We welcomed our Aloha Baby into the world and could not be any happier! Now for the play by play...
For at least 2 weeks before Heather giving birth she had been really uncomfortable; baby was really low and it was hard for her to sleep. We wanted to do all of those old wives tales to see if we could get baby out sooner than later. We started incorporating jalopenos into our meals, made labor cookies with cayenne pepper, went on evening walks and sex of course (that shouldnt' be TMI since you all know we just made a baby, haha).
On Thursday September 6th, we took our evening walk down University Avenue toward the Ala Wai canal near our condo. We had our 38 week appointment and she was barely 1cm dilated. On the walk Heather started complaining of a lot of extra pressure and needing to go to the bathroom. By the time we made it to the canal she had to take a break, which she normally never had to. After a little break she said she started having some pains so we walked back to the condo. By that time it was already around 6:30 in the evening and I was going to start making our dinner. Before I could even turn on the stove, Heather told me she was contracting. OMG!
By the way, Wednesday night she lost her mucus plug, so we knew it was going to be soon...just not sure how soon. Anyway, she said it just felt like mentral cramps but they were coming about every 5 minutes or so. We continued with dinner and began timing the contractions. We were really excited and myself in a little bit of shock. We weren't really sure if it was actual labor, but just started timing them. After dinner they were 4-5 minutes apart and we were unsure if we needed to go to the hospital or not. Our doctor told us to come in if the water broke or if contractions were 5 minutes apart. So, we waited a few more hours until around 11pm and drove to the hospital. Unfortunately, after a check she was only about 1 1/2 - 2 cm dilated and they sent us home. They told us labor was close but it could still be as far as a week away. Heather said NO WAY! We got home around 12:30am and I fell asleep, but poor Heather was up all night with progressive contractions that were getting more painful and closer together. I had no clue, because she let me sleep. Around 10am we decided to go back in. It was getting really painful for her and she wanted some relief. I wasn't too sure, because of what the nurse said the night before. I tried calling the dr but she didnt get back to us soon enough. We drove to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children, went up to triage for the cervix check. This time she was 5cm dilated and they told us we were going to be parents today! Wow...
A flood of emotions for the both of us. Heather was so relieved, I was so relieved that she didn't have to go home and fight the contractions anymore. And I was really excited that my son was going to be sharing this special birth day with my dad. September 7th is my dad's birthday as well. This year happened to be his 50th birthday and he really wanted to share the day with his grandson. And he got his wish!
After the cervix check Heather asked for her epidural - unfortuantely they had to take some labs and it'd be a little while before, maybe an hour or so. This is where the true test began. Heather was in A LOT of pain. It was really tough to see her in such uncontrolable pain. She was doing so good breathing through each contractions, now around 3 minutes apart. The were getting stronger and sometimes no relief or break in between them. She was crying, she was anxious, she was trembling and shaking in pain and I was right by her side to console her (as much as I could). It was really horrible. For all those moms who did it all natural - more power to you. I would not want to see her go through that entire process without the epidural. It would have been too much. Finally she got the epidural at 6cm dilated. Wow - she was a changed woman! There was a smile on her face and she actually opened her eyes again. I was so relieved.
The epidural really slowed down labor though, so she had some time to rest before pushing. Around 9:20pm the attending doctor came in to check her to make sure that she was 10cm dilated. When she checked her she immediately told the nurse "Call Dr. Yazawa!" Ashton was so far down that you could see his hair. That's pretty awesome that Heather couldnt really even feel that. Luckily, the doctor lived close and arrived a minute or so before 9:30pm. Heather immediately started pushing - and after only 3 pushes and 10 minutes - our aloha baby was here! He looks a lot like me and how I looked as a baby, so I'm very proud of that. We love him so much and could not be happier.
Ashton Lorenzo Reyes
8lbs 13.2oz - 21 1/2in long at 9:41pm on September 7, 2012
Here are a few pictures of him - 1 day old!
Kapiolani Medical Center
Honolulu, HI
You got me choked up AGAIN! I'll be checking up on your blog so keep at it if you have time. I'm re-living my time in Hawaii through you (=
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