I'm sure most of you know by now that our sweet little man decided to make an early appearance. I apologize for the tardiness of my post, but life has been slightly full.My little man has arrived! In a whirlwind of events and an unexpected time line, Wesley Haas entered our lives. Care for the story? I knew you would. :)
So, my last post was on Friday the 18th and I was telling him to "hurry up." Like a good son, apparently he listened!
We really had no big plans for the weekend. There was a home football game on Saturday night, and of course, Jesse wanted to go. However, we never received tickets for the game, and he was quite frustrated about the situation, so I settled in for a long night at home with a frustrated husband and restless two-year-old. About two hours before the game, Jesse decides that we should go to the game and just buy tickets on our own...and he wanted to take Ryleigh with us! I was not real excited, if I'm being honest, but we got ready, loaded up, and headed to the game. We never found anyone willing to sell tickets, so we went through the box office and paid full price for tickets- UGH. Ryleigh loved riding around on Daddy's shoulders and seeing all the people everywhere. She had a good time at the game and actually sat still a lot of time; a big accomplishment for her! The flyover was not too loud, so she enjoyed watching the "eh-panes" go right over our heads. Then she saw the horses from the cavalry, Reveille, and of course the band-- her favorite! She has not stopped talking about the band! It was a late night, but Ryleigh did great, the Aggies won, and Jesse got to go to the game, like he wanted.
Why am I telling you all this? Because I'm convinced it had a part in Wesley's arrival! Do you know how much WALKING we did? Walking around campus, walking up and down the stadium ramps, walking Ryleigh around when she needed a break from sitting, walking down the stairs to avoid the crowd after the game...it had to do something.
That night, I was exhausted. Absolutely winded. We were expecting our friend, Chris to come stay the night, but I simply could not wait up. I went to bed and Jesse stayed up and hung out with him.
Sunday morning, Ryleigh woke up early as usual, and asked to make blueberry muffins. I got to chat with Chris for a little bit before he had to get on the road and Jesse made it home from work just in time to tell him goodbye. We debated about going to church, but I was still exhausted and did not feel like trying to meet people or try out another church. So, we decided to be lazy. When Ryleigh went down her for her nap, so did Jesse and I, and we all slept for a LONG time. During my nap, I had more dreams. (Yes, I am a constant dreamer.) This time, my dreams were not about the baby or labor and delivery...they were about food. Specifically, a philly cheesesteak style sandwich. No joke. I woke up, and Jesse and Ryleigh were both still sleeping, so I slipped out of the house in sweats (I still had not showered) and went to the grocery store to get all the necessary ingredients to make my masterpiece. I came home and got to work. Sure enough, I managed to wake them both up, and everyone was hungry. We feasted on massive sandwiches and got incredibly full. Naturally, we headed back to the couches to put in a movie.
Within a few minutes of laying down on the couch (around 5:15 pm), I felt a gush of liquid I had never felt before, and literally jumped straight up and headed to the bathroom. I had heard of people losing their bladder control towards the end of pregnancy, but considering I did not feel like I needed to go to the bathroom, I was confused. I went to the bathroom and was still perplexed. When I stood up again, I noticed another gush. And another. And then it clicked.
Jesse had seen me jump off the couch and had followed me into the bathroom, wondering what was wrong. I told him I thought my water had broke!! He brought me my phone and I called the nurse on-call. We discussed my progress from the last appointment (2-cm dilated and 80% effaced) and she agreed that my water probably broke. She asked if I was having contractions, and I told her no. She told me to head to the hospital.
At this point, our life kind of looked like you imagine in the movies. Jesse literally started running around our house throwing things everywhere, trying to get all our stuff ready to head to Houston. Ryleigh was kind of packed, but not really. I was not packed. Jesse was not packed. None of us were dressed for the day. He took off to go get Ryleigh dressed and packed, and then moved on to pack his own stuff. Meanwhile, I was surprisingly calm. I took a shower and started packing my bag. Jesse came running back to finish packing his bag and realized we needed to take Jersey too, since we had no one in College Station to take care of her while we were gone. By the time I was ready to go, Jesse had:
- Gotten Ryleigh dressed, packed, and in her car seat.
- Packed himself and got dressed.
- Packed Jersey's food and got her in the car.
- Loaded the infant car seat in the car.
- And placed a towel on my seat for the drive to Houston. :)
I got in the car, calm as can be, and looked over, and the poor guy had sweat dripping off his face. Bless his heart.
Once we got on the road (around 5:45 pm), we both got on our phones. I called my mom and told her what was happening, so she could be ready to intercept Ryleigh when we got to the hospital. Jesse called his dad and filled him in, and then asked if we could drop Jersey at his house on our way...unless things started progressing quickly, in which case, he would just meet us at the hospital and take Jersey himself. The plan was in place and we were on our way. The drive was not the crazy, speeding drive that you see on the movies, though Jesse did drive slightly faster than normal. The whole time, he kept looking at me, asking if the contractions were picking up. There was not one single contraction the entire time. Honestly, I was starting to doubt myself, because I assumed that once your water breaks, your contractions set in pretty quick, and I did not have any! Since things were fine, we went ahead and dropped off Jersey and then headed on to the hospital, arriving around 7:30 pm. When I got out of the car, another massive gush encouraged me that I was not crazy- my water was definitely broke! Mom and Dad met us at the door, and took Ryleigh, while Jesse and I headed up to Labor and Delivery.
We got checked into the hospital and spent some time in triage, monitoring contractions, vitals, etc. Still- NO contractions. However, they did a test, and confirmed that my water had broke. Also, I had progressed again, and had dilated to 3-cm and was 100% effaced. So, we proceeded to get moved into our private labor and delivery room. I think by the time we got into the room it was close to 8:30 pm. Mom brought Ryleigh back to say goodnight, and then took her home to get her in bed for the evening. Ryleigh was in good spirits, though she thought Mommy had "boo-boos" due to all the arm bands they had on me. I let her know that they were my pretty bracelets, and she was fine after that. I got a big hug from her and she was off for the night.
By this point, I was kind of bored. Nothing was happening! Seriously, not a single contraction. Meanwhile, the nurse kept asking me if I wanted the epidural. I thought she was nuts, because, like I said, there was nothing happening in my book! I felt nothing. We learned that my doctor, the doctor that I had been driving back and forth to Houston for, because I wanted HER to deliver our baby, was not on-call that night. In fact, none of the female doctors from the practice were on-call. Yikes. And apparently, the male doctors prefer their patients to receive an enema prior to delivery. Lovely. Never done that before. Fun times. Anyway, so once that was taken care of (around 9:00 pm) we were just hanging out waiting for something to begin.
Pitocin was ordered and they started it around 9:30 pm. Again, the nurse asked me if I wanted the epidural. Since I was still not feeling any contractions, I just thought it would be silly to receive a pain blocker, when I felt no pain! So I refused. Julie arrived to the hospital and was hanging out with Jesse and I, still waiting for things to pick up. Still, nothing was happening. The nurse kept coming in to check on me and up the Pitocin. Mom made it back to the hospital and Dad stayed home with sleeping Ryleigh.
Finally, around 10:00 or 10:15, I started to feel contractions. And boy howdy, did I feel them. Once they started, they hurt. Badly. According to the monitor that shows the strength and length of contractions, there was literally nothing, then one or two that appeared about half-way on the chart, and the rest were off the chart. And they were quick too, with only about 2-minutes apart. So, I around 10:35 pm, I asked for the epidural.
I felt pretty silly, because before the contractions started, I had told the nurse what high pain tolerance I had...and yet, once the contractions started, I only lasted about 20 minutes. Impressive tolerance, huh? Pitocin is the devil. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
The anesthesiologist came in around 10:45 pm and sent Jesse out of the room. Last time, they let him stay-- he just had to be across the room where he couldn't see the needle. He went to go hang out with Mom and Julie in the waiting room. The contractions were pretty intense, and I did my best to sit still while he positioned the needle to my back. It hurt like the dickens. I don't remember it hurting that much last time, if I'm being honest, but who knows if I just blocked it out. The anesthesiologist hung out in the room with me for a bit afterwards, making sure the epidural was going to take effect. It took awhile, but finally I started to notice my right leg go numb. He left, and said he would check in later to make sure all was well.
Well, the nurse stayed with me, and realized that I was still grimacing in a lot of pain during the contractions. I told her that the left side hurt really bad, and it felt a lot more concentrated. She called the anesthesiologist back, who checked the pump, up'd the dosage, had me roll to my side (which we had already done, hoping that gravity would work its magic), and he checked the location of the needle to make sure it was correct. Nothing would remove the sharp pain from the left side of my abdomen. I thought I was just going to have to deal with it, but the nurse would not have it. She could tell how badly it hurt when the silent tears started falling and the grimace would not go away.
Around 11:30 pm, the anesthesiologist came back, removed epidural #1 and then administered epidural #2. Yes, you read correctly. Two epidurals-- fun stuff! I felt bad and could tell he was irritated, it was late at night after all, but I wasn't making it up! Sure enough, within a matter of minutes, the left side started to go numb. Ahh, sweet relief.
The nurse let Jesse back in the room and I think Mom and Julie came in for a few minutes once I was comfortable again. I chilled out for about an hour, and then around 12:30 am, the nurse came back to check my progress. I was complete and ready to push! She left to call the doctor (whom I have never met- errrr) and get the rest of the nursing staff ready. About 15 minutes later, everyone arrived, and put on their game faces.
I pushed through about 3 contractions (3 pushes per contraction) and our little man was born at 1:03 am, on Monday, September 21, 2009.
Nothing can compare to the feeling of your new baby placed on your chest. Nothing.
He cried right away and turned pink, healthy as can be. While I was getting fixed up, (luckily, there was only a small tear this time...apparently this doctor does not do episiotimies unless absolutely necessary) Daddy cut the umbilical cord and then followed with the camera as the nurses cleaned him up, weighed and measured him, and stamped his hand and foot prints. He weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 and a half inches long. Perfect, if you ask me.
After the delivery, our son was wide awake, and I went ahead and began nursing. He took to it like a champ! Never an issue. I guess boys really do know their way around a boob from the get-go....!!
Mom and Julie were the only ones there, but they came in and met our new little addition, and took a picture of the three of us.
We hung out for a little while, but the nursing staff came to take the baby to the nursery for his bath and initial tests. Then it was time to move to my new room for the remainder of our hospital stay. By the time we got to the new room, settled in, and met the new nursing staff, it was 3:30 am. Jesse got comfortable on the couch bed, or at least as comfortable as he could, considering it was a couch bed, and I closed my eyes. About that time, they brought the baby back to me, and it was time to nurse again. And then the nurses came back to check my blood pressure....again. And again. Meanwhile, waiting for feeling to resume in my legs so I could attempt to go to the bathroom. Ha. Needless to say, I did not get much sleep the remainder of the night.
Monday morning, we anxiously waited for Mom to bring Ryleigh back to the hospital and meet her baby brother. I did not really have any kind of expectations, just curiosity as to how she would respond.
Anyway, when Ryleigh arrived, she had a balloon and a huge teddy bear for her baby brother. She walked into the room real slowly and hesitantly, and then came to see Mommy. After a few cuddles, she was ready to meet the baby. She went with Daddy to go look in the bassinet, still holding on pretty tightly to Jesse. She was not all that interested. After a few more minutes, she went to go look at him herself, peering through the plastic.
Finally, she was ready to hold him. At least for a few seconds...
We had more visitors throughout the day on Monday- my dad, Jesse's dad, and Justin & Jenn and the boys all came by to meet the baby. Mom brought Ryleigh in and out, as she tolerated it, and Julie came by once more before heading back to College Station.
Did you notice a key player who was not mentioned? Jesse's mom was out-of-town! Great timing for me to go into labor, right? Apparently she was out-of-town when Caleb was born too, who also made an early appearance. Perhaps out-of-town trips are not good the month before the baby is due...
Monday afternoon, after Ryleigh had gone home for her nap and came back feeling much better, she was able to participate in the sibling wall! All around the maternity ward of the hospital, there are colored hand prints with big brother and big sister names. The nurse said they are running out of room, but have one little corner left. Jesse took Ryleigh (and Mom took the camera so I wouldnt "miss" it), and she got her hands painted pink to put her prints on the wall. I think it is a super cute idea to get the siblings excited and participating in something fun of their own to celebrate, in their own way, the birth of a new brother or sister. Ryleigh loved it!
Have you noticed throughout this post that I have not used his name? Yeah, that is because we still did not have a name. We deliberated names the entire drive to Houston. We talked about them during labor. We discussed some after he was born. We spent all day on Monday talking about them, asking visitors their opinions. At one point, Jesse even used the dry erase marker to make a list of names on the window! Everyone thought we were joking about struggling to find a name. My sisters were convinced that we really had a name picked out and just did not want to tell anyone! Nope. We REALLY could not decide on a name.
During all the paperwork, he had no name. When they put Ryleigh's hands on the wall, it said "Ryleigh: Big sister of _____ 9/21/09." He was referred to as "Baby Boy Shulse" by everyone. We even tried out different names on him, and nothing quite fit.
Tuesday morning, I was released to go home, pending the baby's release. We were both released and ready to go by 10:00 am. Only one small problem. We needed a name on the birth certificate, so the staff could turn it in and get his social security number! No joke, deciding his name held us up at the hospital until lunch time.
Finally, after much deliberation, we tossed a coin.
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Just kidding! We did not toss a coin!! No, we finally realized that we both liked the name Wesley and though it did not seem to "fit," it probably was because we had been trying so many names and had not been calling him Wesley consistently. Surely, after a few days, it would roll off the tongue.
So, we finalized the paperwork and dressed Wesley in his Texas A&M onesie, just like we did with Ryleigh, and put him in the car seat to go home. Tiny little thing!
Wouldn't you know that when we got to the car, it was raining. I mean pouring. Do you know that when we left the hospital with Ryleigh it was also raining? Talk about stirring up a new Dad's nerves! It's scary driving your newborn for the first time, then you add the rain on top of that...anyway, you get the picture. Luckily, with Ryleigh, we only had to drive 10 minutes to get home. With Wesley, we had an hour and a half, on one lane roads! And yes, it rained the entire trip. But we made it.
Once we got home, Jesse and I started cleaning up. Remember the grand meal I had made of philly cheesesteak sandwichess shortly before plopping myself on the couch? Well, the evidence was still everywhere. I did the dishes while Jesse did a quick dust and sweep. Shortly afterwards, my mom arrived with her bags and Ryleigh in tow.
Ryleigh was more receptive to her "baby Wes-we" at home in her normal environment, and enjoyed holding him on the Boppy...at least for a few seconds. :)
All in all, the experience was a whirlwind. From the time my water broke to the time I delivered was a little over 7 hours, and when you consider that during that time we drove to Houston, dropped off Jersey, went through triage, changing rooms, starting pitocin, and two epidurals...it all happened quickly. AND if you consider the fact that my contractions did not start until 10:15 pm, I was only really in labor for 2 and a half hours, half of which was trying to figure out the epidural situation...that is REALLY fast. We were back home within 40 hours from the time my water initially broke.
It was an experience I could never forget.
And for the record, since I have mainly given out the facts of the delivery and steered from the feelings, let me tell you how I felt about my son. You know how I was worried about having feelings for him as strong as I felt when I had Ryleigh? I was gravely mistaken. When they laid Wesley on my chest and I looked into his squished, swollen face, my heart grew again. My eyes welled up and a lump rose in my throat. He was my son. He IS my son. And I could not get enough of him. He slept in my arms Monday night, because I could not get enough of his soft hair on my cheek. I kept starring at his little nose and pursed lips, wondering how I could love anything more. I'm completely smitten. The capacity of a heart is amazing. It continues to grow and love, even when you think you cannot love anything more. Trust me, you can.
I'm so thankful for a healthy pregnancy, uncomplicated labor and delivery, and a beautiful new addition to our family. Thank you all for your encouragement, excitement, and prayers. We are beyond blessed and excited to have Wesley Haas in our hearts and lives.
Do you know what my prayer calendar said on the day of his birth?
Remember that deliverance comes from the Lord, and it is an ongoing process. It is God who has "delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whome we trust that He will still deliver us" (2 Corinthians 1:10).
God delivered me from pregnancy. He has safely delivered my son from my womb to my arms. And though I know it will be an ongoing process, learning to parent him and train him in the way that he should go, I can only pray that one day the Lord will write His name on Wesley's heart and deliver him from the great death.
Thank you, Lord, for the amazing gift of Wesley Haas. I pray that you guide Jesse and I as we raise this little one to one day rise up and call you Lord. Please keep Ryleigh's heart open to change as we transition from a family of three to a family of four, and grant me the patience to handle the long days of raising two little ones. Give Jesse wisdom to lead our family and encouragement to show his son what a Godly man looks like. Thank you Lord for continuing to bless us, though we are not worthy. We love you and love these little lives you have entrusted to our care. All glory to you, forever. Amen.
Great Aunt Judy 
Aunt Sarah and Aunt Susan 
