and then there were three
without further ado, soren's birth story.
thursday, february 15, 2007
3:55 am - i get up to use the restroom for like the 20th time that night, as is my usual practice at 40+ weeks pregnant. as soon as i step into the bathroom, water runs down my leg (and jim's pj pants, which i had borrowed since i no longer fit into any of my own). i am in labor. oh my god i am in labor. i go and tell jim that my water broke, to which he responds, "what does that mean?" it means you can't sleep anymore, sweetheart. we have to go. and then the contractions start. fairly reasonable at first, i just have to breathe through them and focus. so we get up, get ready, make the appropriate phone calls to work, doctor, etc., and head for the hospital.
5:00 am - check in, get to the triage section, change into my gown, and wait for my exam. they check my cervix and tell me i am 2 cm dilated. what? and i have to get to 10 cm? it's going to be a long day. so jim and i decide to go for a walk to get this party started.
6:45 am - return from our walk, at which point active labor starts. oh my god these contractions are not reasonable. they hurt a LOT. then active labor not only starts, but kicks itself into high gear. oh my god these contractions hurt WAY more than i thought they would. but even with the huge amount of pain, you know there will be an end to each one where you won't want to puke. they check my cervix again and i'm dilated 5 cm. looks like the walk worked a bit. so we wait for my delivery room and i try really hard to breathe.
7:50 am - we arrive at my delivery room. at this point i've said (several times) things like: "please kill me now," "i can't do this," "just make it stop," and "i want to die." i never thought i'd say those kinds of things. but before childbirth, i guess i always had a fairly low threshhold for pain. no real broken bones, accidents, etc. growing up, so i hadn't really experienced anything like it. this was the real deal. jim plugs in the ipod and speakers and tries to help me relax. good luck.
8:25 am - the nurses try to get the paperwork for my epidural started and tell me it will be a while. the anesthesiologist has 3 other women in labor needing the secret potion as well. shit.
9:00 am - my knight in shining armor (dr. mulatti, my short, middle-aged, east indian anesthesiologist) arrives. oh, dr. mulatti, i love you. love love LOVE you. good thing you leave right after you do your dirty work, because i think i would have named soren "mulatti" or whatever your first name was. i still have dreams about you. i love you.
time? what time? - i am in heaven. this is the best thing in the world. to think i was ever afraid of the epidural! jim almost fainted when he put the needle in, whether from the sight of it or the crunch it apparently made when he inserted it, i don't know. i, for one, didn't care. you could have put the needle in my eye and i would have been just as happy. the nurses then tell me most first time moms dilate one cm an hour, with two hours of pushing, so i can probably bank on having the little one around 4 or 5 pm. sounds good.
11:35 am - my mom shows up to say hi and plans to go home and come back a few hours later. jim goes and gets some chicken fried steak in the hospital cafeteria and my mom and i just hang out. i am in a state of drugged bliss and i couldn't be more content.
12:05 pm - jim relieves my mom, so she can go down to the cafeteria to get something to eat before she takes off. as soon as she leaves, the nurses come and check my cervix and announce that i am fully dilated. 10 cm. what? i thought it was going to take hours! i suddenly panic. i thought that i was going to have a few hours to relax, to get used to the idea that this was really it. i can't be having my baby NOW. the nurses and i decide to let the baby do what it will on its own, and save my energy for pushing later. they give me about a half hour or 45 min to hang out, during which the pressure starts. it is not pain, but pressure. the most intense pressure you've ever felt. it might as well have been pain, because all you want is for it to stop.
12:20 pm - couldn't wait the half hour. i need this baby out NOW. so, legs up, we start pushing.
12:55 pm - my mom comes strolling in from lunch to see her daughter attempting to deliver her first grandson.
1:00 pm - more pushing. i need water. baby is a little cockeyed in the canal, so it will take a little extra pushing. my god.
1:15 pm - more pushing. i need about 10,000 gallons of water. and a rubberband for my hair. and some a/c in this f'ing room!
1:20 pm - more pushing. head is visible! this is really happening. NO, i do not want a mirror to see the progress.
1:30 pm - little sis katie basically breaks the door down trying to make it before i give birth. more pushing. at this point just bring all the water in the hospital.
1:40 pm - head is out. i scream. even the most graphic of birth videos can't prepare you for that sight. almost there.
1:42 pm - we welcome little baby soren into this world. hold him for the first time and fall in love.
from then on my life will be forever changed. it is funny how things stick out in your mind when you experience an event like that. i didn't really expect to have music playing while i delivered, but jim had put the ipod on while we were waiting for me to dilate and never stopped it. now every time i hear the shins' album chutes too narrow i tear up because it was playing when my dear little son made his entry into my life and my heart.
the whole thing was surreal. when i look back i think it must have been a dream. nothing can prepare you for the pain, surprise, joy, and love that you will feel at the birth of your first child. you go to the hospital as a couple, but leave as a family. it truly was the most amazing experience of my life.
thursday, february 15, 2007
3:55 am - i get up to use the restroom for like the 20th time that night, as is my usual practice at 40+ weeks pregnant. as soon as i step into the bathroom, water runs down my leg (and jim's pj pants, which i had borrowed since i no longer fit into any of my own). i am in labor. oh my god i am in labor. i go and tell jim that my water broke, to which he responds, "what does that mean?" it means you can't sleep anymore, sweetheart. we have to go. and then the contractions start. fairly reasonable at first, i just have to breathe through them and focus. so we get up, get ready, make the appropriate phone calls to work, doctor, etc., and head for the hospital.
5:00 am - check in, get to the triage section, change into my gown, and wait for my exam. they check my cervix and tell me i am 2 cm dilated. what? and i have to get to 10 cm? it's going to be a long day. so jim and i decide to go for a walk to get this party started.
6:45 am - return from our walk, at which point active labor starts. oh my god these contractions are not reasonable. they hurt a LOT. then active labor not only starts, but kicks itself into high gear. oh my god these contractions hurt WAY more than i thought they would. but even with the huge amount of pain, you know there will be an end to each one where you won't want to puke. they check my cervix again and i'm dilated 5 cm. looks like the walk worked a bit. so we wait for my delivery room and i try really hard to breathe.
7:50 am - we arrive at my delivery room. at this point i've said (several times) things like: "please kill me now," "i can't do this," "just make it stop," and "i want to die." i never thought i'd say those kinds of things. but before childbirth, i guess i always had a fairly low threshhold for pain. no real broken bones, accidents, etc. growing up, so i hadn't really experienced anything like it. this was the real deal. jim plugs in the ipod and speakers and tries to help me relax. good luck.
8:25 am - the nurses try to get the paperwork for my epidural started and tell me it will be a while. the anesthesiologist has 3 other women in labor needing the secret potion as well. shit.
9:00 am - my knight in shining armor (dr. mulatti, my short, middle-aged, east indian anesthesiologist) arrives. oh, dr. mulatti, i love you. love love LOVE you. good thing you leave right after you do your dirty work, because i think i would have named soren "mulatti" or whatever your first name was. i still have dreams about you. i love you.
time? what time? - i am in heaven. this is the best thing in the world. to think i was ever afraid of the epidural! jim almost fainted when he put the needle in, whether from the sight of it or the crunch it apparently made when he inserted it, i don't know. i, for one, didn't care. you could have put the needle in my eye and i would have been just as happy. the nurses then tell me most first time moms dilate one cm an hour, with two hours of pushing, so i can probably bank on having the little one around 4 or 5 pm. sounds good.
11:35 am - my mom shows up to say hi and plans to go home and come back a few hours later. jim goes and gets some chicken fried steak in the hospital cafeteria and my mom and i just hang out. i am in a state of drugged bliss and i couldn't be more content.
12:05 pm - jim relieves my mom, so she can go down to the cafeteria to get something to eat before she takes off. as soon as she leaves, the nurses come and check my cervix and announce that i am fully dilated. 10 cm. what? i thought it was going to take hours! i suddenly panic. i thought that i was going to have a few hours to relax, to get used to the idea that this was really it. i can't be having my baby NOW. the nurses and i decide to let the baby do what it will on its own, and save my energy for pushing later. they give me about a half hour or 45 min to hang out, during which the pressure starts. it is not pain, but pressure. the most intense pressure you've ever felt. it might as well have been pain, because all you want is for it to stop.
12:20 pm - couldn't wait the half hour. i need this baby out NOW. so, legs up, we start pushing.
12:55 pm - my mom comes strolling in from lunch to see her daughter attempting to deliver her first grandson.
1:00 pm - more pushing. i need water. baby is a little cockeyed in the canal, so it will take a little extra pushing. my god.
1:15 pm - more pushing. i need about 10,000 gallons of water. and a rubberband for my hair. and some a/c in this f'ing room!
1:20 pm - more pushing. head is visible! this is really happening. NO, i do not want a mirror to see the progress.
1:30 pm - little sis katie basically breaks the door down trying to make it before i give birth. more pushing. at this point just bring all the water in the hospital.
1:40 pm - head is out. i scream. even the most graphic of birth videos can't prepare you for that sight. almost there.
1:42 pm - we welcome little baby soren into this world. hold him for the first time and fall in love.
from then on my life will be forever changed. it is funny how things stick out in your mind when you experience an event like that. i didn't really expect to have music playing while i delivered, but jim had put the ipod on while we were waiting for me to dilate and never stopped it. now every time i hear the shins' album chutes too narrow i tear up because it was playing when my dear little son made his entry into my life and my heart.
the whole thing was surreal. when i look back i think it must have been a dream. nothing can prepare you for the pain, surprise, joy, and love that you will feel at the birth of your first child. you go to the hospital as a couple, but leave as a family. it truly was the most amazing experience of my life.
posted by little bean at 11:25 AM
2 Comments:
What a wonderful post! Sounds like such an amazing experience and Soren is so adorable, he looks like a little Jim in some of those pictures! I cannot wait to meet him. xoxoxo Mandy
so worth the wait to hear all about it. sounds like a wondererful experience. i cant wait to meet him next weekend! woo hoo!
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