Blake Conley Hoffman arrived on Friday October 21st at 3:12 a.m. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz and was 21 1/2 in. long. He was born at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in New Braunfels TX.
Our crazy day started on Thursday October 20th at 4 a.m. the time Chris & I woke up and then went out for breakfast. I was scheduled to be induced at 6 a.m. BUT when we got to the hospital we were informed that they did not have any rooms available they were full and would have to come back at 8 :30 a.m. So we left the hospital came back home got a little more sleep then we woke up at 7:30 a.m. and headed to the hospital. Once we arrived in our room and got checked in it took another 3 or 4 hours before I was actually hooked up and ready to go. To say the least it was a very very busy day in labor & delivery at the hospital.
My labor progressed a lot quicker than with Liam (23 hours) I was already 3 cm dilated before I arrived so we were progressing. Although Dr. Blair thought it would go faster but things slowed down a bit. Once I was 4 cm I started to feel discomfort and pain and asked for my epidural. The nurses I had were great! I had several that went to my church that I already knew which made it a lot more comforting. The labor and delivery nurse that was with me all night was actually the Mom of a friend of mine who is my bible class at church. Her name was Betty and she so sweet and helpful.
After Dr. Blair came in a broke my water my labor started to progress. I was hoping to have the baby by the evening but it lasted longer. At one point around 7 or 8 cm the Blake's heart rate went down (like with Liam) Dr. Blair repositioned me and placed a fetal heart monitor on Blake's head and finally his heart rate went back to normal. Dr. Blair thought the way I was laying may have put some strain on Blake's umbilical chord because when I changed positions his heart rate went back to normal. It was a little bit of a scare but Dr. Blair was so confident that he was fine and he was. It wasn't until later on when my labor progressed I realized that my epidural wasn't working properly because I was only numb on one side of my body. The entire left side of my body was numb and had no feeling but the right side I could feel everything. I finally was able to let the anesthesiologist know and he gave me another dose and I finally was comfortable. It took a half hour of pushing. Things were going well I was pushing well and made lots of progress but then I had trouble pushing and it took a little longer. At that time just near the end Dr. Blair decided it would be best if I got some assistance and he used the vacuum to help. Luckily he only had to use suction just once at the end. Blake was born happy and healthy although he had the umbilical chord wrapped around his neck it was loose and he was fine. It was so scary to know that we again had another umbilical chord wrapped around our baby. So glad that it was loose and didn't cause any complications. Blake came out crying and taking lots of breathes. He was so sweet and beautiful. I felt so relieved and blessed. It was 3:12 a.m. and I was starving!!! There was not a lot of restaurants open that early but Chris left shortly after we got settled and went to Whataburger to get me some breakfast. Right after Blake was born I immediately started to breastfeed him. To my surprise he caught on so quickly and was pro. I was so proud of him and myself because I really wanted it work this second time around and it did. Thanks to the wonderful nurses who were great at encouraging me.
The next evening Liam & my mother came to visit us at the hospital. My mom was so wonderful taking care of Liam for us while we at the hospital. She & Liam came with lots of goodies including pumpkin shakes from McDonalds and snacks and goodies. Liam looked so sweet in his big brother t-shirt. He got to open his gift Blake bought for him which he loved. Liam also brought me flowers and Blake a gift a little sea horse that plays music. So sweet! I really missed being away from Liam so much. I loved seeing him look at Blake and Me and try to understand what was going on. He was so good at the hospital.
