Welcome....

He's FINALLY here!

Max Easton Qiang Angelastro
Born: Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 4:42am
Weight: 8 lbs 7 oz
Legnth: 19 1/2 inches

We are so excited to welcome our little guy!

Here is a rundown of our birth story...some may not be interested but I wanted this for my reference too. Feel free to read or pass over it...

Here is how it all started... Last week (8/19) when I had my weekly appointment with my midwife, I had her check me to see if I was dilated at all and to see if I was getting anywhere closer to labor. The week prior I was at 1 cm and at this appointment I was at 3 cm! I was pretty ecstatic because I was getting pretty tired of being HUGE and to be honest working at 38/39 weeks pregnant is tough. After my appointment I called my mom and she was debating on whether or not to come down that weekend and await the birth or just leave Boise when I went into labor. She debated and debated and after a couple nights of me having nightmares of her missing the birth she decided to come down that weekend and hope that I went into labor soon. I felt like I tried nearly EVERYTHING to get things a movin'. And...notta. Michael kept telling me "he will come when he's ready" or "most first time mom's are always at least a week late" and so on. That was the last thing I wanted to hear too! He wasn't the one carrying around a GIANT belly and constantly overheating!

So by Monday (8/24) I finally convinced myself that it just wasn't going to happen and I was going to be pregnant for another entire month. My mom was able to work from SLC so it was okay she was down here patiently waiting her grandchild. BUT WAIT! Late that Monday night around 11 (after a long speed walk around the neighborhood) I started to bleed. I got freaked out so I called our midwife to see what I should do - she had us go into the hospital just to get things checked out and monitor the baby. I can't really describe how I felt - it was a strange feeling thinking that that could have been it. Was this beginning of labor for me?

So off to the hospital Michael and I went at 11pm at night. Our midwife had called ahead so they knew we were coming. They hooked me up to some monitors to check the baby's heart rate and monitor my contractions. Everything was looking fine but we had to stay for about 2 hours just to make sure. I was still bleeding, but the nurse said it was probably my "bloody show" and I would most likely go into labor that day at some point. WOW. She gave me the option to stay there or go home and get some rest until things picked up. We decided to go home and try and get some sleep. I got about 2 hours of sleep until the contractions really started picking up and were more intense than I have ever felt. They were about 4 minutes apart for 2 hours but I wanted to "labor" at home as long as I could so I wasn't bored at the hospital and that is what they taught us in our Bradley classes. So at about 6am I was so exhausted and knew I needed sleep or I was not going to be able to make it through the labor - I laid down and slept for a few hours only to wake up to NO contractions! I was a little shocked but kept thinking things would pick back up at some point that day. So back to speed walking and cleanin' the house.

The rest of that Tuesday (8/26) it was pretty off and on with contractions and I was wondering what I was going to do. We had all called into work that day thinking we were going to have a baby! HOWEVER! At around 5 pm the contractions started again and were not only getting stronger and stronger. We learned from our Bradley Class that we should go in to the hospital when they were 3 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute each, and for 2 hours straight -- also known to us as 3-2-1. I had a light dinner and figured we should probably head in to hospital around 7pm.

One of the nurses checked us into triage and monitored me for about an hour. She was the worst nurse ever! She was mean and rude to us! She had me hooked up to monitor contractions and had the nerve to tell me that she didn't think I was having contractions because the machine wasn't showing "anything impressive". I partly wonder if because I was pretty calm and relaxed through my contractions if that is why she felt like I really wasn't "in labor" when the women in the bed next to me was screaming and groaning when she wasn't in labor. But after an hour or so of being monitored she finally was able to determine that I was in labor and dilated to 5 cm. I was officially "checked in" to the labor and delivery.

Lindsay, our midwife came at about 10pm and we started some exercises to help things progressing; birthing ball, jetted bath (the best when laboring), ect. The time was going by fast but I was getting pretty tired from working through the contractions. I finally decided to take one of the medications that only lasted 45 minutes that would just relax me - It helped relax me, but I was still going through a lot of pain and was losing my rhythm. They gave me some oxygen because I was starting to hyperventilate. That was going okay until I got checked at about 2 am when I was stuck being dilated at 8 cm and hadn't dilated at all for about 2 hours. That was the last thing I wanted to hear! I was already near giving up and was asking for the epidural - but Michael and Lindsay kept me going and suggested new positions to get things going again.

They suggested taking another jetted bath and doing some other positions to see if things would keep progressing. Need I remind them, I was in A LOT of PAIN and didn't think I would be able to get through it unmediated! I just wanted to curl up in a ball in my own bed and sleep! I truly felt like my body was going into shock. I was struggling keeping my breathing rhythmic and calm and also was shaking pretty bad.

After being in the tub for about hour the contractions started coming even stronger and I started to feel the urge to push but Lindsay kept telling me I wasn't suppose to push. Oh the pain! I was finally able to get over that "transition" phase from a 8 cm to about 9.5 cm while I was in the tub (they say this is the point when most women ask for the DRUGS and I understand why!). For those who are familiar with the Bradley Class, my mom later told me that Michael kept going back to the book we were given and pointed out what "phase" we were at - he sure knew when we were in transition; serious and no modestly at this point - I just wanted the baby out!

FINALLY... At around 4:15am I got back in to the bed and was "given permission" to start pushing when I felt ready. Wow, pushing felt good, but was tough work. But by the time I really started pushing, he was out in nearly 20-25 minutes (only 5-6 pushes). Immediately after he was born they put him on my stomach/chest. I had requested that the cord not be cut until it stopped pulsating. She he was on my chest for about 5-10 minutes before Michael got to cut the cord.

I was then given a shot of pitocin to deliver the placenta and had just a few more pushes to deliver the placenta. What a sight! Lindsay looked through it to make sure it looked okay and determined that I may have had a partial placenta abruption. It had to be sent to the lab to be checked out (this is why I could have started bleeding the night before). We had also decided to donate the cord (if the placenta came back okay) to the cord bank.

After the cord was cut, Max had his "test" they had to do to make sure he was okay. At this time he was weighed and I remember looking over at the scale - seeing 8 pounds and 7 ounces and shouting to Michael --- "you would have let me go another 2 weeks!" They all kept telling me that I hid the baby well because they didn't think he would be that big.

I got beat up pretty bad so I had to have some "sewing" done to fix me up which took about an hour or so. But during this time I was able to hold by baby and start breastfeeding. My sister in-law and mother in-law came to see baby as well. My mom and Michael were in tears and I was still in shock, but a different type of shock. I felt a relived and accomplished for getting through the entire delivery. All in all I feel like I was lucky with my entire labor. I only labored for about 12 hours and didn't push for long at all.And YES! I did it unmedicated!

I am honestly really proud of myself. Anyone who knows me knows that I do not handle pain very well. But I feel like I accomplished so much. And yes, I would do it this way again and again after seeing my little guy (he actually wasn't that little). I know that I would not have been able to do it without the support team that was with me: Michael, my Mom, my midwife Lindsay Breinholt, and the nurse Tina. They all stuck with me for entire time and helped me get through it all. Lindsay wasn't even on call that night - she came in just got us! And even after a sleepless night with us, still went to work that next day! I look back and wonder why I even questioned whether or not to go with a midwife. If anyone is thinking or wanting to go natural or in need of a good support person during labor, I would recommend a nurse midwife - I actually would recommend Lindsay - she was great! I am also glad that we invested the time and the money into our Bradley Classes. We were hesitant at first about the classes, but knew how important it was to have an understanding of the entire process of childbirth.

I still can't believe sometimes that Max is finally here and I am so happy that he is part of our family. I feel so blessed that that Max is ours. And we both look forward to the adventures of "parenthood."