It's a BOY!!

If you want the short version, Max Jones Mabry made his debut August 30th, 2012 at 3:21 am, weighing 7 pounds 6 ounces, and 21 1/2 inches long.

For the rest of you, I apologize in advance for all the details.

It was a typical Wednesday and my mom called around 3 to check on me (she decided to postpone her trip to Houston that Monday through Thursday since I started feeling things "shift" that Sunday). I told her just like Monday and Tuesday, I felt the same. This was about when I noticed contraction number one. I didn't think anything of it since this was normal for me, but about an hour later I realized this had been happening pretty often since I got off the phone. I could tell they were getting stronger since I had to hunch over when I walked to my car. I called my sister on the way home and she told me to go lay down and start timing. I tried, but after 30 minutes of laying there I had no idea how far apart they were. There was never really a break in between. I called John in tears from the pain and then the doctor. The nurse told me if I couldn't time them I should take some Tylenol, chug some water, and make sure I could feel the baby moving. So now I'm a little panicky that I haven't felt the baby move. After about 30 more minutes I got up, finished packing my bags, and ate a PB sandwich. (This was a serious concern of mine. In our birthing class they told us to eat before you come to the hospital because they won't give you anything until after the baby comes. I know myself, and I thought being in labor and being hungry would be a bad combo.) In the meantime, John was home, my dad was at my house, and my mom was already headed to the hospital. I'm still not sure how my mom and dad knew.

When we arrived at the hospital they hooked me up to the monitor and checked to see if my water had broke. They told me they weren't sending me home with these strong contractions, confirmed my water broke, and I told me I was admitted. I started bawling! I'm still not sure why. I think I had too many emotions going on. I was excited, scared, in pain, and hoping my sister could get here in time. They wheeled me down to the delivery room, and  things started progressing pretty quickly. I went from a 3 to 5 to 7 within a few hours, and still was waiting on my epidural. =/ *Side note-  We'd been debating between Max and Jones for a boy's name the past 5 months. We'd always planned on Max but love a good family name as well. My mom's maiden name is Jones. When we got into the delivery room , I told John to look at the piece of art on the wall. It was by an artist Max Hayslette. I thought this was a pretty sure sign we'd be having a baby boy named Max. My mom even made a comment, well what about Max Mabry? John and I didn't even look at each other. =)

Around 9 pm I had the WORST three contractions in a row and all of a sudden the anesthesiologist was available for my epidural. I do not recommend attempting natural child birth to anyone. Those 6 hours were the most painful I've ever experienced. Once I had the epidural I could focus on what was happening and the fact that we'd be meeting our baby soon. The anesthesiologist thought I'd be pushing in about an hour the way I was progressing, but after a second round of another three contractions in a row, the nursing staff rushed in, threw an oxygen mask on me, gave me a shot to stop the contractions and Max's heart rate went back to normal. I was glad this slowed down the process a little, since John's parents were on their way from Enid and my sister was able to catch the last flight out of Houston and would get in around 11. 

Finally, close to 3 am I started feeling so much pressure and called for my nurse. I was dilated to 9.5 and she told me I was ready to start pushing. This was by far the most enjoyable part of the whole process. John, my sister, and the three nurses in the room had me laughing. We were all betting Baby M was a boy except John and one nurse. She kept saying, "She's coming, I can almost see her". The other nurses thought with my contractions, it would definitely be a boy. Everyone was motivating me even more to get this baby out. I pushed for about 20-30 minutes, and once they could see the head of hair, they all yelled for me to stop, and called the doctor in. I gave it another couple good pushes and out came precious little Max Mabry. The second we saw his sweet little face we were so in love. I'll never forget looking at John and seeing the expression on his face. I never knew how much love you can have for someone you just met. God answered our prayers and we're beyond grateful for this precious gift. The whole process was the most incredible experience and I'd do it all again tomorrow if I could (and if I had a nanny from 11 pm- 8 am).

 

 

First Bath

The Blue Moon on the night Max was born.