Kayden Michael Frericks--birth story

I have decided that since I wasn't blogging yet when the boys were born, so I never posted their birth stories, I'm going to do it for their birthdays this year(what I can remember of each story anyway).  So, here it goes:

About two or three weeks before Kayden's due date, we found out that he was a BIG baby. The ultrasound tech estimated that he was about 9 pounds by 37 weeks gestation, and was also breech.  So, my doc decided that if I haven't gone into labor on my own by 39 weeks, he would either induce me if baby had turned around, or schedule a c-section if he was still breech. 

So, at my 38 week appointment, I expected to be scheduling a c-section, since I hadn't felt the baby flip, and I assumed that if he was as large as they were telling me, that I would have noticed.  I had mentally prepared myself to be having surgery.  THEN, my doctor went to examine me, and said, "it sure feels like the baby is head-down", so he ordered another ultrasound, and sure enough, the little bugger had flipped!  So, we scheduled an induction for February 26th, and were on our way. 

This is where, four years later, things are a little foggy.  I really wish I would have documented this experience better when it first happened.
Our induction was scheduled for 8:00 (I think).  We arrived at the hospital, got checked in, put on a beautiful gown, answered five million questions, climbed onto a bed, got hooked up to an IV of Pitocin, and waited. I don't remember exactly how far into things the real contractions started, but I know that it was some time after my doctor came and broke my water.  I do remember that there was A LOT of water!  The nurses couldn't believe how much water I had.  They had me walk around to keep things moving, although this didn't last long, because I was much happier to just lay in the bed and be miserable.  I remember extremely painful contractions, and holding onto the side of the bed.  I know that I fought through the pain way longer than I should have. I tried a drug before my epidural, and it kind of helped, but it didn't last long.   Once I got my epidural ( I don't remember how many cm I was when I got it, I'm thinking 7ish?) the pain was manageable, but not gone. I remember my nurse, giving me a little controller and saying that I could push the little button to give myself another dose every 15 minutes.  She said I could push it as often as I wanted to, but it would only release medication every 15 minutes. That little button was my friend!  I remember asking quite often, "Has it been 15 minutes yet?", then pushing the button and feeling the cold liquid move down the tube against my back.  Lovely I tell you.

Once I had the epidural, I was able to rest, and even sleep for a while.  I went through at least three or four nurses throughout the day.  One told me she thought I'd have a baby by 7 p.m.  When that didn't happen, the next nurse said, by 9:00, so I had Mike call my mom and tell her she could come down, because we'd have a baby by 9:00.  

At about 8:00 p.m, the nurses had me start pushing.  I pushed, and pushed.  And pushed.  And pushed.  They had put me on oxygen to help me breathe through all the hard work.  I pushed for four hours before my doctor decided that the baby just wasn't going to come out.  So, he rolled in a cart with a little machine with a suction cup on the end.  He attached the cup to the baby's head, and as I pushed, he pulled him out.  When he finally came out, I remember hearing the doctor say, "Well, no wonder he wasn't coming out!  He's huge!"  
They put him on the scale, and there were the numbers:  9 pounds, 14.7 ounces.  That's a ten pound baby.  
He was huge, but he was healthy and he was beautiful!

Two days later when it came time to go home, we realized that the cute little outfit we brought for Kayden to go home in was too small, and Mike had to go home to get a new outfit that was a little bigger.  Of course, the one he brought said, "I love Daddy!".