything is as it should be.

it's been 10 days since Dilly was born and the transition has been much easier than expected.  granted, my mom comes over every morning as soon as Mark leaves and watches Clark all day for me, haha.  she's taking the entire month of March off work to help me get adjusted.  best mom in the world.  we've had dinner brought to us every single day, thanks to her coordinating with sisters in the ward and even though Mark only got three days off where we weren't in the hospital, I'm much more confident this time around at all this newborn stuff.  Mark is still the better diaper changer, better swaddler, and better burper but I'm the one with the milk!

Dylan is the sweetest little angel I could have imagined.  some people think he looks just like Clark but personally I don't see it.  they are like night and day to me, in both looks and personality, but I love them both more than I thought was possible!  it's like my heart grew two sizes and I have even more love for Clark than I did before, which is crazy to me, and a whole other heart full of love for my Dyl.  it almost feels like Dylan has always been here.  I can't imagine a life without him!  welcome to our family, sweet Dylan.  we love you more than words can say ♥