Welcome to the world, Maxwell!!

Clearly, my blogging skills are phenomenal...been a while since I posted!  :P

I thought that since I had Jonah at 37 weeks and 6 days, I would FOR SURE have Max early.  I had some signs of labor on March 8 when I was 38 weeks and 2 days.  This was the day before my mom came into town.  I had contractions for 2 hours in the middle of the night, and thought I might be dehydrated, so I drank a ton of water and they slowed down and eventually stopped.  I had another episode a few days later with one very painful contraction in the middle of the night and then nothing after that.  The third time I thought I was going into labor was on March 17 (39 weeks, 4 days) when I had contractions for 4 hours in the middle of the night.  I almost called into work and almost asked Jordan to stay home!  But by the time my alarm went off, the contractions had stopped.

All this start and stop labor was beyond frustrating.  I just wanted my little boy to come NOW so that my mom would be able to see his birth!  With all this start and stop labor, I decided to do everything I could to get labor started and keep going.
We: went to the park multiple times to walk miles
I got a birthing ball and bounced on it constantly through the day
I drank red raspberry leaf tea
Took baths
Got foot massages from my mom
etc, etc, etc.
Every night I would go to sleep thinking, "This is the night!" When I would wake up in the morning and I wasn't in labor it was so agonizing.

My actual labor started on March 19 at 1 PM, about an hour before my 40 week midwife appointment.  I had been planning on asking the midwife (Barbara) to sweep my membranes to speed things up as well.  I told her that I'd been having contractions for a few hours, so she checked me and I was 1 cm dilated, 0% effaced.  I wasn't able to get my membranes swept because I wasn't dilated enough.  But I was excited!  That night I drank a ton of tea, got another foot massage, and took another bath.  Contractions slowed down a bit that evening, but picked up again around 9 PM, when they were every 2.5-5 minutes and about 1 minute long.  I called the midwife at 11:20 PM and she said I could go to the hospital and she would meet us there.  I also reminded her that I progressed from 7 cm to 10 cm in 20 minutes with Jonah, so I wanted to get to the hospital with enough time.

We called our nanny, Becca, and she came to sleep over while my mom, Jordan, and I went to the hospital.  We went to check in and the nurse in the ER said I would have to be wheeled up to L&D.  I begged to walk and she said that I didn't look like I was too stressed, so I could walk :) I was so happy, because I walked almost my whole labor with Jonah and wanted to do the same with Max.

When we got up to the unit around 12:30 AM, I was able to bypass triage and get a bed.  They did intermittent fetal monitoring here just like with Jonah.  I had brought gatorade and was drinking that like there was no tomorrow.  I got a birthing ball and began bouncing on it.  After doing that for a while I decided to walk the halls.  We walked for about 30 minutes.  There was another lady also walking the halls and she was really loud, moaning in the hallway and obviously further progressed than I was.  I kept comparing myself to her, and then decided that wasn't fair to myself, so we decided to stay in the room.  I stood next to the bed and swayed, then got on the birthing ball again.  Jordan and mom decided to sleep and wait.

Around 2:15 AM, Barbara came to check me and I was 4 cm dilated, 75% effaced, and Max was at -2 station!  Yay!  I hadn't thought I was that far progressed!  I decided to take a nap.  I woke up around 3 AM and the contractions were really slowed down.  I walked in the hall for a little bit and then decided to take a hot shower.  With Jonah, my contractions slowed and then I took a bath and they picked up again, so that was my hope this time around.  I showered for probably 30 minutes and they did get a lot stronger.

At 4:15 AM, they put me back on the monitor.  Max was having some early decelerations, so I drank more fluids.  The contractions were definitely getting more powerful.  I was feeling the need to "verbalize" my contractions, not really yelling, but moaning loudly.  One of the only outbursts I had (proudly) my whole labor was at this time, when I barked at Jordan to wake up..."It's time!  Come on!" haha.

At 4:45 AM, I was feeling a lot of pressure.  Barbara checked me and I was 7 cm dilated!  They got the room ready at this time, and at 5 AM, I was completely dilated with urges to push.  Barbara asked me what position I wanted to push in and I decided on the bed at 45 degrees so I would be in a seated squat position.

With the first push, my water broke!  It felt so strange, like a balloon popping inside me.  They noted a small amount of meconium in the amniotic fluid, so the NICU people were called to the room just in case.  I needed a lot of direction from my nurse, Michele, to pull my legs back, hold my breath, and push down.  I really appreciated her just talking into my ear all these directions.  My legs were shaking uncontrollably! It was like when you're doing a wall-sit for a long time and  your muscles just start to shake.  One of my goals with this birth was to not tear, so I pushed about 4-5 times and Barbara applied lots of mineral oil to prevent me from tearing.  Jordan delivered Max's head with Barbara's assistance and it was amazing to be able to see it!  I then slowly pushed again and Max's body came very slowly out!  He was born at 5:23 AM on March 20!

Max had poor color but everything else was ok and he was crying, so his APGAR was an 8/10.  Jordan laid him on my chest and he cuddled into me for a few minutes before the NICU people took him to the warmer due to the meconium present in the fluid.  He was suctioned and then given right back to me.  He was crying, but immediately calmed down when I was talking to him.  He began breastfeeding and has an amazing latch.  He suckled for about 1.5 hour after being born.

We stayed in the room for about 2.5 hours afterward (during change of shift) before being taken to the maternity unit.  Before we left, Jordan went and got me a mango smoothie from Panera (continuing our tradition from Jonah!) and doughnuts from Dunkin.  I felt great!  I had some soreness and minimal pain, but this recovery was a lot better because I didn't tear at all!  I was voracious afterward, eating a huge meal and snacking constantly.  I was also a little tired from not really sleeping since 2 days before.

Max is so sweet.  He has my lips and nose, but otherwise looks just like Jordan.  He has the cutest little cry.  I don't even think you could call it a cry, because it's more of a wail, like "Woe is me!"  Haha!  He has fantastic neck control and is able to hold his head up and look around!  His fingernails were really long, and his eyelashes were really short.  My mom said they would grow.  He smelled intoxicating after being born and I'm pretty sad I allowed them to bathe him the day he was born.  I also can't get over how good of a latch he has with breastfeeding.

We love you so much, little Max!

Welcome to the World, Jonah!!

Jonah Jordan Henderson was born on April 25, 2013 at 3:44 PM.  He was 6 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches long, and so perfect.  Jonah was born at 37 weeks and 6 days, a little over 2 weeks early.  He has stolen our hearts!  Below is his birth story, which is intensely personal and a little graphic, so you’ve been warned! ;)

My last official belly shot a few days before

Let me preface this by saying I had the worst day at work on April 24 - I was charge nurse and had 3 discharges, 2 admissions, and a staff meeting to attend.  I usually am at work for only 8 hours, but that day I was there for 11 hours.  It was so stressful!  I had been planning on getting groceries and packing my hospital bag when I got home, but I was so tired, I just sat on the couch and cried.  I told Jordan, “If I have another day like this, I will go into labor!!”  Ha!  Jordan went to The Alamo to get dinner and then we went to bed.  At 11 PM my water broke, and I jumped out of bed so I wouldn’t ruin the mattress!  Funnily enough, I had bought a waterproof mattress cover...and hadn’t put it on the bed yet.  Oh the joys of procrastination!  I started to run down the hall to the bathroom, while yelling out to Jordan, “My water broke!”  He didn’t believe me, haha.  I knew it was my water though because every time I would move a gush would come out.  

At this point I wasn’t having contractions, so we decided I could still go to work the next day.  Around 2 AM I started having cramping in my abdomen.  It felt like menstrual cramps!  That surprised me.  They were irregular, about 30-40 seconds long and every 2-7 minutes.  I lay in bed waiting to see if they would continue and they did.  At 2:45 AM I called my coworker, Laurie, to ask her to do ECT that day because I obviously couldn’t!  Then I texted my mom and my boss.  My boss was so funny, she texted back, “Don’t know why you can’t do ECT??? LOL.”  

At 3:30 AM I got out of bed because I couldn’t sleep and just wandered aimlessly around the house, doing dishes and things like that.  I finally laid back down around 5 AM but still couldn’t sleep.  I listened to some calming music and breathed through my contractions, which were getting stronger.  

At 6:30 AM, I called my doctor’s cell phone and left a message.  I also asked Jordan to not go to school that day because we were definitely having this baby!  He texted his classmate and they said he was good to stay home.  

I took a nice, long, hot shower at 7 AM.  When I got out and was getting ready, Dr. Mead finally called me back.  Unfortunately, he told me that he would be at another hospital until 7 PM that day, and that his colleague, Dr. Malkman would be covering for him at St. Mary’s.  He knew that Jordan was in medical school and had recently taken his OB rotation, so he asked if Jordan had checked me.  He seemed surprised when I said he hadn’t, haha!  I asked him if I could get a smoothie before coming in and he agreed, and then said to come in whenever.  

I packed my bag after that and we left for Panera for a mango smoothie.  Jordan went and got it for me while I waited in the car, listening to my Liquid Mind CD.  We got to the hospital around 8:45 AM and walked in through the ER entrance.  The nurses there seemed surprised when I said I was in labor.  I guess I seemed too relaxed!  They offered to wheel me up to the unit, but I wanted to walk as much as possible.  We got to the unit and my nurse, Tiffany, got me checked in.  She was awesome and was all for my low intervention plan.  She was also totally my advocate; when she called Dr. Malkman to let her know I was there, Dr. Malkman wanted to start me on Pitocin and Tiffany said no!  Great nurse!  At 9:30 they did an amniotic fluid test to make sure I was really in labor, and it was extremely positive!  She checked me after that and I was at 3 cm and 60% effaced.  I got an IV placed in my left forearm (yay for avoiding joints!) and they saline locked it.  

At 10:30 AM they let me off the monitor.  They would do intermittent monitoring every hour for 20 minutes.  I was so glad!  I walked around the room, kept the lights low, and turned on my Liquid Mind CD.  It was really relaxing.  Jordan went to get some lunch at 11 and Tiffany brought me a birthing ball and a peanut ball.  The peanut ball was for when I would lay in bed so I could keep my hips open.  She encouraged me to get up, move around, and drink lots of water to speed up labor.  I sat on the birthing ball just rocking for a few minutes.  When Jordan came back, we walked up and down the hall for 20 minutes.  With every contraction, I would pause and rest my head against the wall while Jordan would rub my back, telling me what a good job I’m doing.  So many people in the hallway were encouraging to me, saying sweet things like, “Keep going!”  “Walk that baby down!”  We also saw Dr. Malkman in the hallway and talked with her for a bit.  

At 11:30 I got put on the monitor again.  Tiffany let me sit on the birthing ball while I was being monitored!  I loved not having to lay down.  At 11:50 I decided I wanted to take a bath, so Jordan started the water going.  I labored in the bath for almost an entire hour.  During the bath I started to fall asleep in between contractions.  The contractions themselves were becoming much more strong and painful.  The warm water was so relaxing.  Eventually it became uncomfortable to sit in the tub and completely relax, so I decided to get out around 12:40 and move to the bed.

At 12:50 I got on the monitor again and he was so low in my pelvis that Tiffany couldn’t get a good reading if I was sitting on the birthing ball.  I decided to stand up by the monitor to allow him to continue moving down.  Jordan was putting counter pressure on my lower back.  I was starting to get nauseated because of how strong the contractions were, so Tiffany got me some ginger ale.  

I was completely in “labor land” at this time so I don’t really remember the timeline of everything after this.  I labored in the bed for a while on my side with the peanut ball in between my legs.  I was really feeling the contractions all the way to my hips.  They were super strong and it was very difficult to relax.  I was breathing a little hard and Jordan kept trying to calm me down by putting counter pressure on my back and doing the relaxation exercises we’d practiced.  I know I was hitting transition at this point because I was sooo irritable and because I was starting to doubt my ability to do this.  I got mad at the peanut ball because it made the contractions stronger (because it helps keep your hips open).  “Get this dang thing out of here!”  I also got mad at Jordan because I didn’t like how he was putting counter pressure on my lower back.  “Push!  You’re not pushing, you’re rubbing!  No!!  PUSH!”  It makes me laugh now, haha!  

Tiffany came back to check me and it was so painful having her touch me while I was having a contraction!  I was at 7 cm and 90% effaced.  The contractions were so intense that I was gripping the side rails and shaking during them.  She put me on the monitor and Jonah was so so low in my pelvis.  He was having some variable decelerations, possibly due to the cord being around his neck or the cord being compressed by his foot.  This part was scary for me.  Extra nurses came in the room and they, along with Jordan, helped me rotate side to side to help Jonah.  This was SO hard during contractions!  All I wanted to do was lay there!  They also started some saline in my IV and oxygen via face mask.  The face mask smelled gross, like a beach ball.  During this time, they started getting the room prepared for delivery, including getting a gown and gloves for Jordan.  

Eventually the contractions got so intense that I started groaning and I just knew I was close to the end.  Tiffany notices me groaning and checked me again (20 minutes after she last checked me).  She said, “Wow, she’s complete!  We need to call Dr. Malkman to get over here now!”  My body started involuntarily pushing during contractions and it was the absolute hardest and most painful thing to not push during those contractions.  I let it all out verbally, and felt like I was really loud, haha!  Jordan said I wasn’t too loud.  It felt like we waited forever for the doctor!  She ran in and said, “I’m glad I didn’t get a ticket trying to get here!”  They had a mirror set up near the foot of the bed so I could see the delivery, which was awesome.  

Dr. Malkman put on her gowns and gloves and the nurses helped me to a seated squat position and held my legs up for me.  I took a deep breath and started pushing!  It felt SO good to push with the contractions, to work with my body!  It basically (sorry for TMI) felt like I was going to have a giant BM all over.  During the first push, Jonah came down really far in the birth canal.  The second push brought his head to the edge.  The third brought him into this world!!!  Dr. Malkman delivered his head and Jordan delivered his body!  Jordan placed him immediately on my chest afterwards and then was able to cut the cord!

The first thing I noticed about Jonah was how long his eyelashes are and how long his fingernails were, as well as how amazing he smelled.  Love that new baby smell.  He has gorgeous brown hair and is such a good mix of Jordan and I.  He just kept looking at me!  I immediately fell in love.  

After Jonah was born the doctor allowed my body to continue to contract to let the placenta be delivered, which was painless.  But then she put pressure on my belly to make it contract down, and that killed!  They were also giving me pitocin IV at the same time to help the uterus contract down.  I had a second degree tear that she stitched up.  Jonah and Jordan and I were just all sitting there loving the moment.  He started breastfeeding and I was amazed at how he just seemed to know what to do!  The nurses then allowed us about an hour together as a new family alone.  Jenae came in around this time and helped take tons of pictures and videos.  It was so nice having her there!

The whole weight of what we had done came to me then - Jordan and I had actually created this little person!  He was living and breathing!  I could not, and still can’t believe the love that Heavenly Father has for us to allow us to be creators alongside Him.  It’s amazing.  I also can’t believe I’m a mom - and responsible for this little person!!!   

My Birth and Family, Questions 5, 6, and 7

Continued questions from the This is Me Challenge

5. How was your relationship with your siblings and parents?

When I was living with my family, my relationship with my siblings was pretty similar to other people's - we fought a lot!  We would have fun and joke with each other, but unfortunately, some of the time I not very nice to my brothers.  I had a hard time learning patience, but my mom persevered and taught me well.  I eventually learned to be more patient as I got older, and it has helped me today in my career and marriage.  Today, my brothers and I don't fight, but we do tease each other a lot!  I can't wait for Jordan to get home from his mission and for Jared to graduate high school.  It's so strange that they are old enough to do things like that!  

My parents and I have a good relationship.  We've always been pretty open with each other.  Parts of our personalities are very similar which makes it hard sometimes (especially when you both want something one way, lol) but good communication helps us out!  I love my parents!

6. What are some lessons/values you learned from you parents?

Communication
Punctuality (especially from my dad)
Respect for others, but especially for myself
Honesty
Hard Work
Integrity
Love of learning
Kindness
Spirituality
Dedication

7. How did you help in your home? 

We had jobs to do every week.  We would each clean our room and a bathroom every Saturday.  Every day we would do different things, like: washing dishes/filling dishwasher, folding laundry (when we were little), doing our own laundry (when we were older), setting the table, weeding the garden, walking the dog, cooking food, cleaning various parts of the house, etc.  It taught me to be a good worker and value the things I had.  

My Birth and Family, Questions 2, 3, and 4

Continuing with questions from the This is Me Challenge...

2. What are your parent's full names, birth dates and places?

Mom: Melanie Arlene Cuthbert, nee Lassig.  She was born on November 12 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Dad: Steven Russell Cuthbert.  He was born on August 4 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Birth Dad: David Allan Beers.  He was born on November 25 in Bountiful, Utah.

3. What is the date of your birth?  Where were you born?  What are some of the circumstances (when your mom went into labor, how long, her doctor, etc.) of your birth?

I was born on August 8, 1988 - 8/8/88 in LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The due date was 8/7/88 and my mom went into labor that afternoon.  She came to the hospital with her parents, Klaus and Arlene Lassig, and they stayed with her throughout the whole process.  My birth father had died a few months before I was born, and because of that, the last few months of the pregnancy were hard on my mom.  I'm so glad her parents were there to support her.  She was given a Pitocin drip and then an epidural.  She slept through the night while the contractions got stronger and stronger.  Omi (my grandma) was shocked that she was sleeping through the contractions, because she could see how strong they were on the monitor.  I was born at 7:58 AM (almost 8, dang!) after she pushed only three times.  She said I was the easiest baby of hers to give birth to.  Her doctor was Dr. W.G. Pead.

4. What are your siblings names and birth dates?

Jordan Evan Cuthbert was born on January 20, 1992
Jared Thomas Cuthbert was born on October 16, 1994