ochklk: AXL's Birth Story
Posted
Monday, April 13, 2009 3:28 PM
"I opted for a half-body epidural, since I wanted to have the first look at my boy when he arrived..."
Finally our time
After I miscarried, we desperately tried for another baby 3 months after my D&C, but it just seemed like it was so difficult for us. After six months of trying by ourselves, we went to see my Ob/Gyn and she let me try Clomid and ask me to calculate my ovulation. But after 3 cycles of Clomid, we decided to give up for the time being, as my hubby was busy with his work and degree studies, so we let nature take it course. We planned for a holiday trip to Japan for next year. In the meantime, my hubby needed to do his army reservist, which forced him to go jogging everyday.
And one fine day, I noticed one of my breasts felt really painful and my period was late, so I took a pregnancy test... And that's when I learned I was PREGNANT! (Think it was all the jogging that helped, haha...).
Going into labor
On February 23, 2009, at 39 weeks and 4 days pregnant, I went to my regular check up. There was no sign that my baby wanted to come out yet, and my OB even made fun of me, saying my baby was having a good time in my tummy -- good sleep and good meals. He was already weighing around 4kg, so my Ob/Gyn needed to induce me since he would just be bigger if we waited. She inserted a tablet into me for inducing and wanted to admit me to the hospital the same night. She said the nurse would come and insert another tablet at 6 a.m. the next morning.
After two tablets were inserted, I still had no contractions and no pain at all. So around 8 a.m., my OB came and checked for my dilation, but by cervix was still not open. At this point she said I needed a c-section and I immediately said okay, as I wanted my baby boy to be safe. My operation was scheduled for 3 p.m., since I needed to fast first and wait at least 6 hours for food to digest.
Axl's arrival
I opted for half-body epidural, since I wanted to have the first look at my boy when he arrived. Before the operation, I told my OB that whatever happens, my boy must be safe, and she assured me, "I'll make sure both of you are safe." During the operation, the nurses and my OB kept talking to me to make me forget that I was having an operation, so I wouldn't feel so tense. My husband was holding my hand the whole time.
Twenty minutes later, at 3:18 p.m., I heard crying; my boy had arrived. My hubby kept taking pictures and video of our son and suddenly forgot about me completely (haha!). The nurse cleaned him up and carried him to me and we took a photograph all together. He weighed in at 3.8 kg and measured 51.5 cm long. We named him AXL -- the name is taken from Guns N' Roses lead singer AXL Rose.
I was confined to the bed for the first night, but I was out of bed and on to the nursery the next day. Just want to a give a big thank you to my OB, who is great at her stitching and made it not so painful for me, even after the anesthesia wore off.
Now my little Axl boy is 6 weeks old and brings our family so much joy and laughter every day...
> Want to share your birth story? Email it to kstanford@theknot.com.