Daniel Javier Hernandez

SEPTEMBER 22ND, 2015

I had one of my last appointments with my OB doctor that day at 1:30pm. He stripped my membranes (for the 3rd time), said I was 3cm dilated and about 70% effaced with a "favorable cervix." He told me that if baby didn't come on his own he would be induced two days later on the 24th and explained to me how pitocin works. Baby must've been listening to that horrifying explanation because after we came home I took a short nap and woke up around 5:30pm with slightly more painful, consistent contractions than I had had the past few weeks. I kept timing them and could tell they were the real deal, so we packed the girls up to take to a family friend's house, and headed to the hospital by 7pm.

When I got there I got all checked in and they said I was already at a 6. After laboring for a while I had mentioned to the nurse that I really wanted my epidural and to make sure I got it. It's always right when you need it that the anesthesiologist seems like they take their sweet time to make it to your room. I was at 8cm for a while, got my epidural and finally got to rest. Unfortunately, I let the nurses dictate how the rest of my labor was going to go, which I sadly regret. I wish I had been more outspoken. While resting I felt comfortable, but my nurse kept asking almost every 10 minutes if I felt like pushing (which honestly got annoying..with Lydia they left the room and let me tell them when I felt like I was ready to push). After nothing for an hour, they were starting to get impatient so the OB on call wanted to give me some pitocin to speed things up (they had other women there waiting to be induced, but since I was delivering naturally I got priority and *I'm assuming* they wanted the baby out asap to be able to get to them). So they did that and I ended up feeling all the pressure from the extreme contractions, making it impossible to relax or rest. Finally I felt like pushing and they all came in and prepared for delivery. I can't imagine being induced with pitocin first, without an epidural. While I was pushing I could start to feel the baby's head come out, a stinging sensation, which made me laugh (that's how I handle pain apparently haha). The doctor laughed and everyone exclaimed, "Look! She's even smiling while she's pushing!" I do that normally during delivery, but this time it was to handle the pain, not because I was particularly enjoying it.

 

After a few minutes of pushing, sweet baby Daniel Javier Hernandez (middle name pronounced like ha-vee-air) came into this world at 11:28pm, weighing 8lbs 9oz, 21inches long, and was laid on my chest immediately after birth. It was a different feeling I had with him than I had with the girls. I started to get a little teary eyed when he was laid on my chest. Maybe it's a mother-son thing? Or perhaps it's the feeling of bringing your first son into the world. I felt such a connection to him. He laid there for a good while before he was taken to get cleaned up and then brought back to nurse. His temperature was low for about a day and a half which the nurses monitored but it eventually picked back up before we left. 

Also, he is a screamer. He hates getting his diaper changed, or bathing, or basically anything that makes him cold. He is JUST like his daddy, loves to be wrapped head to toe in blankets and is always freezing (I accidentally laid him naked on a cold pillow the other day, and boy did he let me know he hated it...oops.. I'm a mean mom ;) ). Not to mention he looked just like Jonathan when he was born. We showed this picture of Jonathan to the nurse and the nurse said, "Oh. My. Gosh. You just gave birth to your husband!"

Little baby Jonathan :)

Taking Hating his first bath

Who brought me into this cruel, cold world?

Unfortunately, during delivery he experienced some trauma so he's got a blood bruise on his head on his right side (which we are hoping will go away soon so Daddy can stop referring to him as Gumby ;) ). I personally think he got it because of the pitocin that they insisted on me having to rush my delivery and get him out fast. My girls always came on their own and let me progress naturally and they have never experienced cephalahematoma. I'm still mad at myself that I didn't take more control, and wish my OB had been there who had originally told me that he wanted everything to be how I wanted it to be. I think he would have let me decide what I wanted to do (or at least ask me if I wanted to do pitocin), instead of telling me what they all wanted to do. But anyway.. lesson learned I guess. 

Family Picture!

Daniel has so much hair you can barely tell in pictures that he has the large bruise on his head. 

September 24th was discharge day. After stopping by to say hi to my mom while before she got her biopsy done, we went home around 3pm and spent the rest of the day with the girls and Baby Boy, cuddling and loving on him. Every single day Lydia gives him hugs and kisses and tells him that she loves him. In the picture below she would whisper to him, over and over, "I love you... I love you so much."  It's so sweet. Both the girls love their baby brother. And I love my kids. 

She LOVES baby brother