Introducing Brian Matthew!!!

He's here!!! Sorry it's taken me a while to post, but I've been kind of busy lately. ;)  Brian Matthew Ayvazian is here!!  He was born on March 24th at 12:25 am.   He was 6 pounds, 14 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long.  He is absolutely healthy and beautiful... Vahe and I are so blessed.  For those of you who haven't heard my birth story, he it is in a nutshell.  It's going to be a long post, so read when you have the time.  Sorry it's long, but hey - it's my story, and I have been waiting to tell it for a while now...

I started having contractions on Sunday, 3/22 while at mom and dad's house.  They were roughly 30-45 minutes apart and I was really not feeling well.  I knew these contractions were definitely "different" than ones I had previously felt.  The contractions stopped that night when we went to bed.  I figured that it was false labor and just went to sleep.  At 1:30 am, I work up with a contractions and Vahe starting timing them again.  They were every 30 minutes.  Around 3:00, we both got up, showered and started getting ready, because we figured this was it and we'd be heading to the hospital.  By 4:45, my contractions were 5-7 minutes apart and at 5:00, I called my doctor, who instructed me to go to the hospital.  We packed up the car and headed out... this was it!!  When we got there, I was checked into triage, where they do an exam and made me walk for an hour to see if I would dilate further.  After walking, I was dilated 4 cm.  They weren't certain I was in labor, so they wanted me to walk some more.  When I stood up to walk again, my water broke!! I was admitted right away and checked into my room for what was about to be a long and exhausting labor...

Vahe, mom and dad were with me all day and I got my epidural at 5 cm.  Let me just tell you - every woman has the choice whether or not to have the epidural.  For those of you who try to be the hero and do this without drugs - that's just DUMB in my opinion!! ;)  Drugs are gooood and made the day very painless and easy for me.  The nurses/doctor thought I would deliver Brian around dinner time, so that's what we had all planned for.  HOwever, when dinner time came around and I was stuck at 7 cm, the doctor wondered if I would have to have a C-section, because my contractions weren't strong enough at the time to deliver naturally.  To avoid this, they gave me petocin to speed up the contractions.  This is when things went south...

At the time they gave me the petocin, my epidural had begun to wear off, so I was feeling  the contractions for the first time coming on very  hard and strong.  On top of this, one of the side effects of the epidural is that it can make you shake uncontrollably.  So, I was shaking uncontrollably for HOURS and it was making me absolutely miserable.  My mom literally had to lay on top of me to calm the shaking.  If that wasn't bad enough, we then had a scare.  My doctor and a bunch of nurses  came into the room, and they put me on oxygen because the baby's heart rate had dropped dramatically.  Apparently I was laying in a way that made the baby put pressure on the cord, making the heart rate drop.  It was a terrifying few minutes as I watched the numbers on the monitor drop and drop.  I was so emotional and was completely terrified.  They got me in a position that brought the heart rate up and the doctor assured me that everything was going to be ok. I trusted him and he promised me that Brian would be just fine.

So, the petocin worked quickly and I was fully dilated within the hour. Then I had to push. They said that I wouldn't have to push long because of how low Brian was.  After the first hour of pushing aggressively, there was decent progress, but it seemed as though he was having a hard time getting out from under my pelvic bone.  After the second hour, it was VERY apparent that he was stuck ... I was physically and emotionally exhausted.  I didn't think that I could push anymore.  I had a great cheering squad in the room.  Vahe was a great labor coach and was very strong and supportive throughout the entire labor.  He and my mom took turns giving me ice chips and water and putting a cold washcloth on my forehead and neck.  The third hour of pushing, I was so thankful for a great doctor, as I was able to focus on him and he gave me the motivation to push.  I have never experienced pain like this in my life.  There are no words to describe what I went through.  The actual delivery was terrible - it was so long and exhausting... and so painful.  But, when they placed Brian on my chest for the first time, the pain seemed to go away.  He was so perfect and beautiful, and I was so happy.  Seeing him and hearing him cry for the first time was the best experience of my life.  Our little man was finally here and my heart grew by 19 1/2 inches immediately. ;)

So now, after almost a week after he was born, I sit here writing this as the happiest mommy on earth.  My mom always told me growing up "just wait until you're a mom, you'll understand".  And now I get it. I understand a mother's love for her child.  I never knew that love like this existed.  I stare at our beautiful baby and am in awe of what a miracle he truly is.  Vahe and I created this life out of our love for eachother and he grew inside of me for 9 months.  It is absolutely the best experience of my life and I am completely head-over-heels in love with Brian.  He has, in 6 days, given me a love and happiness that I never dreamed of.  It was a painful experience bringing him into this world, but seeing his beautiful face every day makes it all worth it!!! :)