Gavin Randall Thomas

Gavin Randall Thomas blessed us with his presence at 12:25 pm on February 25th. He weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 20 inches long.

I went to the doctor for a regular visit on Monday and my blood pressure was up for the first time. This pregnancy has been so great and totally opposite from Garth Lee's where I had problems with my pressures from about 28 weeks. We have both just been doing so well until this week, I also had protein in my urine and hyperreflexia (all signs of preeclampsia). I was just starting my 37th week, so I still had a week to go to be out of the woods more or less as far as maturity of the baby, so we decided to try and get a few more days of him inside and hopefully with me healthy so I started bedrest and I had an appointment set for Wednesday afternoon. Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, my pressures were a little elevated and at the appointment it was also high, still had proteinuria and hyperreflexia. Dr. Lampkin went ahead and checked me and I was 4cm and 80% effaced and with all of this, he decided that we were going to have a baby on Thursday the 25th and I agreed that we want both a healthy mommy and a healthy baby and that would probably be best.

We went in Thursday morning at around 7:30 and Dr. Lampkin broke my water at 8am. We waited to start the pitocin at a good rate until AFTER the epidural, so we waited until the anesthesiologist came before we really augmented labor. I had a few contractions in the hour, but nothing really all that noticeable. I got the epidural at 9am and the nurse checked me and I was a 5 and 100% effaced. Between 10 and 11, I was starting to feel pretty intense pain in one little spot on my hip and remembering what it was like with Garth Lee, I was just worried that it was just going to get worse, so we had the anesthesiologist come and reposition my catheter and she gave me a bolus of pain meds into my epidural...that made me forget how to breathe...my BP dropped to 89/46 and the nurse came and gave me some ephedrine and in 30 seconds I was fine AND the pain in my hip was gone, so I was happy. Everyone was in and out and we were all visiting. Garth decided maybe Grandma should go ahead and pick up Garth Lee at school at noon so that he for sure wouldn't miss anything and even though I was pretty sure it would take longer, I agreed that he should probably come up since he was most likely being crazy at school anyways knowing his baby brother was coming that day. They got there and came into the room about 12:00 and we visited for a little bit as I was starting to feel that hip pain again. I told the nurse that the pain was back and pretty bad and I knew that we could increase the epidural rate, but she said for me to visit with Garth Lee a bit and she would check me first to see where we were, so while I was talking to Garth Lee and everyone else in the room, this pain was getting almost unbearable and I had to ask Garth to get everyone out. The nurse came in right behind and checked me and said, let's just have this baby...and to be honest, I was really leaning more towards the increase the epidural for a minute option, but she didn't really ask ;)...She said I had an anterior lip and with a contraction it would probably go away, so she placed my legs in the stirrups (my epidural REALLY worked...mostly) and started to raise the top of the bed and breakdown the bottom...then everything gets a little fuzzy, I was hurting BAD, she asked Garth (very calmly) to press the call button for her and when they came on she requested the immediate presence of the doctor, (who fortunately was having a sandwich at the nurses station) and nurses...oh and she told me my baby had lots of dark hair. I had 3 contractions right on top of each other...and the more I think about it, maybe it was just one, but I felt some relief with pushing and I pushed 3 times...anyways, Dr. Lampkin was half-dressed and barely got gloves on when Gavin came out. I remember one of the nurses running in saying "someone get the camera" and I looked up and said, um no one is taking "those" pictures (but I am so glad she did, I got some of the best pictures from a nurse taking pictures...and only one we had to delete). The first thing I thought when I saw him was how tiny he was, and when they put him on my belly I just remember I wanted to hold him forever.

We were worried about his lungs being ready, but they were fine. He had a little trouble keeping his temperature at first, but he caught on really fast to that also. When I was able to use one of my legs, we went to a post partum room and anxiously awaited our little man.

This was so opposite of my experience with Garth Lee, while I was being *repaired* (a common side effect of a baby shooting out at lightning fast speeds), I commented that I could totally do that again, that it was so easy. Dr. Lampkin just laughed at me and said I would have to at least wait until I was out of the stirrups. I am so grateful for this experience, but it is so surreal...that it's over, that he is here and we are all healthy and fine. I am so blessed in so many ways and I am so grateful for this birth experience.

I posted pictures in a post below...enjoy ;)