Skeeter was actually due on December 15th, 2001 and decided not to come out just then. I waited and put off seeing Fellowship of the Rings (LOTR) that year because I did not think that a 9 month pregnant girl would ever be able to survive a movie that long with out missing half of it due to potty breaks. I was a little bummed out but I was going to be getting a brand new baby � so who could really complain. I did not know until the moment he was born that he was going to be a boy. I had secretly hoped he would be a girl but in my head I was only planning out boy names. I had some sort of feeling he would be a boy.
X and I went to the hospital on the 21st of December to get me induced. BLAH! I really had wanted him to come on his own � since having PJ was so easy and every one said that getting induced hurts more. I was nervous because I knew that I would be fighting against my own body to have this child. My doctor was worried that if he let it go any longer that I would be in the hospital on Christmas Eve, during one of the busiest times of the year, trying to have a child in the ER or something crazy. I had agreed with his logic.
The inducing takes a while to kick in and I spent most of that afternoon watching daytime TV and decorating shows. Because I was induced, I had to be hooked up to all sorts of monitors and things. It sucked. I missed the freedom of PJ�s birth, when I could walk around and move in my bed even more. I felt a little caged in. Most of the afternoon was fairly boring. Just having dr.�s check in on me and check my small contractions. PJ was already at his favorite sitter�s house for the weekend so that he would not be stuck at the hospital.
The pain did not become unbearable until almost 4 hours before Skeeter was born. I got my first shot of morphine at 8pm �in the hand and damn it felt nice. I was even able to take a 45-min. nap. Then suddenly he decided he was ready to come out�even though I was not ready to have him out. I was not fully dilated and so the nurses gave me another shot of morphine and started to closely monitor his heartbeat. The shot did nothing but I was so hyped that it did not matter. There were not going to be any drugs in my system when I had him � just due to timing � but I could handle the pain. I knew I could.
The final two hours were very confusing. I was still not dialating correctly so the PA told me not to push. It is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. My entire body wanted to push, he was moving and I had to resist it�for two hours. The staff had been warned that the last time I gave birth that he came out really fast�the doctor on duty barely had time to catch PJ when he was born�three pushes and 17minutes. My Doctor was on duty this time and when he started his rounds at midnight he came to see me and realized that the PA had me resisting the urge to push. He got a little angry and told them to get ready cause the baby was coming out. After a few quick adjustments to my position and such� Skeeter was ready to be born.
Two big pushes and 15 minutes later � he was out and was laid on my chest. He looked at me for a moment and closed his eyes. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed his forehead. The nurses and my doctor worked on getting me cleaned up and stitched up. Skeeter, just like PJ, did not look like a newborn. He was pale tan colored, not red or wrinkly. He was so beautiful, all 10lbs of him. My doctor was very pick on to how I was stitched up � last time I had been put back together crooked and he was very upset at the error. He spent a lot of time with me � even though another woman was having a baby in the next room. He remarked, �She doesn�t make them as big as you do, hers is only going to be 6lbs or so.�
Skeeter went to the nursery soon after and I got to have a shower � one of the nurses helped me out completely. I got to sit in a wheelchair with heated blanket and get taken to my room to sleep. He was officially born at 12:32am and I was exhausted.
So that is the condensed version of Skeeter�s birth story. I hope that he has a great birthday today � I think that most days are great for a two-year-old. But I want him to be happy, especially, today. Thanks to everyone who has been there along the way for him and for me. You guys rule.