Baby Dax was born on July 16, at 6:40 am. weighing 7 lbs. 13 oz., 21 in. long.
I woke up to my first contraction at 5 am. I waited for the second one to be sure before I woke up Christian and called my mom. We quickly got our stuff together while we waited for my mom to arrive at our house. I couldn't help but notice that my contractions were especially painful for just starting out, and they were close together. I wasn't worried though because they didn't last very long. About 20 minutes in I had to sit down during my contractions and do my slow breathing to get through the pain. My mom finally got there, and we were off.
I probably got to my hospital room around 5:45. I struggled to change into the gown and answer the nurses' questions because my contractions were so painful. They told me one of the midwives, Ann, was on her way and if I thought I wanted an epidural to let them know. I was concerned because I really wanted Liz to get there since she was the one I had seen the most. We saw Ann at our very first appointment, and I liked her, but I was more familiar with Liz.
As soon as the nurses left the room I told Chris I wanted an epidural. The pain was becoming too much to handle, and I did not want to feel it anymore. The anesthesiologist walked in right before Ann. Ann quickly informed me she had to check and see how far I was dilated before I could get an epidural. My contractions were so close together and painful I could barely let her check. I was already at a 9! It was too late for any type of pain medication. There was nothing I could do but find a way to endure the pain.
Liz finally came into the room after what felt like an eternity but was probably just 30 minutes or so...I really have no idea. By that point I thought I was going to pass out from the pain. She calmly sat on the bed and told me I was in the worst place to be having contractions. She suggested if I walked around or sat on the toilet it would be less painful. I think I just shook my head because I didn't know how I was supposed to move. She again suggested that I move to the toilet and try that. I had a contraction after which she said it looked like I wanted to push. I told here I didn't know if I could push. She said to do what my body told me to do. I didn't like that answer because with Quinn the nurse told me when to push.
Somehow we made it to the toilet, and I knew I couldn't hold off pushing much longer and expressed my concern about having him in the toilet. They moved me back to the bed and got out the birthing stool. I never managed to sit down, but instead had Daxton while standing with my hands resting on the bed. I had not planned to have him standing up (tmi? I'm still in shock over the whole thing)
I was momentarily terrified after I had Daxton because I couldn't hear him crying. I knew Quinn came out immediately crying so I was worried something was wrong. After everything went down, Dax was healthy and in my arms, Liz said it was a really beautiful delivery because Daxton was born with his amniotic sac still intact. That is why I couldn't hear him crying; he was basically born inside of a water balloon. I wish I could've seen it or gotten a picture. Chris saw it, and the midwives said it popped just from handling it. From the stats I found on the internet this apparently occurs 1 in 80,000 births, and Asian cultures believe it brings that person a lifetime of good luck. We will see if Dax experiences a lucky life.
I can't say enough about how great everything went. Our family has truly been blessed. Apart from feeling the pain, the whole experience was 100 times better than having Quinn at the Provo hospital. I am so grateful it was a quick labor and delivery (an hour and forty minutes). I don't know how anyone goes longer than that without an epidural or anything. Since I had no painkillers I had no negative side effects after Dax was born. I could get up to go the bathroom, I had my appetite shortly after, and most importantly, no headache! Hudson was great. They didn't rush us with anything. Daxton's first bath was with me in the jetted tub in our room. They didn't rush us at checkout, they weren't constantly checking on us, the nurses were very nice, everything was great.
Daxton is healthy and doing well. He has two cute little dimples, dark hair, and he has a more slender build than Quinn had. I can't wait to watch him grow and see how he changes and develops. I am so grateful to have him in our family, and I am especially glad to not be pregnant anymore!
Quinn is doing good with him. He hasn't really acted out or anything from having someone else taking some of his attention away. I am grateful he has a little brother he will be able to play with soon enough, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Dax is only two weeks old, and I want to enjoy him while he is an infant.
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