HE IS HERE!

For those of you not on facebook we had our baby BOY Monday February 18th at 6:02pm. He weighed 6lbs 5oz.

Now my due date was not until March 17th! He was born at 36 weeks and 1 day. No my water did not break and I did not go into labor on my own. My doctor decided to induce me since I was showing more and more signs of pre-eclampsia and he felt it was safer for Bubbles to be born instead of wait any longer. I had two abnormal bloodwork tests and a 24 hour urine test which showed protein. That coupled with my still high blood pressure made him decide to induce me.

It was quite a surprise! He called us on a Saturday morning and asked us to come in and do bloodwork and then he checked to see if my cervix would be ready to give birth. He told us that we would be having our baby soon and to get ready! And then he told me to relax and take it easy......yeah right. We ran to Target that night to get a few last minute baby items and then got some organization done in the nursery (which had been my original plan for that weekend). It's still not done but since he is not sleeping in there yet it's ok. We will complete it eventually.

Sunday the 17th we went to church and waited for the call. The doctor called at 2:30pm and told us that the hospital would call and let us know when to come in. He said it would be around 7pm. So we figured we had a little time to prepare. Then the hospital called and told us they could check us in at 4pm!!! We packed our bags, called family, friends, and work and then checked in to our birth suite.

They gave me cervidil to help my cervix dilate and then hooked me up to the monitors - one for the heart rate of the baby and one for my contractions. This is the part I hated the most - those darn monitors. It was the #1 reason I did not want to be induced because when I was actually in labor I wanted to be able to move around. It meant that every time I had to get up and use the restroom I had to unplug from the monitors and then inevitably the belly monitors would slip loose and the nurse would have to come find the baby's heartbeat again. That made for a long night plus blood pressure readings every half hour. But it was all in God's hands now.

Our first nurse when we arrived at the hospital made me so nervous I actually contribute my highest blood pressure readings to her. She was telling me I might have to take magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures and told me it would make me feel like I was on fire. WHAT? Don't tell me that. Of course my blood pressure will go up.

Thankfully we were so blessed by our nurses from then on. The overnight nurse was amazing. We were so blessed to have her especially since it was her Friday and she was a traveling nurse - she didn't even work at the hospital full time. She was a Christian, she made me feel calm, and she was really really sweet. The following morning they let me take a shower and then they hooked up the Pitocin. One more thing to drag into the restroom with me!

That was started about 6am and around 11am the morning nurse said she called the doctor to come and break my water to start stronger contractions. I was having them but they were pretty irregular and still mild. Only a few minutes after he broke my water the contractions started becoming more regular and I definitely felt the peaks starting. Chris was a wonderful coach to get me through them with the breathing techniques we learned in our childbirth class.

Soon though I had a lot of pain in my back and hips. I wasn't expecting this and it was harder to handle then I thought. I couldn't find a good position to labor through them. Being in the hospital bed was torture - it made the pain in my back worse. I did like the exercise ball but after awhile even that was hard and I felt so constricted by all the monitors and IV pole. Around 1:30pm I had the nurse check me and in 2 1/2 hours I had gone from 2cm to 6cm dilated. I felt that I was at a point where I couldn't control my breathing anymore - even with Chris' help so we decided I would get an epidural.

It wasn't in my original birth plan to do that but then being induced wasn't in the plan either. After they broke my water they hooked up an internal monitor on the baby and to measure my contractions and so I definitely couldn't take advantage of the jacuzzi tub and shower in our birth suite. This was disappointing as that had been a major part of my plan.

But the epidural was pretty amazing and allowed both Chris and I to rest for a couple of hours before I felt like it was time to push. The nurse checked me again and I was almost ready there was just a little lip left. She talked to the doctor and he said to have me start pushing. This was about 5:20pm on Monday the 18th.

Pushing was harder then I thought. With the epidural I only felt pressure that I needed to push but I couldn't tell how much it was working. I was so glad for the encouragement from the nurse and doctor once he arrived. I just kept doing what felt right.

The baby's heartrate dropped a bit being in the birth canal so they decided that the doctor would use forceps to help get him out. Luckily after they had me on the oxygen mask for a bit and resting his heart rate went back up and after the doctor got set up it took only one push to get him out at 6:02pm and we found out that it was a BOY. That part was really fun! All the nurses, techs, and various people in our room were excited when they found out it was surprise baby so I think by the time he was born there were about 14 people in there! The rooms are big for a reason.

Since he was 4 weeks early they took him to the warmer to check out his breathing and to suction out his lungs a little bit. After about 15 minutes they brought him to me and put him on my chest and he did great. He did not have to go to the NICU and they had me start breastfeeding him.

Finally, his grandparents got to meet him and everyone was cleared out of the room. Chris and I also finally got to eat which was great. I have never enjoyed a meal so much. It was definitely a day that we will never forget.

Introducing: Baby Benjamin AKA Bubbles