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| The day before I delivered.... Huge-mungus! |
Levi Austin Beck was born June 30, 2013 at 6:12 Sunday morning at the IMC hospital in Murray. He weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 21 inches long. It was amazing, wonderful, and completely worth it as most difficult to get things are.
I started having contractions Friday night at midnight. Nothing serious, but they would wake me up and I'd have to walk around to shake the edge off. They continued through the night and into Saturday morning. I was determined to keep these suckers going (6 days late by this point) so Austin and I ran some errands and headed over to Wheeler Farm to encourage the contractions along. They began being more consistent around mid-day about 5 minutes apart and a minute long. We called the midwife for some reassurance and she let me know that I was doing great and could come in whenever I felt comfortable, but to come in if my water broke. So Austin and I went home, wrapped up some things at home and labored. I wanted to have most of my labor in my home and was so glad that I could. It was all very comfortable and calm. It was a really special time for Austin and I and I'm glad it was just me and Austin doing it together. It was a really bonding time.
Austin was a stud. The only thing that would relieve me during a contraction was counter pressure on my hips. He would watch me and when I felt a contraction coming he would squeeze my hips as hard as he could till it passed. He did that for every. single. contraction. My hard contractions were from 2 pm Saturday afternoon till 2 am Sunday morning and Austin was there for me the whole time. I couldn't have gone as long as I did without him. Austin is my superman. I felt so much love and appreciation for him! We make a stellar team.
Anyway, by about 7 pm Saturday my contractions were about 3 minutes apart and Austin decided it was time for us to go to the hospital :) I thought I could have stayed home longer at the time, but I'm glad he had us go. Having a contraction in a car was very hard. All I wanted to do was lean over or get on my hands and knees, but I had to sit up and just breath through them.
By the time they checked me to see how far I had progressed I was a measily 4 cm dilated. Yep....all those hours for just a 4, I am my mother's daughter. So Austin and I walked the halls till about 10 pm. My water still had not broken so they asked if I would like to brake it to progress things. I said yes and within 30 seconds of braking my water I dilated from a 4 to a 6.
This next part is a little foggy to me because I was pretty focused, but it was a little scary for the midwives and Austin. Apparently the contractions were squeezing Levi's umbilical cord because his heart rate dropped drastically and wouldn't come back up. My awesome nurse and midwife sprang in to action putting me on oxygen and having me try different positions to see if that would help. Nothing changed. I remember looking at my midwife and thinking, "She is considering a c-section, but is wanting to avoid that if possible." She ended up injecting fluid back into my uterus which gave Levi enough room and his heart rate went back up. After everything was safe again she explained what had just happened to Austin and I. Surprisingly I never felt scared or worried. I just knew that everything was going to be alright and that Levi was just fine. It scared Austin though and he gave me a sweet and powerful blessing.
I know that angels were there that night.
After that I labored till 2 am Sunday morning. They checked me again and I had not progressed passed a 6. At that point I was exhausted. I hadn't slept for 24 hours, I hadn't eaten enough to have the energy to keep laboring and dagnabit! 26 hours of labor is hard! So I got an epidural. A wonderful epidural. My anasthesiologist was a sweet older man who was very kind and gentle. After he gave me my epidural he explained about the body's resources and exhaustion, reassuring me that there was no shame in getting it. He knew I had wanted to go natural and didn't want me to feel bad. Little did he know that 1) Once I make a decision I feel at peace with it and put little weight into what others think of me (meaning those mothers who feel obligated to make others guilty for not doing it
their way.... Women can be crazy) and 2) I freakin' went through 26 hours of labor!! Give me that dang epidural!
After that things were smooth sailing. My body continued laboring for 4 hours, I felt the need to push, so I pushed! My nurses, midwives and Austin were all great. I would push and they'd say, "Wow! You can really push! That was awesome!" and I'd think, "I am a great pusher, thank you!". It was incredibly encouraging to be told I was a great pusher for some reason. I pushed for about 45 minutes and right when I though "I don't think I can do this for much longer", Levi started helping me out and wiggling himself out! Everyone including the emergency nurses (you had swallowed some meconium so they needed stand by people to suck it out as soon as you arrived) were amazed by this wiggle worm!
There are some details that I just never will forget, son. Like how you were born with the sun rising over our beautiful Utah mountains. So fresh and so new. It was a perfect time of day to be born. Or how my heart just expanded and for the first time I really felt like my heart didn't reside in my body anymore, but I am looking at it in your eyes. Son, you came out with these big, bright, and observant eyes. I look into them and can almost see your strong little spirit inside amazed and awed by your new body. There is something special about you, Levi and I so honored to be your mother!
It's amazing how much longer 5 days after my due date have become in comparison to the 9 months before my due date. They have been filled with anticipation and excitement at the beginning of the day with the possibility that I may see my little one at the end of it all; and then to frustration, sadness, loneliness (how can you miss someone you haven't met yet?), and anxt at the end when, once again, my baby has decided that today is just not his day.
We also made many friends. Austin and I are a hard couple to miss: Austin is the tallest red head (and pretty sharp....people notice) so you can't really miss him. And I'm the only pregnant lady on the Saturday shift so most people were able to recognize and remember us easily. Many of the workers were older, usually retired. But there were also many return missionaries or sisters not yet married that I worked with as well. My last Saturday was bitter sweet. I realized how many wonderful friends I had made and how close we had become over the past few weeks. I am sad that I will not be able to be a worker again for a very long time. But look forward to being able to be one again! 
Nothing like meeting with your midwives to make you feel awesome. No joke, they are the best. 
