It's a boy!!! Linden is here!!
We are so excited to finally announce that our sweet baby boy has officially entered life in our family. Guys, let me tell you this little boy is a dream and has the ability to melt your heart at first glance. So, if your heart melts, you've been warned.
He's already the perfect addition to our family and a huge blessing to have in our home. Completely opposite of Conner in the best way possible. Conner was a handful from the moment he was born. This little guy just goes with the flow, and in my mind, when you're dealing with an overwhelming firstborn, this is the kind of child you need to even out the score.
Name
Just about everyone asks me about his name. Linden is not a name that you hear much these days unless you are referencing the former president Lyndon B Johnson. But, that's not who this little boy is named after. Conner was named after his grandma and grandpa on Joe's side so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to name this little boy after his grandma and grandpa on my side. So, Linden was named after two very special people in his life just like Conner was.
Stats
Even though Linden is the little brother, he's already bigger than Conner was at birth. He was born at 8.0 pounds even and 20.5" long. I was not expecting an 8 lb baby. I wasn't even expecting him to be bigger than Conner, but I was wrong! And he almost nailed his expected delivery date, but held off just a little.
Birth Story
Linden's labor and delivery was a thousand times easier than Conner. If I rate Conner's labor pain as a 10, Linden's labor pain was only a 4-5 at its worst. Conner's labor/delivery was classified as traumatic according to the medical staff, and having the best doula around to help with this labor definitely brought about a different outcome. Linden's pain level was so much lower than Conner's that when we left for the hospital, I thought for sure I'd only be at 5cm. You'll read later I was way off.
We had the 40 week prenatal appointment last Monday morning where I was told that I was at about 2 cm. Not a big deal. But right around 2:30pm I had a feeling like my Braxton Hicks were turning into something so I took advantage of Conner's nap time to take a nap myself. From there, the mild contractions woke me up 5-6 times. Let me tell you, I hate that time period where you can't tell if Braxton Hicks are getting the best of you or if this is the start of the real deal. So I waited until 6:30 before calling our doula, Karra.
Her advice (and I would definitely advise anyone else to try this) get in a super hot shower for 20 minutes. If the contractions get stronger after that, then you know it's baby time. What do ya know... the contractions were 5 minutes consistently and stronger after that shower. Karra was at the house around 7:30 after hearing that.
From there we spent the next few hours laboring at home. Oh my word, hot showers are the best pain reliever especially with back pain! Karra in her wisdom and knowing how I am, had a pretty good indication that this baby was posterior and went ahead with telling me that this baby facing the right way. Well played, Karra. Well played. If I had know that this baby was posterior, I would've flipped out and started asking for an epidural. That's just how my mind operates when I know too much info. I try to escape the pain.
Towards the end of our time laboring at home, Joe and Karra started packing the car up with our stuff. That's when I had the feeling... that feeling where you have to push. So of course I chime up saying that I have to push and from there everyone moved fast and we drove nearly 80 mph to the hospital. Not fun when you live about 35-40 minutes away. Joe was on the phone with the doctor, and I was bracing myself in the car pushing while Joe was telling me to keep my legs together and stop pushing. Yeah. Right. That's like telling me to make my heart stop pumping blood. I can't.
When we arrived at the hospital, they ran me down the halls, bypassed triage, and got right in the delivery room. The only moment I don't remember about the labor and delivery was getting from the wheelchair onto the hospital bed, but I do remember them telling me I can start pushing when I had the next contraction. Finally, someone was telling me I could push.
I am so grateful for each person that was in that room. I was so exhausted that I could barely move even though they had me getting into different positions. I hated every time they made me change positions and being to the point of exhaustion that I couldn't even open my eyes didn't help. But, looking back, because of trying so many different types of positions, we found one that worked with the shape of my pelvis. (My doctor suspected that the shape of my pelvis naturally causes my babies to face posterior and in Conner's case, get stuck.) Having the right people there to find that perfect way to push made all the difference.
Each and every person there made for the most encouraging team to get us through this successfully. I get very anxious in a hospital and wanted to call it out of pure exhaustion, but I could hear every voice in that room giving me the support I needed and Karra and Joe reminding me that I could find the energy to finish since we've come this far. How lucky am I to get every person I needed. And on top of that, not one person in that room even hinted that this baby was posterior (again, if I'd known that it would've been game over mentally for me).
So, four hours later, we had a successful VBAC, and I was in tears just knowing that I did it. And then I heard the doctor mention to the nurse about Linden being posterior. As soon as heard that and got over my disbelief, it was complete joy and the adrenaline kicked in. When it seemed like nothing went right with Conner's birth, we had a second chance with Linden, and we nailed it. His poor head ended up as swollen and bruised like his brother no thanks to the shape of my pelvis, but we did it.
And I have to mention how supportive Joe was. I am so lucky to have a husband that stays by my side telling me what I needed to hear. He knows how I am and can read me well enough to know when I needed the pep talks and the moments to stay silent when I didn't want to hear anyone talking. He is proud of me, and I am proud of him. And we are the proud parents of two amazing little boys.
Towards the end of our time laboring at home, Joe and Karra started packing the car up with our stuff. That's when I had the feeling... that feeling where you have to push. So of course I chime up saying that I have to push and from there everyone moved fast and we drove nearly 80 mph to the hospital. Not fun when you live about 35-40 minutes away. Joe was on the phone with the doctor, and I was bracing myself in the car pushing while Joe was telling me to keep my legs together and stop pushing. Yeah. Right. That's like telling me to make my heart stop pumping blood. I can't.
When we arrived at the hospital, they ran me down the halls, bypassed triage, and got right in the delivery room. The only moment I don't remember about the labor and delivery was getting from the wheelchair onto the hospital bed, but I do remember them telling me I can start pushing when I had the next contraction. Finally, someone was telling me I could push.
I am so grateful for each person that was in that room. I was so exhausted that I could barely move even though they had me getting into different positions. I hated every time they made me change positions and being to the point of exhaustion that I couldn't even open my eyes didn't help. But, looking back, because of trying so many different types of positions, we found one that worked with the shape of my pelvis. (My doctor suspected that the shape of my pelvis naturally causes my babies to face posterior and in Conner's case, get stuck.) Having the right people there to find that perfect way to push made all the difference.
Each and every person there made for the most encouraging team to get us through this successfully. I get very anxious in a hospital and wanted to call it out of pure exhaustion, but I could hear every voice in that room giving me the support I needed and Karra and Joe reminding me that I could find the energy to finish since we've come this far. How lucky am I to get every person I needed. And on top of that, not one person in that room even hinted that this baby was posterior (again, if I'd known that it would've been game over mentally for me).
So, four hours later, we had a successful VBAC, and I was in tears just knowing that I did it. And then I heard the doctor mention to the nurse about Linden being posterior. As soon as heard that and got over my disbelief, it was complete joy and the adrenaline kicked in. When it seemed like nothing went right with Conner's birth, we had a second chance with Linden, and we nailed it. His poor head ended up as swollen and bruised like his brother no thanks to the shape of my pelvis, but we did it.
And I have to mention how supportive Joe was. I am so lucky to have a husband that stays by my side telling me what I needed to hear. He knows how I am and can read me well enough to know when I needed the pep talks and the moments to stay silent when I didn't want to hear anyone talking. He is proud of me, and I am proud of him. And we are the proud parents of two amazing little boys.
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| Those cheeks!! |
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| Daddy's Deer Hunter |
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