Snapshots of June 6th

The Birth of Barrett-Part 2

I was told later in the afternoon that I would begin to experience some pressure. As my mom says, if a doctor or nurse tells you that you "might experience some" of anything, prepare yourself for much worse. I began to feel major pressure with each contraction. The nurse, Rachel, told me that there is a fine line between pressure and pain...and I was right on that line. The pressure was so great that all I could focus on was not pushing. Rachel put me on oxygen and I decided at that point that the show was over. I had Grant send our family out into the waiting room. I asked Rachel to check me and I was at 8.5. After maxing out my hourly epidural doses, I was given additional pain meds to help relieve some of the pressure. It worked only enough to relax me a bit, but I still found myself fighting not to push.

Maybe an hour later, the urge to push was so intense that I begged Rachel to check me again. She told me that my process was "textbook" and that it would be a few more hours before I was fully dilated. I must have seemed a bit distraught because Grant insisted that Rachel check me. Sure enough, I was at a 10 and ready to go! We began one round of pushing. My blood pressure immediately dropped and Barrett's heart rate decreased significantly. Rachel rolled me to my side so that both of us could recover.

Grant and I must have looked alarmed because Rachel felt the need to give us a pep-talk. "You guys look scared to death. But you are going to be parents tonight. You are going to do this!" Whether Grant believed her or not, he seemed to jump into rally-mode. Barrett and I were both stabilized and I began pushing again. I didn't feel I was making much progress, but I knew I didn't want to push for two or three hours like I'd been warned might be the case. Grant was my constant cheerleader. One of my favorite memories of Coach Grant was hearing him chant "Dig deep! Come on, Ash, dig deep!" Ever the sports fanatic, his commitment to helping me focus and "dig deep" made me laugh...at least inwardly at the time.

I was told several times that I would, most likely, push for two to three hours since this was my first pregnancy. After pushing for half an hour, I decided I'd be getting this baby out sooner than later. Truth be told, I knew the hospital stopped serving dinner at 7:00pm and I wanted in on some food! Apparently my mom knew I wouldn't prolong this labor either. My mother-in-law later told me that while in the waiting room, my mom said to her, "Ashley's strong. She'll push that baby out in an hour". And that's what I did! The doctor came in a few minutes before Barrett crowned and got me ready to meet my son. Grant watched the entire delivery and was in total awe as his boy came into the world at 6:16pm. (I don't mess around when it comes to dinner.)

Barrett Ryan Qualley weighed in at 8 pounds, 13 ounces and was 20 inches long. Barrett's head was both massive and quite cone-like in form. Grant and I both cried as Barrett was placed on my chest and I remember repeating "You're so cute!" as I stared at his chubby little cheeks. I barely noticed the doctor still working on me as I quickly fell in love with baby Barrett. I later asked what kind of damage I'd suffered at the hands of my little chunk. No episiotomy needed! I required one stitch in what is called a "Grade 1 skid mark". It's a little embarrassing to admit this, but it's part of the story so I'll divulge. I took that term to mean I had some kind of rectal tear. Not true, as I found out later upon self-inspection. But wouldn't you think the same thing from the term "skid mark"?

Only a few minutes after Barrett was born, Grant hurried into the waiting room to announce the arrival of his son. A parade of proud (and crying) family members came in to meet Barrett. While Sug (my mom's hand-picked grandma name), Aunt Cookie (my sister's self-declared aunt name), Uncle Dustin, and Grammy snuggled the cutest baby ever, I attacked a carrot-cake muffin so fiercely that my nurse warned me to slow down or I could throw up. Nope...I kept that muffin down and some Chinese food that Uncle Dustin was nice enough to go out and get for this hungry mama.

I've heard women say that if they could, they'd do their delivery day all over again. That always shocked me because it seemed like so much work...and pain! I pictured women walking around and randomly screaming from the memories of contractions and hard labor. Now I get it. The best things in life sure aren't free and come from serious work. I would repeat June 6th a thousand times over to welcome Barrett into this world. While it was the most difficult thing I've ever done, it was also the most rewarding. I got the most beautiful gift and I thank God for a safe delivery, memorable day, and healthy baby boy. Grant and I feel greatly blessed and are jumping into parenthood with both feet. Let's see where this road takes us... (More birthday photos to come!)

The Birth of Barrett-Part 1

Baby Barrett is here and his parents could not be more thrilled! It felt like nine months both flew by and crawled. The moment I saw Barrett, I knew he was worth the wait. It's amazing how you can love someone so intensely who you've just met. I can now attest to the saying, "Becoming a parent is choosing to have your heart walk around outside of your body". My heart is so completely wrapped up in our little boy and I feel beyond blessed to embark on this journey of parenthood.

Barrett was induced on June 6th, 2011-his dad's 29th birthday. I went in at 6am and was 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced. Pitocin was administered at 8am. I could have received an epidural immediately but wanted to experience some of the "joys" of labor. I had Grant, my mom, sister, and Grant's mom in the delivery room with me. Around 9 or 10am, my doctor came in and broke my water. Everyone besides my mom was out grabbing breakfast and Grant said he was bummed he'd missed such a "big event". In my opinion, it was pretty uneventful besides my mom getting to help by holding the tools for the doctor. You could tell she felt pretty important as honorary nurse.

I started experiencing some contractions shortly after my water broke. My sister-in-law asked what it felt like and the best description I have is that it felt like bad menstrual cramps, especially in my lower back. I was actually managing surprisingly well, but my nurse, Rachel, encouraged me to get the epidural sooner than later since it was part of my plan. Apparently there were nine other women on the floor in labor the same day and the "epidural man" was a hot item. (From time to time you could hear a nurse in another room counting down as a mom pushed until finally the cry of a baby would cause the mommy to cheer and cry.) Rachel suggested I not wait until I was in too much pain and way down the list to get drugs. Around 11 or 12pm, I got my epidural from the most thorough man I've ever met. He was no-nonsense and didn't even break a smile when I referred to him as "new best friend". I think his business-like demeanor is what helped me through the procedure. I had been most nervous about getting the epidural and I know Grant was nervous about seeing it. We were walked through EVERYTHING that was going to happen and not having any surprises really made the whole process much less scary. After getting pain meds, I enjoyed a few hours of on-and-off sleep, a giant popsicle, and a catheter.

As this is the turning point in the story, it seems a good place to pause and tend to the littlest Qualley. Stay tuned for the second half of "The Birth of Barrett"!