Paxton's Birth Story
It's been ten days since Paxton was born--TEN DAYS!--so I figure it's time to sit down and write this all out before I forget it. I like to remember the details and I over-share my life, so of course I must blog it. You can read Eisley's birth story here, and Violet's birth story and video {not graphic} here.
Today is the time to record Paxton's birth story, though there isn't as much to it...
Since it was a scheduled c-section, we checked into the hospital very early, at 5:30 a.m., so I could be prepped for surgery. This time was a scheduled c-section because after two previous pregnancies, with combined labor time of 52 hours, I've never had a baby drop or descend, not even a little bit. Apparently for some reason my babies can't make it into the birth canal and I never dilate {and I went overdue by 2 weeks and had 34 hours of hard labor with Violet, so this is no small thing}. Who knows exactly why this happens to me, though I suspect it might be because when I was a teenager I was bucked off a bratty horse and broke my tailbone so badly that, upon seeing the x-ray, the doctor told me it could give me trouble and break again during childbirth someday. So, that's my theory...but who knows for sure?
This time around, having a scheduled c-section was a source of anxiety for me. Instead of facing the unknowns of childbirth that I had with the last two babies, this time I knew, for months in advance, the exact moment I'd be cut into. Knowing exactly how it was going to go down, as well as having all the time in the world to plan for this birth, it all actually made my anxiety a lot more intense--I was over thinking it. At times I was convinced I was going to die. Thanks be to God, I did not.
All was well when I checked into the hospital on the morning of July 12th, I was assigned a wonderful nurse who kept my mind off the surgery with funny jokes and personal stories. She was so great. She even prayed with us when my vicar came by to visit before the surgery. The only thing that was off was my blood pressure.
Now, I've never had blood pressure issues during pregnancy before, never even pre-eclampsia, and just a couple of days earlier my OB appointment had been fine with a BP of 120s/70s. The morning of the c-section, however, my BP had surpassed the pre-eclampsia stage and was right up there in the hypertension stage, a whopping 164/109 at one point. So the anaesthesiologist and my OB decided it was due to my anxiety, but the best way to treat high BP in pregnancy is to deliver the baby and that's what we were about to do!
When my wonderful nurse asked me if I had any concerns before going into the operating room, the one thing I told her was how I hated the hour that I had to spend in recovery while my baby was away in the nursery. I asked her if it was possible to expedite the process of getting Paxton back to me. With Eisley and Violet I went a good 45-60 minutes without them after surgery and I hated it. It is also important to me to try and breastfeed as soon as possible since I have an uphill battle there already, for certain reasons.

Around 7:30 a.m., I walked myself into the same OR that Eisley & Violet were born in. I sat on the table that feels about 6 inches wide, and the anaesthesiologist started working on my spinal block. This time was a little harder to get the spinal placed compared to my previous surgeries. It took a while, but soon enough my legs went dead and I'm just thankful the anaesthesiologist was able to get it done and I was completely numb through out the surgery.
At some point I noticed the silly anaesthesiologist had strapped my arms down, which sort of ticked me off, they'd never done that before, though I've heard of them doing it at other hospitals and I've always thought it sounded a little barbaric. One nice thing about being "experienced" is that I wasn't feeling as vulnerable as the first time, so I came right out and said, "Can you please take those off? I've never had my arms strapped down before." So he did, he just made me promise that if I had an itch or something I'd let him know instead of scratching it myself. I guess they don't want you interfering with the "surgical zone"...? Still, straps are not necessary. Please...
My blood pressure was still sky high when Justin finally joined me in the OR, and I was all ready to be cut into again {had I known, I would have had them install a zipper when Eisley was born}. I was so much more nervous this time than my past two c-sections, and Justin says he was too for some reason. I was squeezing his hand SO hard.

This c-section seemed a little more rough and violent than the past two--maybe due to all the scar tissue? A c-section is no gentle birth, folks, it's a major sugery and involves a LOT of movement. It took longer to get to the baby, and there sure was a lot of jerking around, pushing, tugging, prodding. It's like having dental work done, it doesn't hurt but you can feel things going on. The moment they pulled him out, I literally felt relief as things shifted inside with all that space being given up again.
Paxton was born at 8:07 a.m.. They let you know when they're almost to baby, this time they had to use the vacuum {just like with Eisley} because he was so high up there. We have a video of the moment he was born, but I won't be posting it because it's actually sort of graphic compared to Violet's birth video. Also, right after he was born you can hear the anaesthesiologist tell Justin that he can't record--which annoyed us both because I actually had gotten approval from my OB prior to the birth, but I'd forgotten to coach Justin {that's my thing, to prepare myself and others with all possible scenarios and what to say and what-ifs} since I'd ALREADY GOTTEN APPROVAL. But, we did get the moment he was born on video, as well as right after when he was being cleaned up on the warming table. In between is just sound and a visual of blue scrubs.
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Paxton moments after birth |
He cried quite a bit, up until the moment they had him all bundled up and wiped down and they handed him to me to hold, then he calmed right down and didn't make a peep. I held him and marvelled, and we had a wonderful few minutes...
Until I felt like I was going to vomit. I got really nauseous all of a sudden, and I said, "I'm nauseous...Justin, take the baby!" And the anaesthesiologist said, "Yep, I thought you were about to say that." Because apparently he'd been watching my blood pressure fall and now it was very low. It had started out in the hypertension stage 2 area and now was all the way down, so low that I was feeling faint and sick. I hated to pass up the baby, but I also didn't want his first moments of life to include his mother either vomiting on him or dropping him on the floor in a dead faint.
Anaesthesiologist are well trained and have a locker full of drugs at the ready, so he was able to help me feel better within minutes. Justin and Paxton were ready to head off to the nursery to be weighed and such, I talked to the nurse first {she was so sweet} and asked her to hurry up with the baby and she promised me they would. Now it was just a matter of letting my OB sew me back up. I'm blessed to have had 3 c-sections now go off without a hitch. I have scar tissue, but everything is still where it should be and functioning and this is so wonderful. Some women leave the OR without their uterus after having a c-section, it's always a concern for me that something might go wrong. I'm so glad that so many people were praying for us.
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Dad & Paxton head to the nursery |
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Paxton is weighed |
Justin must have done his job of bugging the baby nurses to hurry because it wasn't even 5 minutes when the phone rang and it was the nursery asking if "Erickson mama" was ready to see her baby yet. That's when I heard my nurse say, "Give us another 15-20 minutes or so..." At which point I spoke up and said, "Actually, I want him brought to me right away. I want to be able to nurse him as soon as possible." Unfortunately, my nurse was already hanging up the phone.
"Can you call them back and tell them I'm ready please?" I asked.
"Let's just wait another 20 minutes or so..." she replied. UGH! Apparently I had gotten that "one nurse".
I told her that I'd already talked to several nurses about it and that I had been told he could be brought to me right away.
Again, she replied, "I understand...but let's wait another 15-20 minutes to make sure you're up to it."
Now here's the thing: this wasn't my first rodeo. I was not the vulnerable, do-whatever-you're-told first-time-mom any more. After ALL the trouble I'd gone through to demand Justin pester the baby nurses and talking to nurses myself, I wasn't about to let Nurse Ratched ruin this for me. {Okay, calling her Nurse Ratched might be a little harsh, she wasn't mean or rude, she just wasn't doing what I wanted her to.} It's not fair that c-section moms should have to wait an hour to see their baby when the other birthing moms are never separated from their newborns if they don't want to be. But I am assertive, and while I genuinely appreciate the work nurses do, I also have no trouble pulling out my stern voice when I feel I need to... I wanted my baby and darn it, I was going to get my baby!
I couldn't hold in my annoyance any longer. I huffed. Loudly. I said, in my best mama bear voice, "Look, can you just please call the nursery and tell them I'm ready to see my baby? I don't have to hold him yet, I just want him brought here now."
"Okay," said Nurse Ratched. She walked over to the phone, and while she was put on hold for several minutes by the nursery this time, I had at last gotten my way. Soon enough, Justin and a nurse were wheeling Baby Paxton in to see me.

I felt a little loopy and light headed from the morphine and narcotics, but Paxton's nurse was quick to put him in my arms. I really do love the nurses. I had yet another run-in with that one, but for the most part, they are wonderful at seeing to a mom's needs. So this time around, my time in recovery without the baby was much shorter than my previous two experiences, so I was happy.
Time flies once you have the baby here and in your arms, and he'll be turning 18 and leaving the house, like, tomorrow. Before we knew it I was in my room in the post-partum wing, cuddling my newborn and being doted on my husband and nurses. They take good care of you at our hospital.

After a while my parents brought Eisley & Violet by to see the baby--what a wonderful moment in life! Your babies meeting your newest baby. Eisley had been waiting months for this, and she immediately fell head over heels for her baby brother. Violet was not nearly so standoffish was Eisley had been toward her when she was born, I would say Violet was interested enough for a two-year-old. She thinks he's cute and likes to kiss him and bring him his things, but she's also been unphased by his birth. They both took turns holding him, Eisley could sit and stare at his face for hours.
Justin stayed with me one night in the hospital, the next night he took the girls home so they could sleep in their own beds again. It was easy being alone with Paxton because so far he's been the most mellow baby a mom could ever hope for. Even his sister's can't seem to wake him up {and Violet has tried}.
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Yay for baby brothers! |
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Eisley, Papa, and Paxton |
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Daddy's lap has reached maximum capacity |
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Watching daddy do a diaper change |
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All buckled in and ready to leave |
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Party of five! Ready to go home... |
The girls are not at all jealous toward Paxton, there is no aggression {yet}, but they have gotten competitive with each other. Like little mother-in-laws fighting with each other, one pulls the blanket up over Paxton to keep him warm, the other pulls it down to cool him off, repeat once or twice and suddenly they're arguing over how to properly place the blanket over the baby and we're breaking up a fight.
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Our back seat is full now! Time to work on that third row...? ;-) |
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Eisley hovers around the baby...endearing! |
We love you always, Mr. Paxton!

Why we named him Paxton...
Paxton Bradford was named after my great-grandfather from my mother's side, Arthur Paxton Baker, who's mother's maiden name was Angeline Paxton. I would think she must have wanted to hold onto her maiden name since she gave it to her son. Seeing as I kept my maiden name for personal reasons, I like to think that naming my son, her great-great-great-grandson, Paxton would have thrilled her...I hope. Bradford is my father's name. Paxton was also born on my uncle Eric's birthday, and he passed away when I was seven. I love using family names. Violet is a family name, and Eisley's middle name, Kathryn, is also a family name.
2 comments
Welcome to the world, beautiful boy! I loved you from the moment I met you. I know you will be such a blessing and perfect addition to your family. And good on you, Heather, for being assertive with that nurse. That's my girl! Also, you look so beautiful, especially after just having your belly sliced open!May God bless and keep your beautiful family.
ReplyDelete~Mom
Interesting and valuable information which have share here well done.
ReplyDeletedelivery of a c-section baby
What do you have to say for yourself?