Malachi

He's here! In all his tiny, precious, sweet, kissable, dimpled, long-fingered glory.

I'm crazy about him. We all are.

Malachi Servino

August 1st @ 12:48pm

7 lbs, 5 oz

19.5 inches long

Story and pics below...and my fair warning that this is a birth story. With birthy details. I use words like "dilation" and "urge to push". If you're not up for it, just peruse the pics. :)

~

I'm not usually a big fan of elective inductions. At all. In my work as a labor and delivery nurse, I've seen too many problems come as a result of them. I think babies come out when babies are ready to come out. However, I ate my words this time and did elect to be induced at 39 weeks, for a number of reasons. (We live nowhere near family and delivering a baby early enabled us to have maximum postpartum mother-help, it's super hot here, I needed some certainty in the midst of the Servino Summer of Uncertainty, it's unbelievably hot here, and I had a hard time in this pregnancy and was ready for the end to come. Also did I mention that it's been hellishly hot here all summer long?? Well, it has.)

(Me, 39 weeks preggo, a few hours before going to the hospital)

So, on Sunday the 31st we went in to the hospital at 5pm to sleep (insert the sound of wild laughter here) all night with a Cervadil in. When we got there she told me I was 2-3 cm dilated. They placed the Cervadil around 6pm, and by midnight I had contractions that were uncomfortable enough that it was hard to sleep through them. I finally got to sleep around 3am and slept for just under 2 hours. I felt tired, but so excited to be finally in the hospital delivering that I didn't feel the fatigue until right at the end. My OB (whom I dearly love) came to check on me around 9am, told me I was 4cm dilated, and, at my request, broke my water. She made my nurse promise to page her when I was around 7cm because she knew I tend to go fast. She said she knew she wouldn't get the chance to deliver another of our babies (she delivered Dane too) and she didn't want to miss it. (*One fun thing was that my nurse, Brenda, happened to be a friend/coworker of mine when I was still working...she was one of my favorites. In fact, Brenda, my OB, and I had all worked together in a different hospital, when my OB was still a resident. So, it was just one big friendly reunion, and I loved having that first-name basis history with the professionals who were caring for me.)

My OB and the nurses at the hospital were great--they let me use wireless monitors and intermittent IV access so I didn't have to be connected to anything. I paced, walked the halls, went to the bathroom, wiggled, swayed, and moved as much as I wanted to, the whole time I was there. I spent most of the morning doing just that, and using meditation and humor to relax through contractions and embrace labor. They checked me again around 10am and said I was 5cm. I called my mom and told her that, to be on the safe side, she should probably take the kids to Becky's house and come to the hospital. She arrived by 11am, and they said I was 5-6cm dilated. At this point I was breathing through the contractions but still felt very in-control. They were painful but not super intense. Different from the other three births because I didn't feel very much of it in my back...this one was almost all in front, deep and crampy.

At about 11:30am I started to wonder, to my surprise, if I did in fact want an epidural. I debated about it for a while...I had not considered getting one this time around since I had tried one with Dane and, although I enjoyed parts of it, I preferred the births I had done without any pain medications. But this time around, I was starting to really feel the contractions, was tired, and wondered if the birth would be a calmer, better experience with an epidural. I didn't feel frantic or very afraid, just...open to whatever option made it the happiest, calmest experience for me. After some thought, I decided to opt for the epidural. Brenda told me that the anesthesiologist was due shortly in surgery, but would try to sneak me in before the surgery started. A few moments later Brenda came back in and told me he wouldn't make it before the surgery, but would come in as soon as he was done in 45 minutes. At that point, I had the thought, "He's not going to make it in time. You're on your own, sista'." I knew instinctively that my body was going to move faster than the anesthesiologist. And I felt like that was ok. I remembered a few things simultaneously: a blessing David had given me a few days earlier in which he promised that this birth would be an enjoyable one for me, the fact that I had originally wanted to have it sans-medication anyways, and how great the recovery is when you don't have an epidural. In a way I felt relieved that the anesthesiologist wouldn't make it in time. A little nervous, too, because I knew how intense it was about to get, but mostly satisfied and happy to meet our little boy soon.

(7cm dilated)

At noon Brenda checked me again and said I was 6-7cm. They paged my OB, and things started to get very intense, very fast for me. In all four labors, the farther I dilate, the faster it goes. During the whole labor, my contractions were around 5 minutes apart, and I was grateful they weren't closer. The break in between felt heavenly...a good chance to breathe and focus on staying relaxed. The contractions themselves were getting super strong and I was unable to focus on anything outside of myself while I breathed and moaned through them. My OB came in just before 12:30pm and said I was a good 7cm. She left the room, and I worked through another couple contractions sitting cross-legged. I guess I was clearly in transition, because I remember David asking me if I wanted him to go get the nurse. I said I wanted to go through a few more contractions first. I moved to a kneeling position. Suddenly, with the next contraction I felt an uncontrollable urge to push. It was such a rapid change in how the contractions felt--I distinctly felt my body open up and move the baby downward. I know it sounds bizarre, but I'm sure I went from 7cm to fully dilated in one contraction. Somehow I managed to get the words out to David that he needed to go get somebody. He did, leaving just my mom and me in the room. I remember her asking if I could change positions (I think she was nervous she would be delivering the baby), and me telling her I couldn't, but somehow I did. The nurses and doctor came in. My OB checked me and said in urgent surprise, "Yeah, the head's right there." All I could say to my OB was, "Marsha, I can't not push." I was thinking, "So you'd better get your gown in a hurry, my friend." She was great. She smiled as she tried to quickly get dressed and said I was doing great and I could push whenever I wanted. So I did. The nurses tried to break the bed and put me in stirrups. The OB, who somehow managed to get gowned and gloved with Superman speed, told them happily not to bother, because the baby was going to be born in the bed. And he was. I pushed him out in one contraction--one solid string of instinctive pushes with little breathing breaks. (I remember thinking to myself that I needed to slow my pushing down or I would tear, but...how do you stop a freight train?? My labors go so kamikaze fast at the end that even when I try to just pant at the end, I still have a baby in 2 or 3 contractions.)

(the family all together, a couple hours after Malachi was born)

Anyway, it was a smooth, fast, beautiful delivery. He was born at 12:48pm--not quite 4 hours after she broke my water. He is easy and sweet. A good nurser. A good sleeper. He has dimples on both sides of his mouth. He has dark hair except for one chunk of very blonde hair behind his left ear. I think his eyes will be blue. He is alert and attentive. I really, really like him.

(Sleeping. I want to kiss his face off.)

(Awake.)

(Haven "checking out his brain" with her Disney princess cashier toy. She said his brain was "18", which, apparently, is good and healthy.)

(Yum. He feels so good in my arms.)

We are so blessed.