I’m sure by now that all of you know that Boston Wyle Reyne
has made his big debut. He was born on September 3RRRRRRRRRD, at 7:06am,
measuring at 22.5 inches and weighing 8lbs, 13oz, but as easy as that is to write,
bringing the child into the world is never that easy. This is his story… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9u9kimBDTc&feature=related
On Sunday, September 2nd we went to spend the
evening in Roy to visit Kasey’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Everyone was getting anxious for Boston to arrive, but none more-so than myself
and Kasey (who was a few days past her due date). The majority of the evening
was spent in the living room where everyone sat around, looking at their
cell-phones; sharing articles, opinions, YouTube videos, and conversation boards with nearly every possible way to “naturally induce labor.” Some of those
possibilities included 8-hour jump-a-thons on a trampoline, foot massages,
pressure points, laying upside-down and drinking orange juice (not really, but I
might go start a message board and see how many people fall for it), and
various over-the-counter solutions such as Castor Oil.
We decided to give the Castor Oil a shot. Castor Oil works
as a laxative, so when we considered giving some to Kasey, we put a single
bullet in the chamber and spun that
revolver around for all it was worth, and gambled the risk of either A. going
into labor or B. explosive diarrhea. The instructions say to take 2 tablespoons
and let it work its magic. **Disclaimer, Castor Oil has not been approved by
the FDA as a viable option of natural labor induction, and (if being used as
such anyway) should only be attempted AFTER 40 weeks of pregnancy** When we
left Kasey’s grandparent’s house, we had an hour drive ahead of us, and reading
that the Castor Oil took an hour to take effect, she drank one tablespoon. The
ride went well, but we didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. When we got
home, Kasey suggested taking one more tablespoon, but only if she had something
to take it with. I poured her a glass of soda and (unbeknownst to her… still…
until this very moment… sorry Kasey J)
added nearly three tablespoons of Castor Oil. I wanted that baby to come!! Good
thing she is no dummy because she wouldn’t take it until she saw the actual amount
of Castor Oil she was taking with her own two eyes. I was forced to dump the
Castor Oil-soda down the drain and along with it went my hope of having our
baby that night. However, that proved not to be the case! Kasey took one more
tablespoon of Castor Oil on her own terms, and not 15 minutes later did she
start to have “minor” contractions. My mother-in-law and I sprang for the door,
in direction of the hospital. Kasey wouldn’t have any of it. Having gone to the
hospital only a few days before and getting sent home, she didn’t want it
happen again. She suggested that we clean up our apartment and that we would
make a decision in an hour. Only 45 minutes into our cleaning and Kasey couldn’t
handle the punches being thrown at her. She found herself crouching down, and
leaning over counters during each contraction due to the intolerable pain.
Momma Williams and I knew this was it so we grabbed the bags and ran for the
car.
When we got to the
hospital, they hooked Kasey up to the machines that showed her contractions and
Boston’s heart rate. (Blue = contractions Red = Baby’s heart rate):
The contractions were coming naturally about every 3 & 1/2
minutes. After an hour of being monitored, the nurse came back in and said that
the contractions weren’t strong enough and weren’t real labor contractions. She
told us that we could stay and be watched for one more hour, or she could send
us home with pain killer to help Kasey get through the pain of the contractions.
Instantly we said, “Let’s stay for one more hour!” There was no way were going
home without our baby! 20 minutes into that second hour of being monitored, the
nurse came back and said, “Are you ready to have your baby?” We were all
shocked, but didn’t quite understand what had changed in only 20 minutes. From
outside our room, the nurses had been watching the same screen that we were
seeing, and every time Kasey had a contraction (blue line peaking up) Boston’s
heart rate would crash from about 155 down to 112 or lower (red line plummeting
down, not seen in picture). They told us that it could mean Boston was holding
the umbilical cord in his hand and every time Kasey contracted, he would tense-up
and squeeze it, and therefore be cutting off oxygen which would explain the
drop in his heart rate. The other possibility was the umbilical cord being
wrapped around his neck and cutting off his oxygen supply during contractions
that way.
Every hour would pass and Boston was getting closer and
closer to arriving. During the late hours of the night/early hours into the
morning, we didn’t even try to get sleep because we were so worried about his
heart rate dropping. The doctor came in a few different times and talked to us
about a c-section. If Boston’s heart rate kept dropping and didn’t “rebound”
properly, they would have to go in and pull him out ASAP before he lost too
much air for too long and flirted with the possibility of birth defects. With every
contraction and every dive in Boston’s heart rate, we too almost stopped
breathing until we saw his heart rate climb back to where it belonged. That was
one of the longest nights of our lives. Every hour, the nurses would check to
see how far along the process was and how close Boston was, and if we could
continue, or if they would have to pull him out quick style. 6am rolled in
along with the sun starting to show-up again and it was time! We had all made
it through the night and it was looking like Boston was going to come on his
own! Kasey was told by the nurse to start pushing. After only 30 minutes of
pushing, the doctor was called in, and about 20 minutes later, he showed up.
Another 5-10 minutes of pushing and there he was! We were so anxious to see if
he was going to be a red-head (having a red-head wife, mother, and two
brothers), brunette (after myself, my dad, and Kasey’s dad), or blond (like my
sister and Kasey’s three sisters). His hair was the first thing we saw, and
there was no way to miss it! It was dark! And there was a lot of it! He was
born already needing a haircut, or ready to go to the rock show. That choice is
his when he gets older ;). The next thing we noticed was the source of his
dropping heart rate all night; his umbilical cord which was wrapped around his
neck. (Turns out a large percent of babies have the umbilical cord wrapped
around their necks and nothing comes of it, but the doctors and nurses still need
to keep an eye on it just in case). After a long nine months, and a long nine-hour
labor, Boston Wyle Reyne was dropped off by the stork and he is here!!!
