The Life of Rob & Jess Plus Two: The Arrival of our Plus One: Parker's Birth Story

~Parker James Meier~
Born: June 18, 2014 at 4:46 PM
Weight: 7 lbs and 15 oz
Height: 19.5 inches

Our sweet plus one was born on June 18, 2014 at 4:46 in the afternoon. I had been scheduled to be induced on Tuesday, June 17th, but the hospital was busy and I got pushed to the waiting list for Wednesday since it was not medically necessary to go into labor. I just wanted to see his sweet face!

We called the hospital at 5 AM on Wednesday, June 18th to see if I would make "the list" and be able to be induced. The labor and delivery charge nurse told me to keep on waiting without any foods and to call back by 8 AM. So, we went back to sleep until 8 AM. I gave the hospital another call, but the charge nurse was busy and would have to call me back. I thought for sure that we wouldn't get in, again. However, the charge nurse did call me back very promptly to let me know that she had a bed for me and how soon could we get to the hospital?!

Before we left for the hospital!

Enter scared out of my mind zone. Guess this was it! We're going to meet out plus one! We were out of the house in thirty minutes. However, we got stuck in some serious traffic to get to the hospital. Turns out there was an accident on Highway 59 that back up traffic all the way through downtown. I've been making that drive for nine months and never had any problems, but when you needed to get there quick, there has to be an accident involved. Go figure. That's Houston for you.

We arrived at the hospital around 9:30 AM I think and I started the Pitocin (the stuff that makes your contractions kick in) around 10 AM. I checked into the hospital dilated to 4 CM and still 70% effaced. I had been at 3 CM and 70% effaced for over two weeks already. They let me know that I was currently experiencing contractions, but I just couldn't feel them yet. But, boy oh boy, once they give you the drugs, you sure can feel them! Those puppies were pretty painful!

I asked for my epidural once I got to 6 CM dilated and 90% effaced. That drug is like a magic pill. It was amazing. Instantly my pain was gone.

Robert was with me the whole time. Both my mom, dad and Kirstie were also there. Dad typically stayed in the waiting room, but he came to visit me, too! Time flies when you're in labor, that's all I have to say. I was so nervous. I was trembling uncontrollably, but Robert handled it well and tried to keep me calm. I had my own nurse, Megan, who stayed with me the entire time as well.

Everything was moving along really fast. The doctor seemed surprise, it wasn't out of the cards that I could have a baby by 3 PM. My body was gearing up fast. At around 2 o'clock, Parker was turned the wrong way so they put me in a position to get him to roll face down. At 3 o'clock, the doctor came back and we were ready to push!

The only problem was, Rob had just run down to get a Dr. Pepper! They had me pushing before he even got back! But, Rob handled it like a man and kept his eyes closed as he had to walk across the room to get to my head. He didn't hold a leg, either. Thanks babe... I had to hold my own leg. :-)

Well, I pushed and pushed, but little Parker just didn't want to come out. I had to go on oxygen to keep me and Parker's oxygen levels up. I had no idea that I had needed to train for a marathon! I had a full team of nurses in my room by that point cheerleading me on through every contraction. They tried vacuuming him out several times, but he couldn't make it through the birth canal. His heart rate started dropping and around 4 PM, the doctor decided it was time for a C-section because Parker wasn't handling the contractions very well anymore.

And here's the slightly gross part, the doctor had to push little Parker out of the birth canal and back into my uterus. You never want to know what that feels like. That's when I started getting sick and the trembling came back full force. They took me to the operating room to get me prepped and Rob to the C-section waiting room to get himself prepped in scrubs.

So then began the C-section. Rob got to come in and they had the little sheet up so that you couldn't see anything. Once they began the C-section, they were able to get little Parker out in 4 minutes. It was very impressive. Though, I'm not going to lie, having a baby pulled out of your body also feels very strange and made me sick, again. They immediately whisked little Parker away straight to the NICU. He was a little blue when he made his arrival. They took Robert with them to the NICU where he got to see his son and get his footprints! My mom and dad were there as well watching over Parker as they stitched me up and I went into recovery.

Here is Parker in the NICU with his Dee Dee Nana. He had a head injury from the vacuum. You can see it on his little head. It's looking so much better now though!

Parker had burned up all of his energy trying to meet the world and immediately ate an entire ounce of formula. Parker had to stay in the NICU until 4:30 AM the next morning so they could make sure he could maintain his temperature and eat appropriately. He was so hungry that when my mom fed him, he stopped breathing. It's tough being a newborn.. you have to learn to eat and breathe all at the same time!

I was wheeled to my own room around 8 at night. The pain was pretty intense.. it's tough being stitched up in both places... on your tummy and down there! But, it's healing nicely, I think.

Me, Rob and Parker spent 3 nights in the hospital and came home on Saturday, around 5 PM. We've been enjoying our sweet baby boy Parker immensely. In his first 5 days of life, he had already grown an inch! He did lose 16% of his weight when we left the hospital, but he's gaining it back slowly, but surely. We go back to the doctor on Thursday, June 26th for another weight check.

Parker on his first car ride home!

We love you baby boy Parker. Can't wait to see what you learn each and every day! P.S. Mom would like for you to learn how to eat without sleeping halfway through, first! :-)