I have always hated baby blogs and baby photos. I used to say, "They all look the same." You see, to a parent, their kid is the cutest and their story the most interesting. The truth is, they're right. To a new parent, their child is an angel. So it is with a great deal of hypocrisy that I write this entry today, because let's face it, I have such a cute kid and a wonderful story to tell.
On Monday April 14th, Allison went in for her weekly exam with Dr. Swanson. Allison was very excited because she had been feeling contractions all weekend, and knew the baby was ready to come out. After a quick check, the doctor informed Allison that she was not dilated and would not be having a baby any time soon. Allison asked, "I'm not dilated at all? Not even 1 cm?
The doc replied, "Well I can give you a 1 if you want." Allison was a little sad as she drove home that morning.
The next day at 1 am, Allison was awoken by a sharp contraction. She thought little of it, as she knew the baby was days away from being delivered. She laid her head back on the white pillow and tried to go back to sleep. The contractions continued, but remained far apart and in frequent.
Throughout the day, it was life as usual for Allison. She had breakfast, did some laundry, and finished up the final edits on her Master's thesis. Later that morning, she drove to Fresno State and dropped off her Thesis to her Advisor. While meeting with the Advisor, Allison appeared distracted and uncomfortable. Her Advisor asked if everything was okay, after which Allison answered, "I'm fine. I'm having really strong contractions, but the baby is days away from being born." Her Adviser suggested that Allison call her Doctor. This would later prove to be excellent advice.
On her way home from Fresno State, Allison called the doctor's office and talked to one of the nurses. Allison described her discomfort in detail, and the nurse told her, "You need to go to the Hospital. It may be nothing, but go get checked out." Allison continued driving home and met me at the house moments later.
Due to the fact that we knew with all certainty that Allison was in fact not in labor, we calmly gathered her things and loaded up the car. I specifically remember looking at my cell phone charger and thinking, "Don't bother bringing that, you'll be back in a couple of hours." After the car was packed, we drove to St. Agnes Hospital and made our way up to the maternity floor.
(This is where things get interesting. I promise.)
Once the paperwork was filled out, they laid Allison down on a bed in the Triage room. This room is set up for mothers, like Allison, who think they are in labor, but may not be. Basically, they hook the Mom up to a monitor, give them some water to drink, and wait for an hour to see if the mom is dilated. Allison was dialed to 2 cm when she arrived. To our astonishment, the nurse said, "You are now dilated to 3-4 cm and are officially in labor. Grab your bags, I'm checking you in to the hospital."
At this point Allison and I walked the halls of the maternity floor. Allison was uncomfortable laying down, and thought a walk would help her feel better. We walked for less then an hour, while the nurses prepared our hospital room. During our walk, we passed the nursery several times. We laughed as we realized, soon our child would be in that room. After our walk we entered our room and they checked Allison again.
"You're dilated to 5 cm." the nurse said. This had been Allison's goal. Get to 5 cm, see how she felt, and then decide on getting an epidural or not. Due to the discomfort, she sprang for the epidural and soon after was feeling no pain. The man who performed the epidural did a great job getting everything inserted into Allison's spine. Not to mention, the nurses did a great job distracting Allison during the process. Allison hates needles and was more afraid of the epidural then labor itself.
Another hour went by and Allison was dilated at 8-9 cm. Dr. Swanson was called in, as the delivery was just moments away. The only problem was, Allison's favorite television show was starting. For three seasons, Allison has been watching Dancing with the Stars. Tonight would be no different. As the nurses prepared the room for labor, Allison watched Dancing with the Stars from her bed. She was happy as could be. Once the Doctor showed up, Allison began pushing and before Allison ever found out who got kicked off of the show, our son Max was born. Allison only pushed 6 times.
Max Paul Lloyd came into the world at 8 lbs 1 0z. He cried and fussed and then promptly peed on the doctor and later the nurse who cleaned him up. There was no doubt, a Lloyd boy was born. After both Max and Allison got cleaned up, they wheeled them over to the post pardon room, where they stayed for about 30 hours. Once everybody was deemed healthy and sufficiently worn out, they sent us home.
So that's it. I will not feel bad if you skipped the story and just scanned the pictures. I would have done the same thing. But one thing I will tell you, is that we are stoked to be parents and we are blessed to have Max in our family.
We would like to thank you, our friends and family, for all of your support and love. You have all been amazing. Please don't stop, we're going to be leaning on you for advice and encouragement. But we thank you and love you all.
With love
Evan, Allison, and Max
