Friday morning started out early--I had to get up at 5:30 am to call the hospital to make sure they still had a bed available for me. It was nearly midnight by the time I had gone to bed the night before and I had strange dreams all night long so that early wake-up was rough! We got ready and The Mister and I headed to the hospital, admittedly a little bit late. ;) We got there a bit before 7:00 am and got all checked in. Headed up to the OB floor and dressed in my gown and poked with an IV (my least favorite part of the whole experience is the stupid IV!)
My doctor came and broke my water around 8:00 am and I was started on pitocin right afterwards. They started out low with the pitocin because it took them ramping it up a few times before the contractions even started (I texted my mom at 9:39 saying I they were moving very slowly). Finally they got the right amount of pitocin and the contractions really started. I breathed through them for several hours and then finally the anesthesiologist came in around noon to give me my epidural. Phew! That was such a relief.
The nurse checked me and I texted my mom at 12:39 pm that I was dilated to a 7. The epidural was funny this time. It took more on the left side than the right, so while my left leg was pretty dead, I could still feel the contractions on my right side. They were minor, mostly just annoying. During the last two births I've been able to nap once I got the epi so I was really hoping for that extra rest after my scant sleep the night before! This time, the epi made me feel very relaxed and kind of fuzzy-headed so I wanted to nap, but every time I'd just about drop off to sleep either my blood pressure cuff would take a reading or I'd have a contraction (and feel it on the right side) or one of the machines would click and make a noise. Annoying!
Right around 1:00 pm, I started to notice that I could really feel the contractions on my right side and they were getting longer in duration and much stronger. Rather than just being an annoying feeling of pressure, they were now hurting. I tried hitting my button to up the amount of epidural and waited 15+ minutes to see if it would help, but it made no difference. I decided to call the nurse and ask if I could flip over sides to see if that would make a difference. While I was waiting for her to come in and help me, my mom left to go to the cafeteria to get lunch. The nurse came in and checked me again and said that the reason I was feeling pain was because I was dilated to a 10 and it was time to push! The Mister texted my mom at 1:30 to come right back. The nurse called my doctor and we waited for her to get to the hospital.
The doctor got to the hospital a bit after 2:00 pm. They got everything all ready to go and then I started to push just after 2:35 pm. Benjamin Donald was born at 2:51 pm after less than 15 minutes of pushing, which is definitely my best record so far! He was purple as a little beet for the first few minutes, then he pinked right up.
Benjamin weighed 8 lbs 0 oz and measured 21 inches long. He is my biggest baby and shocked us all with his weight, even the doctor! I had an ultrasound a few weeks ago and his size was estimated to be in the low 7 lb range, so he was much bigger than we expected.
Because of his quick trip into this world, he had a little bit of bruising around the top of his nose and forehead but at least his head wasn't as cone-shaped as usual since he didn't have to be squished for very long! He was born with long, ragged *sharp* fingernails and scratched up his pretty little face in no time flat.
Because of Ben's quick delivery, my recovery has been surprisingly easy, for which I am thankful! We stayed in the hospital until Sunday morning and then came home. I've felt really good and have been enjoying being able to bend over and reach my feet again. The things you take for granted, right?
The last few nights have had the usual newborn-sleeping speed bumps. I've gone between being desperate for sleep to having ridiculous insomnia. He sleeps and I can't. I sleep and he won't. I know we'll get things worked out eventually, and I'm so thankful that my mom is here to help as The Mister's work schedule has him out of town and unable to take any time off. I don't know what I'd have done this week without her!
We're so happy that baby Ben is here!
