Yes, yes I know. This post is a little late as Ben was born on June 3rd, but he's kept me very busy in the last month! Here's a summary of what happened on his birth day...
I had a doctor's appointment the day before and was dialated to 4 cm. The doctor laughed about the fact that I was still working and acting like everything was normal. She asked if I wanted to have the baby that day, and I said "Only if he's ready." She did a manipulation to stimulate contractions. I went back to work and felt a little queasy, but went about my day as normal.
At 4:45 am, I woke up because I felt liquid leaking and wondered if it was my water breaking. I went to the bathroom and found blood and passed a lemon-sized clot, which freaked me out. I called the on-call doctor who said that it was probably from the manipulation the day before, but he asked that I come in right away to be checked out. I was crying most of the way to the hospital because I was scared and couldn't feel the baby moving. Joe kept a cool head and told me he was sure that everything was fine. I started having contractions on the way to the hospital that were about 5 minutes apart.
The on-call doctor checked me and the baby at around 6 am, and said I was dialated to 4.5 cm and that the baby was fine. He wasn't sure that I was in labor and said he'd monitor me for a bit. We called my parents to let them know the situation, but told them not to come yet.
My contractions got stronger. By about 7 am, the on-call doctor declared that I was in active labor, and we asked my parents to come.
My labor progressed quickly, and I laugh now about all the useless things I brought to the hospital like music to relax me, hard candy to suck on, a tennis ball for Joe to massage my back... yeah right! I didn't have time for all of that! I was on my side in bed, screaming through the contractions until I started pushing. Joe did a great job of coaching me to breathe, although I wasn't much of a student.
At 8 cm, the doctor came in and broke my water, and the contractions became continuous. I kept wondering if it was time for an epidural, but I couldn't stand the thought of them jabbing a needle into my spine during a contraction. I started pushing before long, and Joe had to go out into the hallway to call in the nurse.
I pushed for over an hour. Joe and the nurse held my legs and encouraged me. They were great cheerleaders, but I was losing confidence by the end. The baby would come down far enough that the nurse would call in the doctor to deliver, and then he'd work back up again. The nurse coached me to use my muscles to hold the baby down between contractions and called the doctor again.
Benjamin Theodore Hackler was born at 11:28 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 inches long. They had to cut the umbilical cord from around his neck when his head came through, so they were a bit worried about him but, thankfully, he's a healthy little boy!
I had a doctor's appointment the day before and was dialated to 4 cm. The doctor laughed about the fact that I was still working and acting like everything was normal. She asked if I wanted to have the baby that day, and I said "Only if he's ready." She did a manipulation to stimulate contractions. I went back to work and felt a little queasy, but went about my day as normal.
At 4:45 am, I woke up because I felt liquid leaking and wondered if it was my water breaking. I went to the bathroom and found blood and passed a lemon-sized clot, which freaked me out. I called the on-call doctor who said that it was probably from the manipulation the day before, but he asked that I come in right away to be checked out. I was crying most of the way to the hospital because I was scared and couldn't feel the baby moving. Joe kept a cool head and told me he was sure that everything was fine. I started having contractions on the way to the hospital that were about 5 minutes apart.
The on-call doctor checked me and the baby at around 6 am, and said I was dialated to 4.5 cm and that the baby was fine. He wasn't sure that I was in labor and said he'd monitor me for a bit. We called my parents to let them know the situation, but told them not to come yet.
My contractions got stronger. By about 7 am, the on-call doctor declared that I was in active labor, and we asked my parents to come.
My labor progressed quickly, and I laugh now about all the useless things I brought to the hospital like music to relax me, hard candy to suck on, a tennis ball for Joe to massage my back... yeah right! I didn't have time for all of that! I was on my side in bed, screaming through the contractions until I started pushing. Joe did a great job of coaching me to breathe, although I wasn't much of a student.
At 8 cm, the doctor came in and broke my water, and the contractions became continuous. I kept wondering if it was time for an epidural, but I couldn't stand the thought of them jabbing a needle into my spine during a contraction. I started pushing before long, and Joe had to go out into the hallway to call in the nurse.
I pushed for over an hour. Joe and the nurse held my legs and encouraged me. They were great cheerleaders, but I was losing confidence by the end. The baby would come down far enough that the nurse would call in the doctor to deliver, and then he'd work back up again. The nurse coached me to use my muscles to hold the baby down between contractions and called the doctor again.
Benjamin Theodore Hackler was born at 11:28 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 inches long. They had to cut the umbilical cord from around his neck when his head came through, so they were a bit worried about him but, thankfully, he's a healthy little boy!
"It's too cold!"
"It's too bright!"
"Ah. Just right."
Exhausted Mommy
Happy Family
Proud Grandma Patton and Great Great Great Aunt Eileen
Benjamin Fussbucket
Proud Grandma and Grandpa Weston
Headed Home!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the pic of mommy and Ben. The look mom is giving baby is priceless.
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