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Who We Are

Todd Matthew Laibl, Jr.'s Birth

                 
AKA T.J.
Born April 23, 1998
7 lbs, 11 oz, 19 ½ inches 

Water broke, epideral given, easy labor

Surprises sometimes turn out to be the greatest gift of all. When I found
out that I was pregnant, my husband and I were very surprised.  I had been
on birth control for over 5 years.  I had played with the timing of the
pills so I would not have my period on our honeymoon.  Well, I didn't.

It was about two weeks before our wedding and I had begun to have serious
nausea and vomiting attacks.  Basically whenever I was hungry and didn't
eat right away, my body would "crash."  After a few days of this and my
period not starting when it was suppose to, my husband came home with a
pregnancy test. After the test confirmed that I was going to save money on
feminine products for the next nine months, I made an appointment with my
doctor.

I had a fairly easy pregnancy.  The morning sickness that I experienced
from the early beginning subsided about the 10-week mark.  But I was always
so very exhausted.  My husband really didn't understand why I was always so
tired and complained about it.  I was so tired that there were times I
would have to leave work early because I needed a nap.  However, by about
the 21-week mark I started to get some energy back.

I know most women probably think that pregnancy is the most wonderful thing
in the world and love every minute of it.  Personally, I hated it! (So if
you are experiencing any anxiety and frustration about your bulging middle,
disappearing waistline, swollen extremities and whatever other changes your
body is going through, relax you are not alone.)  I hated not being able to
fit into any of my clothes, plus I hated wearing maternity clothes because
I thought they made me look even bigger!  

I am fairly thin, so I was able to feel my little one move at about 3 ½ to
4 months.  That was exciting.  Some people explain it as feeling like
butterfly kisses or gas moving, but to me it felt like a muscle twitch.

The doctor did a vaginal ultrasound when I was 16 weeks along to actually
find out how far along I was because we were really unsure as to when I got
pregnant.  My husband and I had argued over and over again about finding
out the baby's gender.  He wanted to know, I didn't.  Well because they did
an ultrasound so early on and based on the type of ultrasound it was, the
doctors were unable to tell.   But as time progressed we wanted another
ultrasound done to be sure our little one was progressing normally (and my
husband wanted to know the sex).  However the doctors refused to do another
one for whatever reason (they argued since one was done so early and
everything was fine, and that I was so young, 23, and had no history of
problems, that there was no reason.)  Well, nothing like being told "no" to
change your mind.  I instantly wanted to know what we were having.  They
later agreed to do another ultrasound at 34 weeks and we found out it was a
boy. (My husband proudly showed everyone who cared, and even those who
didn't, the picture of his little boy's testicles.)

At my 36-week appointment I had started to dilate about 1 centimeter.
Well, that weekend we moved into our new place.  Nothing like going through
escrow in your eighth month, moving and trying to prepare for your baby's
arrival to make you a little anxious.  By the next week's appointment I had
dilated to almost 2 centimeters and started to efface.  My doctor told me
"Oh, it is just a matter of time now."  Real comforting!

I became really sore throughout my groin area about a week before I
delivered. It felt as if I had worked out my legs for over an hour.  I
could barely walk, so I waddled.  It was hard for me to get up, even to
turn on my side in bed. It hurt so bad to move.  Looking back now, I was
probably dilated even further and it was the baby's head pushing and
stretching my muscles that caused the pain.  I kept putting off going to
the doctors because I had an appointment in a matter of days.

Well, I never made my next appointment.  On April 23 at 1:18 in the morning
my water broke.  This sudden gush of warmth woke me up suddenly and of
course I soaked my side of the bed.  I got up and rushed to the bathroom
and confirmed that I had not peed myself, that it actually was amniotic
fluid.  I woke up my husband and let him know my water broke, and of course
he didn't believe me and tried to talk me out of it.

So, I got into the shower while my husband called the doctor's office.  I
had to shave my legs-you know all the real important stuff.  In the shower
I started to have contractions.  They started to come about three to five
minutes apart.  We finally left for the hospital around 2:30 am and the
contractions started to get painful.  We called my husband's mom to let her
know what was going on and we stopped by parents to tell them, because they
never answer the phone.  I also called my sister from the car to let her
know that she was going to be an auntie soon.  

Every time I would have a contraction my husband would ask me if I was
okay.  I finally yelled at him because I got so sick and tired of him
asking.  It hurt and I was not okay-so stop asking!

When we got to the hospital I was taken to a labor room and hooked up on
all the monitors. The whole time I kept feeling like I had to poop, but the
nurses told me that it was just the baby's head laboring down.  The nurse
checked me and I was already 5 ½ to 6 centimeters dilated and about this
time I really started to feel the pain.  I told my husband that I could not
do this anymore and he went out to the nurses' station and asked, "Uh, we
were wondering about drugs?"  At that time I was moved to a Labor and
Delivery room. During this time I started to feel really nauseous and I
ended throwing up while the nurse was taking blood. I was administered
Stadol first, which just relaxed me and then the anesthesiologist came in
to give me the epideral-total heaven!  I could still feel every
contraction, but it was tolerable.  I was very apprehensive about having an
epideral done.  Natural childbirth was not option for me because I faint
when I have blood taken.  I did research all of the pain medication avenues
and the epideral seemed the way to go since it does not affect the baby.

I was progressing pretty fast, about ½ to 1 centimeters an hour.  The nurse
checked me about every 45 minutes.  My husband, whose hair is thinning,
asked the nurse at one point whether or not she could feel hair.  It is now
a standing joke in the family.  

Finally I was at 10 centimeters and ready to go.  However I did not have
the urge to push.  The nurses kept telling me to try and push like I had to
poop.  I tried and tried, but I kept telling them "I don't have to poop!"
Since my vitals were fine and the baby was doing well, they just let him
labor down on his own-for over an hour.

Seven and a half hours after my water broke I finally delivered Todd
Matthew Laibl, Jr.  He looked like a grumpy old man when he was born.  My
husband thought I was mean for saying that, but newborns are not cute.  He
promptly peed up into the air and into his mouth when the doctor held him
up.  The nurses took him and did their tests. His APGARS were 9 and 9.  He
was very strong from the beginning, even holding his head up on his own.
 
He is now two months old and I think he is the cutest little thing in the
world.  He is talking and smiling and laughing and squealing.   He is also
sleeping 6-7 hours at night, so I am happy about that.  Things are great
and even one is healthy and happy. 

I have one bit advice for you to keep in mind.  Once you have the baby
don't forget that you and your partner have a relationship too, one that is
preexisting to the baby.  Have a date night if possible, as soon as you
feel up to it.  We did it at 2 weeks and it was kind of nice to go out,
just the two of us. The baby needs to know that its parents love each other
and enjoy each other's company for the baby's own health and peace of mind.