This is only four weeks late, but I wanted to share Cullen’s birth story with everyone.
After the ultrasound, Corey and I met with the doctor to see how I was progressing. At 39 weeks 3 days, Cullen had not really dropped, and I had not dilated at all. This boy was obviously not in a hurry to get out. And he was already almost 10 lbs and growing every day.
After talking with Dr. H, Corey and I decided that the best thing would be to go ahead and schedule a c-section. We discussed with the doctor that most likely, Cullen was not going to come on his own…he was just too big to even start making his way out. I was probably not going to go into labor on my own anytime soon, and the risks of me trying to birth such a large baby naturally were just not worth it. We scheduled the c-section for 9:00 the next morning. Leave it to me to plan the birth of my child.
After leaving the doctor’s office, we called our families and I called work to let them know I would not be coming back in for a while. Then I went home to pack what we needed for the hospital. (Yes, I waited until the last minute. Of course.) When Corey got home, we went out to get dinner for the last time as a family of two.
Thursday morning, we got up early, loaded up the car, and headed to the hospital. We were only about 5 minutes late (that’s pretty good for us), but my parents beat us there. After laughing about that, I checked in and headed to the room to get prepped for surgery. I put on that lovely hospital gown, crawled in the bed, and then the nurses hooked me up to about every machine imaginable. Corey and our families hung out in the room with us while nurses monitored me, the anesthesiologist introduced himself and went over the drugs I would get, and Dr. H came by to check on me.
At about 8:45, Corey donned his lovely blue scrubs, and they wheeled me down to the operating room. Let me tell you, they keep those rooms cold. That was probably my least favorite part of the whole experience. Despite my constant shivering, I got on the table and the anesthesiologist got to work numbing me up from the waist down. Once I got over the fact that no matter how hard I tried, I could not get my brain to tell my toes to wiggle, I was okay with not being able to feel anything.
Just after 9:00, they were about to start. I had to quickly let them know that I could see the reflection of my stomach in the overhead light. Thank goodness they could move the light; I did not want to see what they were doing down there. Corey on the other hand wanted to watch the whole thing. I was surprised that he was able to watch them cut me open like that. ( I guess all those medical dramas we watch helped.)
At 9:19 I heard our son’s first little noise. It wasn’t so much of a cry…he just seemed a little annoyed that someone moved him when he was so cozy. Corey grabbed the camera and followed the nurses to capture Cullen’s first moments as they weighed him and inked up his little feet.
A few minutes later, Corey brought Cullen over to me and laid him on my shoulder. I immediately loved that little boy more than I could have ever imagined. I wanted so badly to wrap my arms around him and never let go. But I had to settle for kissing his sweet little head as Corey held him close.
Cullen Todd was born on Thursday, January 17th at 9:19 am. He weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and was 21 inches long.
After Dr. H sewed me back up, we went back to our Mom and Baby room. Our families met us in the hall on the way and got a glimpse of the newest family member.
We stayed in the hospital until Sunday. We had a wonderful experience while we were there. Cullen’s birth went great, and I was already recovering well. There is really not anything I would change about Cullen’s birth. I am a little sad that I didn’t get to experience a traditional labor and delivery, but more than anything I am happy that our son made his entrance to this world happy and healthy.
And because I can’t help myself, here are a few more pictures from our stay in the hospital.
angela myers
February 16, 2013 at 10:33 pmLove all three of you guys to the moon and back and back again!!!
Love,
MeMe
Katy
February 16, 2013 at 11:28 pmSo sweet! I remember the trip from the L&D room to the mother-baby room- such a proud moment, holding your brand-new precious baby! Love the pictures. 🙂