The Gapinskis: May 2014

Friday, February 28th was Uncle Kalen's birthday & the day that so many friends and family had guessed that our sweet boy would be born. I had been dilated to a 3 {almost 4} for 3 weeks now & my doctor was surprised I had made it this far when I went in for my appointment that day. I was so ready to meet our baby & my body was ready, too. I hadn't had a good nights sleep in at least a couple months & no matter what position I was in, I was always uncomfortable. Dr. Bierer talked to me about scheduling an induction day & I was so unsure if it was the right thing to do or not. I wanted him to come on his own just like Whitley did & I definitely did not want to be started on drugs to get him here. My doctor then told me that I could schedule a day, and that he would break my water & he was 90% sure that I would naturally go into labor at that point. So we decided to commit to March 7th, exactly one week away.

I was excited to have a deadline, knowing that if I didn't have our son before March 7th, that we would be meeting him then. We spent the week doing lots of little things around the house to be ready for our little guy to come home.

The morning of March 7th came, I had to get up at 5:00am so I could shower & get ready before we needed to leave to be at the hospital by 7:00am. I was SO unbelievably nervous! I kept wondering why I was so incredibly nervous.. I had done this before.. I came to realize that going into labor naturally with Whitley, had started my adrenaline going which calmed my nerves. I wasn't in active labor at this point with Nixon even though I had been having regular contractions for a month now.

We arrived at the hospital and got checked in. We went back to room 517 & after I got dressed & in bed we patiently waited for my doctor to come in and break my water. Meanwhile, the nurses were trying to start my IV. This was the worst part of my whole experience. The first nurse who tried poked me 3 different times & kept digging around in my arm trying to make it work. All this after I had just finished telling her that I hoped she was better than the one who did my IV with my daughter's delivery. She reassured me that she always gets it on the first try.. WRONG. I finally told her I needed a break - I was literally feeling flush, nauseous & on the verge of passing out. {it was painful!} They finally brought in the charge nurse who numbed me with a little litocane & got the IV in on the first try. UGH - if only she had done it in the first place!

Dr. Bierer broke my water around 8:30am & then we waited as my contractions got longer, harder & more frequent.

I fought through contractions up until about 11:00am when the anesthesiologist came in to do my epidural. I asked the nurse to check to see how far dilated I was before the epidural but she wouldn't because she said it was painful.. I laughed because I had been checked numerous times up to this point in my pregnancy & it wasn't what I considered painful. She told me she would check me after I got my epidural in. Meanwhile, my Mom was at home with Whitley thinking I would be no where near delivery yet so Tyler got to sit in on the epidural this time. Hmm.. bad idea. He decided to steal the show & pass out. Should have known that would happen. :) For the next hour or so the nurses kept asking him if he was okay & if they could get him anything. They even made him ride in a wheelchair from the chair next to me over to the couch to lie down.

Finally after all the commotion was over, the nurse decided to check me. She was in shock and told me I was already at an 8! This made me excited but also a little upset. If I would have known I was so far dilated, I would not have committed to getting the epidural. I had made it that far without one, I figured I could have gone all the way. Oh well.

A little less than an hour later, I was feeling a lot of pressure & knew I had to be ready to deliver. I was checked again & the nurse said I was at a 10 & that she better call the doctor. He got there just in time because I pushed once & my sweet boy was born.

Nixon Tyler Gapinski

March 7, 2014

12:48 PM

7 lbs 12 oz

20.5 inches

I couldn't believe I only pushed once. I was astonished that it was already over! I feel so blessed & grateful that Nixon's delivery went so smoothly. A total of 4 hours of active labor to bring him safely into this world, what a dream!

Next exciting moment was having Whitley meet her new brother. Grandpa Jeff brought her to the hospital as quickly as he could. She was definitely unsure and scared being in the hospital. Seeing me in the bed was especially scary for her at first. Everything was so strange to her, and I totally understood. After an hour or so, she finally warmed up & even gave her brother a hug and a kiss.

What a sweet precious boy. We are so blessed! Although it took a few weeks to adjust physically, mentally & emotionally to my life with two kids, I am happy to say that I love it! It's definitely hard, don't get me wrong.. but my heart has grown even larger & the amount of love I feel for my children has as well. As I am sitting here typing this, Nixon is smiling and cooing at me, what a sweetheart! I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for trusting me with this precious spirit. We are so blessed, words cannot even express the gratitude I have!