Ben's Birth Story

Friday, May 7, 2010

5:05am - I woke wondering if my water had broken...strange as it sounds, I really couldn't tell! After a little while I felt some light cramps and just had a hunch that this was it. At 5:30 I got out of bed and decided to take a shower. I figured, if this was the day then at least I'd feel clean, and if not, well...I'd just be up and ready very early! The cramps escalated to definite contractions during my shower and were starting to get painful.

6:00am - Woke Steve up, saying "Good morning! Today's the day!" Steve groggily asked, "What?" I replied, "I'm pretty sure I'm in labor. You might want to shower...like NOW!" I thought we could make it until 7:30 and drop Mya off at daycare on the way to the hospital, but the contractions started escalating quickly. By 6:30 they were around 5 minutes apart and were making me slightly nauseous. No time to wait...we decided we were going straight to the hospital with Mya. We called our friend Colleen and she agreed to meet us at the hospital and pick Mya up for us.

7:00am - Arrived at the hospital and contractions were excruciating and only about 3 minutes apart. Thankfully OB Triage was empty and they put me in an exam room immediately. Within moments they checked me and I was 6cm dilated! They admitted me, checked my vitals, checked on the baby (he was doing well), and got me ready to transfer to a Labor & Delivery Room.

8:00am - Settled into our delivery room, and our nurses Tina and Maya came on duty. I needed some IV fluids before the epidural, so had to wait an extra 20 minutes or so before the anesthesiologist could work his magic. The epidural finally went in around 8:15-8:30 and relief came shortly after. The nurses checked me again and I was fully dilated, just about ready to push. We waited a few more minutes until I started feeling pressure and then I started to push!

9:00am - Started pushing. The nurses seemed to think it wouldn't take long, so they called my doctor to come in. Unfortunately, I didn't make much progress right away and we all settled down to prepare for a longer time pushing. My OB went to the office to see some patients with the promise of returning for the delivery.

9:45am - Started feeling some cramping in my left leg and wondered if I pulled a muscle. After a few minutes I mentioned this to the nurses, who helped me stretch out my leg between pushes. Unfortunately, the pain kept escalating until I felt like something was really wrong. The nurses thought about giving me a quick boost of the epidural, only to find out that the tubing hadn't been connected to my spinal catheter! The initial dose of the epidural was wearing off, and there was no steady drip to kick in! They immediately called the anesthesiologist who rushed back in to hook everything up. Thankfully I was numb again before too long.

10:00am - The pain I had felt for the prior 20 minutes or so really motivated my pushing! The baby started making alot of progress and the nurses called my doctor back from the office. (Ironically, I was supposed to see her for an appointment at 10:45am anyway!) It didn't take long until...

10:36am - Benjamin Aaron Carter is born!

Daddy cut the cord, they wiped Ben down and I got to hold him almost immediately! This was a nice surprise, because I couldn't hold Mya right away (she was blue and not crying when she was born, so the nurses had to work on her for a little while). Ben and I bonded for about 10 minutes with a proud Daddy snuggling close too. Then Ben was whisked away for his measurements (7lbs, 13.7oz and 19.5 inches) and a few immunizations. Steve helped give him his first bath, then dressed him in his first diaper and t-shirt. We got a little more family time together as we waited for a post-partum room.

The rest of our hospital stay went wonderfully but quickly! We had a great top floor, corner room with a distant view of the ocean. Mya came to visit and meet her little brother on Saturday (see separate posting). I was thankful to have continuity in our nurses this time...Marjorie was our warm, calm day nurse on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Moy was our energetic evening nurse both Friday and Saturday. Steve slept at home both nights to charge up on sleep, and I took advantage of the hospital nursery...Ben slept there and visited me for feedings, so I actually managed to get some decent chunks of sleep.

Leaving the hospital on Sunday was bittersweet...we'd miss the support of the hospital staff, but we were all anxious to get started on "normal" life at home!

For lots of pictures of our hospital stay, check out our Picasa album "Benjamin Aaron Carter"!