Oliver Wesley Perez

Right after delivery, he's a little pale still

Proud daddy

(thats my arm btw)

I went to the hospital on 5/17/11 for a "low dose pitocin" induction.  I wasn't thrilled about being induced with my first baby, because I know inductions can lead to a slightly higher c-section rate.  But my doctor was on call 5/18 all day and night and was going out of town on Friday for his son's soccer tournament, so I went for it.  I had a "favorable cervix" and I figured as long as my water doesn't brake just because they give me medication to start labor doesn't mean I have to continue it if my cervix doesn't change.

It was really weird for me to be a patient in the hospital partly because I've never been a patient before and partly because I'm used to being the one taking care of patients!!  So I was surprisingly nervous on our way to the hospital.  I just couldn't believe that we were going in to actually have a baby after waiting for so long!!  Wes and I spent the day cleaning the house and garage and of course we went to Costco for some last minute stuff.  We were a little late getting to the hospital, but one of my best friends Ashley was my nurse for the night and she even decorated my room for me!  People thought it was a little weird for me to deliver at the same hospital and even floor I work on, but it was the best thing ever!!  We have such an amazing unit I couldn't ask for better more qualified people to take care of me!!

So low dose pitocin was started at about 8:00pm and its a really slow process, they started the pit at 1 mu and only increase it by 1 mu every hour.  I started contracting about every 2-3 mins right away, but they weren't hurting or anything, so I took an ambien around 10 and went to sleep for a few hours.  I woke up about 3am with some discomfort, but still not bad, then I got up to go to the bathroom at 4am and my water broke!  That's when I started really hurting!!  I cant believe how much of a difference that made!! So I ended up getting an epidural around 6:30am I was only dilated to 1.5 cms!!  So I felt like a huge wimp, but then around 7:15 Dr Milligan put in an intrauterine pressure catheter which measures exactly how strong the contractions are and mine were going up to 80-90 MMHG, (which are really strong) so that made me feel a little better!  The epidural was amazing!!  I wasn't feeling anything, so I slept on and off until I was ready to deliver pretty much!!  My nurse checked me at 9:30 and I was 2.5-3cm, so I was thinking it was going to be an all day process.  My mom arrived at 11:45am and I was checked again at 12pm and I was 10cm (complete) and ready to start pushing!!

So the nurses and techs set up my room for delivery and I started pushing around 12:30pm.  My grandparents who are from southern Alberta happened to be driving through Spokane and decided to stop by!  We heard a knock at door and we were all confused at who it could possibley be, so I covered up and in walks my grandparents!!  They said hi and then said they would come back in a couple hours.  So we got back down to business.  I asked for a mirror so I could see my progress.  After pushing with 100's of patients it was my turn to be the one in the bed pushing and it was really hard!!  Not to mention I had a cold and in between each push I was blowing my nose, which was really annoying!!  I can't believe people have to push for 3 hours!!  I pushed for a little over an hour and I was exhausted!!

Wes gloved up and delivered Oliver which was really awesome!!  I really wasn't sure how Wes was going to do with all the "stuff" you see during a delivery, but he did really good.  We talked about him delivering, but I wasn't sure if he would actually wanted to.  He did an awesome job with zero weirdness and didn't even make any jokes, I was really impressed!  It was the most amazing thing in the world when they put Oliver on my tummy right when he came out!!  I just couldn't believe he was mine!!  He was so tiny and adorable!!  Before I delivered I wasn't sure how my own experience would be because I see it all the time, but it was so much better than I could have imagined!!!  Its amazing how much you can love someone instantly!  I just look at him and want to cry because I'm so thankful that he's here and part of my family!!