Gavin Reece Fullmer

I wrote out Gavin's whole birth story, but when I was done I realized it was WAY long and had a lot of personal details that I was not sure I wanted random people reading since my blog isn't private.  I decided to save that novel for my personal journal blog and just post the pictures and shorter version here.

On Friday, November 16th, Gavin Reece Fullmer was born.  I didn't really sleep much that morning, because I was too nervous and excited knowing that I would be induced that day.  Around 6:30am Robie's sister, Natalie, came and picked up Jaxon, and we headed to the hospital to meet our little boy.  When we arrived at the hospital, I was a little nervous to see I was assigned the same nurse I had when I gave birth to Jaxon along with a new nurse that had never worked at that hospital before.  The nurse I had last time I am pretty sure gave me pitocin too fast and caused me to not get my Strep B meds in time, which caused Jax to get sick.  Luckily, both nurses had to leave and I was assigned a new nurse named Mandy.  She was amazing!  I seriously felt like we had been friends forever.  Loved her!

I got my IV, which didn't hurt as bad as last time, and then I got started on a low dose of pitocin.  Even though I was Strep B negative this time, I was still given some antibiotics just to be safe.  As the pitocin started working, my contractions really started picking up.  I tried to be strong and hold out a bit for the epidural.  That was a big mistake, because by the time I really wanted it, the anesthesiologist was busy in another room so I had to wait.  When he finally came in, I was having so much pain and could barely move into position for the epidural.  He tried to put the epi in, but it didn't work right and I got horrible pain down the left side of my body.  I was holding onto Robie for support, but he ended up passing out in the middle of the epidural.  Thankfully a nurse grabbed a chair to catch him from falling on the floor, and they gave him some snacks to get him feeling better since he had not eaten all morning.  On the second attempt to put my epidural in, things went much smoother and I started feeling pain relief from the contractions almost immediately.  I don't understand why anyone wouldn't want an epidural.  Seriously the best thing money can buy!

Around 2pm I was ready to start pushing.  Robie and I were so excited, and everyone told us you push a lot less on your second baby so we told our family and friends that Gavin would arrive very soon.  After about 30 minutes of pushing with my nurse and doctor, things were not progressing like they should so we decided to take a break.  We waited a while expecting Gavin to drop more down the birth canal, but this didn't happen.  I tried pushing for about an hour more when my nurses realized that Gavin was not only posterior (face up), but he was also slightly diagonal.  Because of this, he would hit my pelvic bone every time I tried to push.  My nurses had me doing all kinds of crazy things to try and turn him into a better position, but nothing was working and I was getting so exhausted.

After about 3 hours of pushing, I was totally beat.  My doctor gave me two options.  The first was to push Gavin back up into my uterus and go have a c-section. I immediately started crying, because a c-section was something I had feared ever since I made the decision to be induced.  The second option was to use a vacuum to suction and turn the baby's head.  This option was not guaranteed to work and could cause some problems.  I looked at my doctor and said, "If it was your wife, which option would you choose?"  Without hesitation he said the second option.  So, I told him that is what we would do.

Moments later everything was ready with the vacuum, and after just a few pushes and a lot of pressure and turning, Gavin was born at 5:50pm.  Robie and I waited on edge, and finally we heard our baby cry.  It was the best sound ever.  The moment Gavin was placed on my chest was a moment I will never forget.  It is the moment I was robbed of with Jaxon since he came out not breathing and was rushed into the NICU.  This time was totally different, and it was everything I had hoped for and more.  Robie had tears in his eyes as he admired Gavin's perfect features, and he even got to cut the cord this time!  The nurses took his stats and he came in weighing a big 8lbs 5oz and measuring 20.5 inches.

Labor progression: Checking into the hospital, before my epidural, and minutes before Gavin was born

Gavin had a major cone head and a big gash on his head from the vacuum when he was born.

Everything was going well, until my doctor informed me I had a pretty big level 4 tear.  I won't get into much detail about it, but it was pretty severe and took over an hour and a half to repair.  Immediately afterwards I started feeling nauseous.  I remember telling Robie "I feel sleepy", and then I totally just passed out.  Robie and the nurses did everything they could to wake me up, but I was zonked.  The really weird thing was I could hear everything that was going on around me while I was out of it.  I knew in my head that I had passed out, I could hear everyone around me trying to wake me up, but I had no control over my body to do anything about it.  I remember thinking, "Way to go Chelsea.  Way to pass out.  Now let's snap out of this so we can go downstairs and spend time with Gavin."  I was totally normal in my own mind, but it did not translate to my body.  After about 5 minutes, I was able to mumble a little noise and move my head a little.  Robie and another nurse were telling me to open my eyes, but every time I tried, nothing happened.  The only thing I could do was mumble "I can't" in hopes that they would understand I was trying but I really could not open my eyes.  After about 10 minutes of being in this state, I started getting a little freaked out.  I have passed out before, but this was different and I was scared that something was seriously wrong.  I heard my doctor's voice in the room as he tried to get me coherent, but nothing happened.  I could hear him explaining to Robie that I was in shock.  From pushing as long as I did to get Gavin out, the stress of using a vacuum, the severity of my tear, and everything else going on, my brain basically told my body to shut itself down so it could rest and catch up with what was happening.  My doctor said as long as my vitals were okay, we would have to just wait to see how long the shock would last.  I felt bad for Robie, and I wished I could tell him I was okay inside.  I just imagined how stressed he was from feeling joy from Gavin one minute, to being scared for his wife the next.


After about 30 minutes, I was able to squint my eyes a little and mumble more.  I could hear my nurse Mandy.  She had heard about me passing out, and she wanted to check on me before she went home.  She asked me if I knew what month it was, and in my head I thought, "Duh, it's November", but what came out was slurred speech saying, "It's t-t-t-turkey month.  The one with a turkey in it."  I remember thinking in my head, "That is not at all what I meant to say." but that is what came out.  Then she asked me what day it was, and although I knew it was the 16th since I had this day marked on my calendar since I could remember, the only thing that came out was "T-T-T-Twilight day."  Yes, it was also the day the last Twilight movie came out in theaters.  I laughed in my head a little that I actually said Twilight day, but I was also a little confused why my thoughts were not translating to my words correctly.  As more time passed, I was able to open my eyes more and my speech was a little better, although I stuttered my words and spoke in a slow and drowsy slur.

I could hear nurses coming in and out of the room talking to Robie about me.  One nurse figured I might have lost too much blood, so she decided I should get my blood taken to check my cell levels.  She could not find my vein, and she ended up poking me about 7 times.  She was digging in my arms so bad with the needles that I was just crying and begging her to stop as best as I could communicate at the time.  Thankfully Robie ended up kicking the nurses out of our room.  Later a phlebotomist came and literally got my blood with no pain at all.

I ended up taking a nap, and around 10:30pm I woke up coherent enough that I could be moved downstairs in a recovery room. I still had a slight stutter, but I was so excited because I knew I would finally be able to spend some quality time with Gavin.  Robie's parents were at the hospital looking at Gavin in the nursery, but they gave Robie and I some time with Gavin alone before they came into our room to visit.  I was able to nurse during that time and have some great bonding moments with Gavin.

The next day Jaxon got to come to the hospital and meet his baby brother for the first time.  It was such a crazy moment, because up to that point I was so worried how I would possibly be able to love any other child as much as Jaxon.  When Jax walked in to see Gavin, that concern of mine went out the window.  It was amazing to see both of my children together at the same time.  The moment didn't last long since Jax was more excited to press the buttons on the TV than he was to see his new baby brother.

The rest of the time in the hospital was good.  I was able to get a lot of rest at night since Gavin was taken care of in the nursery and Robie would go home and take care of Jax.  Sunday night we were able to go home.  I remember being so nervous when it was time to take Jaxon home, but this time I was excited and ready.  Adjusting to life with two kids has been a lot harder than I expected.  I am grateful Robie got a whole week off work plus Thanksgiving break to help out.  It made things a lot easier, especially with Jaxon.  Robie has been great taking care of Jax and putting him to bed every night so I can really focus on getting nursing down.  It's still a challenge and some days are better than others, but every day is better than the one before it.

I love my boys so much and I am so blessed to be a mom to such wonderful and adorable kids.  I am enjoying every moment with Gavin being so little and new, especially since I know how fast he will grow.  He is already out of newborn clothes and wearing size 3 months!  I am looking forward to the day that Jaxon and Gavin can wrestle and play together and be best friends, but for now I am loving this tiny little guy.

Jaxon meeting his baby brother for the first time.  I love how happy Robie looks.  He is head over heals over his boys.

Comparison picture of when we brought Jaxon and Gavin home from the hospital

Finally going home

The first thing Jax did was point out Gavin's nose when we got home.

Grateful for all the beautiful flowers we got

Jax loves giving his brother kisses