born: 10:09pm 4/24/2007 - 7lbs 6oz - 20" long -blond hair blue eyesTHE STORY
CO started having contractions at 9 pm on Monday. So I'm thinking it'll be a long night so I'd better get some sleep while I could. Her contractions went all night spaced out about 5-8 minutes and lasting about 30 seconds each. The doctor told her not to go to the hospital until she got a lot worse when she called around 2 am.
The next morning I woke up refreshed and she was exhausted. She had only slept for 8 minutes at a time, which isn't fun. Try sleeping through the night while getting hit with a bat every 8 minutes.
We called the doctor at 9 am and she said to come in with all your stuff and get induced if she isn't dilated enough.
We got there and the doc said she was 4-5cm. CO was relieved because she was scared she had done all that work all night long for nothing. The Doctor told us to walk around town until she couldn't stand it anymore and then come back to see her. She also said if nothing changes by 2pm then come anyway.
So what do you do with a 5cm dilated pregnant woman who has been pretty much awake for 20 hrs? Go to Denny's.
She got a huge plate of food and I got 2 little eggs and 2 little sausage patties, because of this special diet that I have to be on. So now we're both a little grumpy. She eats her fill and feels better while I'm sitting there trying to figure out a way to get a handicap sticker for my strict diet restrictions.
She is having contractions during this whole time and doing really good with the descriptions as to how they fill. I can't share those colorful descriptions on a family oriented blog site, but I might create a separate link, because they created a whole new realm of sympathy from yours truly.
After the meal we drove around a little looking for a nice place to walk around and have contractions. Strange order to fill if you ask me. We ended up going to fort Zachery beach where there are some trees and picnic tables. It was the perfect spot. CO was almost too cheap to go there because it cost $6 to get in. I knew it was time to splurge and it was probably the best $6 of my life. The wind was cool, the sun was hot, sailboats were out, cruise ships were in, and bathroom close by. We couldn't have asked for a better spot.
Around 1:30pm CO was getting tired. DUH!! We went to the doctor and she had progressed to 6-7cm. The doctor said we could walk around some more and if our water broke and it was clear, we could still walk around. At this point I'm thinking she is border line crazy or she has done this too much. CO is tired and wants to rest, by now she wants an epidural to kill the pain. We figured after 16 hours of labor she has a good feel of what it's like to be in labor. Game over!
The doctor and the nurses could not believe how calm she was. She was very cool. They tried to encourage her to go the distance, because she wanted to do it naturally. I thought she could do it if she wanted to, but she was very tired and felt comfortable with ending the 5-8 minute torture treatment.
As soon as we got to the hospital they hooked her up to the machine to monitor the baby and the strength of the contractions. Her first one on the machine pegged it at 100 for about 20 seconds. I was proud and she was pissed. She also had to get an IV before the epidural. The epidural guy showed up shortly after and while he was talking to her she almost pegged the machine out again during one of her contractions. She took it on the chin and smiled at the guy when she couldn't talk. He realized the deal and cut to the quick of things. He was kinda clumsy in the room, but he nailed the needle in the magic spot in her spine and she was painless at about 4pm Tuesday. The medicine was so strong it made me feel good.
From 4-8pm she was just chilling in bed and I was watching the contraction come and go on the paper like waves in the ocean. They were less intense and never got within 4 minutes of each other. They say the epidural can slow the process, but it was very pleasant and relaxing compared to the nightmare that it could have been. Around 6pm they popped the water bag and at 8pm started to induce her. By 8:30 she was 9.5cm and they stopped the epidural so she could push with the contractions when she felt them.
At 9:20 they set the stage and the doctor entered and assumed the Johnny bench position. A nurse was on the left leg and I was on the right. I was way too close to the action, but I couldn't get any further away without causing a scene. They instantly started giving me a hard time by not wanting to touch the head or cut the cord, but I didn't give in to the peer pressure. CO pushed like a champ. The doctor never would have guessed this was her first time if she didn't know the truth. I was impressed and realized I'm just sitting here watching the action, real simple. 45 minutes later at 10:09 the baby popped out.
I saw the whole thing and put on my poker face like I've seen a million of these things. I'm just proud I didn't pass out or have to sit down. They did a quick wipe down and put Brody on CO's chest and I was right there with the video camera capturing the moment like a good Engineer collecting data, while watching Brody put on a Disco color skin tone combination that could make millions if he could do it at will. The reddish, purple, Tasmanian devil screaming, gorilla claw baby was a little overwhelming when they asked me to cut the cord and I had no problem saying no thanks, I'm fine.
I got surrounded by the ordeal and almost lost my cool when I followed Brody over to the warmer to watch him turn into a human. I looked at CO and she was still having contractions trying to get the placenta out, so I went to help her, but she was fine and wanted me to stay with the baby. The baby looked too weird and uncomfortable to just hang out with, so I figured I'll just go back to my original spot next to CO, simply because that was the last spot I felt comfortable at. In the process of moving to that location the placenta came out and I'm right there looking at it. My brain turned off and refused to see what I was looking at. Then it executed an emergency order to evacuate the area. GO TELL YOUR PARENTS THE GREAT NEWS. So I left.
When I came back, the scene was better organized into pockets where it was ok to look without danger of getting weak in the knees. Stuff was still in bowls and bags that were off limits and Brody looked normal except for a pasty looking leg. I inquired about it and the nurse responded quickly and alertly like something was wrong. So I focused on the problem while the doctor was finishing with CO. She was shaking pretty bad from the hormones and that was really unnerving, but she kept saying it was fine, so I kept my focus on Brody's leg.
The leg finally got enough oxygen to it and things were winding down. It took another 2 hours for the nurses to finish cleaning up CO and Brody. CO was absolutely incredible. I knew she was tough, but I had no idea just how tough. I feel very safe having her in my corner.
Brody seems like he is more interested in exploring this new world than sleeping and eating. That's all for now. More to come.
The next morning I woke up refreshed and she was exhausted. She had only slept for 8 minutes at a time, which isn't fun. Try sleeping through the night while getting hit with a bat every 8 minutes.
We called the doctor at 9 am and she said to come in with all your stuff and get induced if she isn't dilated enough.
We got there and the doc said she was 4-5cm. CO was relieved because she was scared she had done all that work all night long for nothing. The Doctor told us to walk around town until she couldn't stand it anymore and then come back to see her. She also said if nothing changes by 2pm then come anyway.
So what do you do with a 5cm dilated pregnant woman who has been pretty much awake for 20 hrs? Go to Denny's.
She got a huge plate of food and I got 2 little eggs and 2 little sausage patties, because of this special diet that I have to be on. So now we're both a little grumpy. She eats her fill and feels better while I'm sitting there trying to figure out a way to get a handicap sticker for my strict diet restrictions.
She is having contractions during this whole time and doing really good with the descriptions as to how they fill. I can't share those colorful descriptions on a family oriented blog site, but I might create a separate link, because they created a whole new realm of sympathy from yours truly.
After the meal we drove around a little looking for a nice place to walk around and have contractions. Strange order to fill if you ask me. We ended up going to fort Zachery beach where there are some trees and picnic tables. It was the perfect spot. CO was almost too cheap to go there because it cost $6 to get in. I knew it was time to splurge and it was probably the best $6 of my life. The wind was cool, the sun was hot, sailboats were out, cruise ships were in, and bathroom close by. We couldn't have asked for a better spot.
Around 1:30pm CO was getting tired. DUH!! We went to the doctor and she had progressed to 6-7cm. The doctor said we could walk around some more and if our water broke and it was clear, we could still walk around. At this point I'm thinking she is border line crazy or she has done this too much. CO is tired and wants to rest, by now she wants an epidural to kill the pain. We figured after 16 hours of labor she has a good feel of what it's like to be in labor. Game over!
The doctor and the nurses could not believe how calm she was. She was very cool. They tried to encourage her to go the distance, because she wanted to do it naturally. I thought she could do it if she wanted to, but she was very tired and felt comfortable with ending the 5-8 minute torture treatment.
As soon as we got to the hospital they hooked her up to the machine to monitor the baby and the strength of the contractions. Her first one on the machine pegged it at 100 for about 20 seconds. I was proud and she was pissed. She also had to get an IV before the epidural. The epidural guy showed up shortly after and while he was talking to her she almost pegged the machine out again during one of her contractions. She took it on the chin and smiled at the guy when she couldn't talk. He realized the deal and cut to the quick of things. He was kinda clumsy in the room, but he nailed the needle in the magic spot in her spine and she was painless at about 4pm Tuesday. The medicine was so strong it made me feel good.
From 4-8pm she was just chilling in bed and I was watching the contraction come and go on the paper like waves in the ocean. They were less intense and never got within 4 minutes of each other. They say the epidural can slow the process, but it was very pleasant and relaxing compared to the nightmare that it could have been. Around 6pm they popped the water bag and at 8pm started to induce her. By 8:30 she was 9.5cm and they stopped the epidural so she could push with the contractions when she felt them.
At 9:20 they set the stage and the doctor entered and assumed the Johnny bench position. A nurse was on the left leg and I was on the right. I was way too close to the action, but I couldn't get any further away without causing a scene. They instantly started giving me a hard time by not wanting to touch the head or cut the cord, but I didn't give in to the peer pressure. CO pushed like a champ. The doctor never would have guessed this was her first time if she didn't know the truth. I was impressed and realized I'm just sitting here watching the action, real simple. 45 minutes later at 10:09 the baby popped out.
I saw the whole thing and put on my poker face like I've seen a million of these things. I'm just proud I didn't pass out or have to sit down. They did a quick wipe down and put Brody on CO's chest and I was right there with the video camera capturing the moment like a good Engineer collecting data, while watching Brody put on a Disco color skin tone combination that could make millions if he could do it at will. The reddish, purple, Tasmanian devil screaming, gorilla claw baby was a little overwhelming when they asked me to cut the cord and I had no problem saying no thanks, I'm fine.
I got surrounded by the ordeal and almost lost my cool when I followed Brody over to the warmer to watch him turn into a human. I looked at CO and she was still having contractions trying to get the placenta out, so I went to help her, but she was fine and wanted me to stay with the baby. The baby looked too weird and uncomfortable to just hang out with, so I figured I'll just go back to my original spot next to CO, simply because that was the last spot I felt comfortable at. In the process of moving to that location the placenta came out and I'm right there looking at it. My brain turned off and refused to see what I was looking at. Then it executed an emergency order to evacuate the area. GO TELL YOUR PARENTS THE GREAT NEWS. So I left.
When I came back, the scene was better organized into pockets where it was ok to look without danger of getting weak in the knees. Stuff was still in bowls and bags that were off limits and Brody looked normal except for a pasty looking leg. I inquired about it and the nurse responded quickly and alertly like something was wrong. So I focused on the problem while the doctor was finishing with CO. She was shaking pretty bad from the hormones and that was really unnerving, but she kept saying it was fine, so I kept my focus on Brody's leg.
The leg finally got enough oxygen to it and things were winding down. It took another 2 hours for the nurses to finish cleaning up CO and Brody. CO was absolutely incredible. I knew she was tough, but I had no idea just how tough. I feel very safe having her in my corner.
Brody seems like he is more interested in exploring this new world than sleeping and eating. That's all for now. More to come.
5 comments:
After reading your blog, I feel like I too was in the room. I'm a little weak in the knees after that experience! We're happy for your guys, tell Brody hello!
Todd and Anne
Wow! A little miracle right in the Ray's house and hands! He's so alert and cute.
We knew you had a special woman there but your blow by blow confirmed it! Enjoyed the detailed walk through your day. We could picture you two. Makes us smile and laugh and wish we could be there even more!
Hugs and kisses for the new mama and baby and Adam too!
Dennis, Julie, Anna Catherine, Julieanne and Na
Bravo, Christine! You're my hero. Jadam, good job supporting the main element. Brody, jump on the team for the big win.
Congratulations Christine!
Very cool. That has to be the best play-by-play of anything I've ever read. I am queezy.
Brody seems tobe taking after his dad in the photography department ...
Congratulations!! Thanks for taking the time for the play-by-play. Great job Christine! And Adam :-)
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