maxwell meyer coombs

everyone told me the second time would be lot smoother than the first, but i didn't believe them.  what can i say--when you've been through 35+ hours of labor before even being allowed into the hospital, even half of that would still be 15+ hours...hmmmm...so when i weighed that with the option of being induced, and having the luxury of knowing which dr. would be on call which day, we decided to be induced with dr. melendez (the same dr. that delivered pace) on friday, june 1st.  we were admitted to the hospital at 11am.  

here i am ready to go!  this whole labor was so much more relaxed than the last--i'm smiling and ready to meet the baby! 

they hooked me up and started antibiotics right away (i'm gbs positive), and then the dr. came in and broke my water around 1230 and started pitocin.  between 1230 and 4, the nurse kept upping the dose of pitocin, but the contractions were incredibly light--so light, i was beating david and eddie (my mother-in-law) at scrabble and enjoying the count of monte cristo!  

then at 4pm on the dot, i was done playing and had to start breathing through contractions.  they were immediately intense.  i kept thinking, i did this for 24 hours last time, i can breathe through a few more contractions before getting an epidural.  but i was done by 5.  the anesthesiologist came in and said, "so why'd you wait so long for the epidural?"  i started laughing--last time, they sent me home from the hospital twice over a 24 hour period and wouldn't admit me because i was dilated enough, and wasn't in "true labor".  i told him it just wasn't unbearable until now.  it took a good 30 minutes to put in the epidural--very painful.  last time i didn't feel a thing, and it was in and working within 10 minutes.  this time was very different...but still kicked in and started working by 530-ish.  thank you, epidural!--i didn't feel these at all, other than a tightening in my abdominal muscles:

between 530 and 630 i went from a 4 to a 6.  at 630 bob said he'd go home and be with pace so my mom could come to the hospital for the birth.  right at 7pm i started feeling an immense amount of pressure with each contraction.  i knew this meant it was time to push, but my mom still wasn't there.  we live about 7 minutes away from the hospital, so i told david to call her and see what was going on--i wanted to have her there before telling the nurse i was feeling pressure because i knew things would move quickly.  710 and still no mom, although david had gotten in touch with her and she said she was on her way.  the nurse came in at 710 and checked me and sure enough, i was fully dilated and ready to go.  she went and got more nurses and the dr. to get everything set up.  715 still no mom.  david went out to find her and i told the dr. we were waiting for my husband and mom to come back.  he said, "are they here?" and gave me a look that said, 'this baby is coming whether or not the right audience is here!'  i told him yes, they were here, just on their way, and secretly hoped they really were in the parking lot--or better--the hallway.  720 everyone came back into the room, and we started pushing.  728pm, a baby BOY was born!  

i have never had such a big shock in my life!  the entire pregnancy i was certain i'd been carrying a girl!  i was so surprised to see a little boy come out!  and then my next big surprise--i'd been carrying a butterball for nine months!  this kid weighed in at 8 lbs 5.6 oz and measured 21 inches long.  a full pound more than pace and an inch longer!  it was funny--when we had pace, i immediately knew he was david's son--he had david's lips, cheeks, fingers, feet, etc.--i could identify all the features that were the same.  i have no idea who this new little guy looks like!  maybe it's all the chub, but i can't find any distinguishing features!

after the shock i was so, so excited for pace to have a little playmate and watch these two boys grow up together.  i also knew we'd been given a very special little spirit--he was a calm little baby, and carried a big spirit with him, even in the delivery room.

here's the mellow little guy just chillin under the warmer--i love the little casual foot-hanging-out pose!  he came out so fast his face was pretty scratched up and bruised, and he had petechial bruising all over--he looked sort of purple-ish instead of pinkish.

and then the name game again!  we were so sure we were having a girl, that's where most of our energy in listing names was spent.  we'd only discussed one boy name, topher, which we both liked prior to the birth, but just didn't seem right after he was born.  early saturday morning the nurses had just brought him back from the nursery after some tests and he and i were hanging out.  i just looked down at him on my lap and he looked back at me and said, "hi, i'm maxwell."  it just fit him.  next step--letting david know baby had chosen his name!  so when david got to the hospital, i asked him if he liked max for the name and he said yes.  but we still spent the full day thinking about it and throwing around other names.  david came back later in the evening saying he'd learned both william and meyer were family names that had been passed down for generations on his father's side, but when he was born, his parents hadn't given either name to him.  he felt strongly he'd like to pick it up again, so we settled on maxwell meyer coombs.

and as for this little guy--he changed from a little toddler to a little boy overnight!  i came home from the hospital to a grown up pace!  my heart feels a little broken that i missed the night he grew up.