The Birth Story!

At about 10:00 pm on July 1st I started having some stronger contractions but nothing consistent. The contractions were anywhere from 6-15 minutes apart lasting anywhere from 45-60 seconds. At about 10:45 I went to bed. I woke from a deep sleep with some painful contractions at 12:15 am. I then stood up and it felt like my water could have broken, but I wasn’t sure. The contractions kept coming about every 6-7 minutes lasting about 30-45 seconds. I finally called the hospital around 12:30 and told the nurse I wasn’t sure if I was in labor or not. The nurse said she would have the doctor call me and we could then decide if I should come in or not. Dr. Springer called me within 5 minutes and I told him I wasn’t sure if my water broke and about the contractions. He felt I should come in and be checked and that it was very possible I was in active labor.

Ross called his parents to come over so they could stay with Isaac while we went to the hospital. While I waited for them Ross loaded the car. By the time Ross’ parents got to our house the contractions were very strong and exactly 3 minutes apart. We then drove to the hospital which took about 15 minutes. I was pretty sure this was the real thing by the time we got to the hospital. We got there around 1:15 and the nurses hooked me up to the monitors so they could monitor contractions and the baby’s heart rate. Dr. Springer came in about 1:30 and checked me. I had only dilated to 4 which was only 1 centimeter more than 2 days ago, but the Dr. said I was not leaving the hospital without a baby. The doctor estimated that the baby would be ready around 7:30 or 8:00 am. The doctor left me in the room and went and slept in the next room. He asked the nurses to wake him around 4:30 so he could check me again.

At about 3:00 or so they started administering iv and then shortly after the epidural. It took a very long time to get the epidural in and they aren’t sure why it wouldn’t stay in. But once it was in I felt immediate relief from the contractions. Doctor came back in and checked me and I was soon dilated to 9. He then broke my water and kept checking me. It wasn’t long and the doctor told us it was time to have a baby. I pushed for approximately 1 ½ hours. It was a long tiring process but oh so worth it. They got the vacuum out because I was having trouble getting Caleb’s head out but I pushed one more time and his head came through all by itself so the vacuum wasn’t needed. Doctor Springer told me he had lots of hair. I then pushed a few more times and the doctor announced “they were right it’s a boy”. Caleb Benjamin was born at 6:23 am. Ross got to cut the cord and they cleaned the baby up and brought him to me. It was amazing. The doctor told me he for sure was not a 10 lb baby like Ross which I was grateful for. After both Ross and I had time to spend with Caleb, they took him to the nursery to weigh and measure him. Caleb was 8 lbs. 3 oz. and 21 inches long. He did not look that big, he’s skinny and long like Ross and beautiful.

All in all the labor and delivery went good. It was not as bad as I had expected and went fairly quickly. I even had my own doctor deliver the baby which I was even more grateful for. The doctor and staff were all wonderful in helping manage the pain and pushing. Ross was great and by my side the whole time. I did tear quite a bit so had to be stitched up but it was all worth it!!!!