Life with the Leonard’s: Christian Thomas Leonard's Birthday

Oh boy I wasn't aware I had anyone who was still following my blog! :-) So sorry to keep ya'll in suspense. Other ways to contact me are Facebook at Jana Leonard (https://www.facebook.com/jana.leonard.7?ref=tn_tnmn) and e-mail at dropcqueen@yahoo.com.

The evening of April 16th found my husband & I anxious for the induction/birth of our son. We packed, picked up the house and dropped our daughter and dogs off with my mom. I had no problem getting up and going April 17th because it was time to meet our son!

April 17th - 39 weeks - Last belly shot!

We checked into the hospital around 6:00 A M, the nurses got me settled, hooked up to an IV. Dr. V came in a bit later, checked me, was pleased with my progress, broke my water and they got pitocin started. The nurse later told me labor kicked in around 9:30 A. M. I was pleasantly surprised I was able to go deeper within myself using hypnosis for birth techniques. I worked a lot a few weeks prior to his birth on getting deeper and turning down the volume on the pain. I had to keep insisting to labor in a chair and not stay in bed. During the peak of the contractions I would breath and tell myself to turn down the volume. My husband was an amazing support. He did say this time I was A LOT deeper, almost in a zombie state which scared him at times. The scary part of my labor was our son's heart rate going down during some of the contractions. The decelerations happened less when I was in the chair. The nurse had me wear an oxygen mask the last part of my labor. I was check for cervical change a lot more by my Dr. this time which was frustrating. When I felt a strong urge to push the nurse checked me and said don't push because you have a tiny bit of cervix left. I was like "Are you NUTS"! Not being able to push was so intense and there were times I was just not able to stop myself. Once Dr. V arrived he said baby was right there. I didn't push for too long before Christian Thomas Leonard was born at 5:20 P.M. He weighed 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 inches long. The nurse was correct, he had the heart decelerations because the cord was around his neck. Thank God he was born perfectly healthy! Even though I was able to get a lot deeper using hypnosis this labor and delivery was a lot more intense than my daughters. I was filled with great relief when our son was born!

My nurse was amazing. I loved how she made sure Christian was placed on my chest immediately and helped me to try nursing him shortly after birth. Those were awesome moments for me! Introducing Christian to LeAnne was so precious. She was a bit concerned to begin with because she saw the IV's in my hand. Once I told her I was okay she crawled up next to me and met her baby brother. Slowly she warmed up and was watching everything the nurse did with her little brother. The most special moment was when LeAnne read Christian his first book right there in the hospital. She sat on daddy's lap and read Christian a book about Olivia's wedding. It was so special!