WELCOME TO CALEB'S BLOG!!
I'm going to try to keep this updated with pictures of Caleb, so check back often to see how our little guy is doing!
It all began on Saturday, September 23rd. I was overdue and patiently waiting for something to happen! I had been to the doctor earlier that week and was told I'd have to wait until I was at 41 weeks before an induction would be scheduled. I was sick with a cold and just miserable..I had decided I would be waiting for the induction because nothing was happening.
Saturday morning I woke up feeling kind of yucky. I was supposed to work at the Call Center until noon, but a co-worker had offered to work for me, just in case. I spent the morning just lounging around. Around lunch time I started having some pains. I did not think much of it though. Marshall was playing video games and kept asking me, 'is it time??' The pains were getting worse and I decided to start timing. They were about 3-4 minutes apart, lasting around 30-45 seconds at a time. I kept pacing around our apartment, not sure if this was it yet! Marshall decided he better eat something, so he made eggs while I finished packing our bags. I called the hospital and they told me to come in whenever I was ready. Around 4:30 in the afternoon we left home.
The car ride was NOT fun, even though it was a short drive. I had several contractions and the pain was pretty bad because I couldn't move around. Since it was a weekend afternoon we had to enter through the Emergency entrance. We weren't sure where to park so we just used the ramp and had to walk around to the front of the entrance, in the rain!! I walked in the ER and they immediately told me to go on in...Marshall was a few steps behind me with all our bags. They sent me right up to the Family Birthing Center.
I was checked out right away and was at about 3 cm dilated with the bag of waters bulging. The nurse said I'd be staying! I was thrilled to tears..I was worried they would send me home. We got settled in our birthing room and I asked for an epidural. I had all the intentions in the world to not use any medication during the labor and delivery, but the pain was much more intense than I had imagined. The anethesiologist came up to administer the epidural, which took probably 20 minutes. I had to be perfectly still, which was quite a challenge during contractions. After the epidural kicked in I felt SO GREAT! The on-call doctor, Dr. Pinkerton, stopped in to break my water. I was at 7 cm already! Things were going so fast.
At this time it was around 7:00 pm. We decided it was time to call my family. Marshall called home to my sister, Laura, she thought he was a prank caller or something and she hung up on him!! He called back, saying again, "IT'S TIME!" My parents were at a wedding so he called my mom's cell phone...they said they'd leave after dinner and be on their way.
The contractions kind of stalled after getting the epidural. My parents and Laura arrived after 9:00 and just hung out with us. My nurse checked on me peridoically and things were not really progressing. They decided to give me some pitocin to get things going...and it worked. As contractions intensified I could feel pressure. The nurse told me when the pressure was constant it would be time to push.
About 2:30 am, now on Sunday, September 24th, it was finally time to push. My parents and Laura went out in the waiting room and tried to nap a little. I was feeling a lot of pain again and was becoming nauseous. I vomited several times. After more than an hour of pushing the nurse started to get concerned. I was put on oxygen to help me breath and I had developed a fever. The baby's heartrate was increasing. Dr. Pinkerton came in and announced that we had to get the baby out soon. The head was crowning and Marshall was able to see baby's hair. The doctor used the vacuum to try to help the baby out as I pushed. It was not working but I kept pushing. The doctor and several nurses were all screaming at me, PUSH!! Baby's head was out but shoulders were too broad, the doctor had to pull out the baby quickly, he wasn't breathing. Marshall quickly was able to cut the umbilical cord and I had to ask, "What is it??" The nurse yelled out, "IT'S A BOY!!" The nurses took the baby to his little bassinet to try to get him breathing. This of course was very intense for me and I was on the verge of freaking out...it took 36 seconds for him to breathe and start crying. That sound was amazing! Baby had a fever though so the nurse practioner from the NICU came down to check him out. They decided he better go to the NICU until he was stable. I got to hold him for a few seconds while the nurse snapped a few pictures. My doctor had to work for awhile on my stitches, because of the rough delivery I suffered a 4th degree tear.
Our baby boy was taken to the NICU, Marshall was able to go with him. My parents and sister were outside in the hall waiting to see us, and had to rush after Marshall to find out if it was a boy or a girl. It was such a scary but exciting experience! What an amazing feeling to finally meet this little one that I had been carrying for 9 months.
