Catherine, Louie, Kinsley, Aubrey and Cade: Cade's Birth Story

CADE FOSTER STRYKER

April 14, 2014
11:33AM

9.5 pounds

21.5 inches

Cade’s Birth Story

I had hoped beyond hope that Mr. Cade would make his appearance of his own free will. In fact, my doc said we could induce at 39 weeks. I remembered with the girls, Mayo would not induce until 10 days after my due date and Mayo never does anything without a good bit of research behind it, so I decided to do a little investigating to find out why “41 and 3” (41 weeks and 3 days) was the golden number. I spoke with a doc at Mayo who explained to me that their most current research was moving that number to 41 weeks because a high percentage (don’t know the exact data) of women spontaneously go into labor prior to this date. Spontaneous labor, as opposed to induced, has many benefits including less complications. Soooo… I decided to try to wait it out. My doc was on board but continually reminded me we could schedule that induction whenever I was ready. Turns out Cade had no intention of coming out and we probably should have taken him out at 39 weeks because we had to force that 9.5lb toddler out of his comfy home by induction at 41 weeks.

On the morning of April 14, we were supposed to be at the hospital by 5AM. My dad came over to watch the girls once they woke up. My mom met us at the hospital and Louie got me all checked in. He had a meeting at work that he had organized and was leading, scheduled for 6AM (scheduled prior to my induction being scheduled) so my mom hung out with me for a while before he made it back. It worked to his advantage that they had trouble getting my IV started. They finally got it after the 4^th try, and the bruises on the failed attempts started to show up immediately. Ouch! Louie made it back just before they started the Pitocin.

Not long after that Dr. V stopped by, examined me (I was at about a 4 – not in labor) and broke my water. We started my epidural with no problem but within about 10 minutes we had our first excitement of the day. My blood pressure had taken a nosedive and I was feeling really awful. I was very nauseous and light headed, and felt like I might pass out. The nurses moved quickly by laying me flat, giving me some oxygen and I think a shot of something. It’s all a little blurry.

After a while, I started feeling better but I was very nervous that was going to happen again. I was in charge of my own pain medication. They had my epidural attached to a pump so I was supposed to hit the button anytime I was in too much pain, but I was gun shy. I think I pressed it once right before beginning to push. The epidural was strange because the outside of both of my legs were completely numb and felt “fat” but I could feel everything else. Having numb outer thighs was not going to help the whole giving birth situation.

I was starting to feel some pretty intense pain with every contraction so I had the nurse check me. I was at about a 7 and said she’d be back in half an hour. I told her that I thought this was going to happen fast so she should come back in fifteen. Ten minutes later, after quite a bit of breathing through contractions, I had her come back and it was go time… like seriously go time. He was coming out. They paged the doctor whose office was across the street from the hospital and he came running, literally. My mom was just outside the room and the nurses were discussing who was going to “catch the baby” if the doc didn’t make it in time. She was wondering if she could volunteer. J A minute later Dr. V came sprinting by and it was only about 7 minutes later that Cade was here.

I have to say that this was my most painful labor, probably for two reasons. 1- my epidural was not really doing its job because I was not pressing the button and, 2- Cade was gigantic. There was a little concern with shoulder dysplasia, but my doc did a great job of coaching me and telling me when and how much to push so we could get him out without complications. He held him out in front of me and I knew right then he was bigger then my other two. I remember saying, “he’s huge!!” over and over. They put him right on my chest and Louie and I were immediately overcome with joy. Our baby boy was here and he was healthy. I didn’t keep him on my chest long because I wanted him on a scale. He was a healthy 9lbs 8oz and 21.5 inches long.

I was still concerned about hemorrhaging since I had with Aubrey so they continued to check me and watch for bleeding. At one point there was a little more than the nurse was comfortable with so they gave me a shot. A lot of the “outer thigh epidural” had worn off at that point so that one hurt! All ends well though because recovery went very smoothly and our little Cademan (so named because one of the nurses actually thought I named him Cave instead of Cade, hence Cademan) is really an angel. His sisters were in awe when they met him and they love him to pieces. He makes them laugh all the time and now that he’s approaching 4 months, they’re making him laugh too. I truly feel like our family is complete… whole. I’m so in love. J