It is hard to put into words the mix of emotions I have experienced over the last few weeks. In fact, as I sit here writing about the birth of our son I almost have a sense of sadness that I did not get to write about the last month of my pregnancy. I think most people would think I was crazy, and that I was lucky to cut my pregnancy short. However, I was enjoying my third trimester so much…that I feel I got cheated a little bit. Not to mention all of the things I wanted to get done before Bennett arrived (including training my back-up at work!). But all of that aside, I could not be happier that early or not…our little boy was ready to join the world and is healthy as can be!
Bennett Oliver Lauer
Born 11-01-10 3:51 PM
5 lbs 5 oz
18 inches
Our Birth Story
Thursday Oct 28
We had our 35 week appointment with the Doctor. 1 cm dilated and baby had dropped. Everything was on track…although I did get a warning that I shouldn’t be surprised if baby comes late. First time pregnancies often have late deliveries, and I had been measuring on the small side. I was convinced that baby would probably be joining us in December instead of the end of November.
Sunday Oct 31
6:00 am -- wake up to discover that I have wet myself, or something. Go ahead…laugh away. I was having a mixture of laughter and tears. This was very confusing since I had just gone to the bathroom an hour earlier. But then again frequent bathroom breaks weren’t out of the ordinary at this point. I thought maybe my water had broken…but it was only a small amount of fluid. Everything I had ever heard about your water breaking is that it would be quite a lot of fluid. I know that incontinence can happen during pregnancy…so I chalked it up to that. (And then cried a lot because who wants to deal with that?). Figured I would take a trip to my Dr on Monday morning just to be sure. If anything, it was possible I had leaked some amniotic fluid and possibly would be put on bed rest…or baby might also come a little early. But I wasn’t having any contractions yet, so not a big deal.
6:30 pm --While our first trick-or-treaters were coming to the door….I was “dribbling” every time I stood up, so I finally decided it was time to call the Family Birth Center. They said it could be amniotic fluid, or incontinence….so might as well come down and they will check. I put a few things together just in case, but decided not to bring our bags figuring we would be returning home shortly.
7:00 pm --As we were waiting for the results from the Dr, I told Matt that either outcome was bad news. If it was amniotic fluid, we would be having the baby early. If not, I was peeing myself. Seriously, how was I supposed to go on for 4 more weeks while I am peeing myself? We laughed, but I really just wanted to cry. The Dr came in and told us that it was definitely amniotic fluid. He then did a physical examination as he wanted to see if I had just leaked, or if my water had actually broken. Guess what…water had broken and I was 2 cm dilated! They hooked me up to a monitor and I was having contractions 5 minutes apart, yet couldn’t feel a thing! As it turns out, we should have brought the bags! We were not going home…our baby was on his way! The nurse took me into my room, hooked me up to the monitors, put in my IV and then told me to get some sleep as things would probably not progress until the morning.
Monday Nov 1
8:00 am -- Well, sleep did not happen for me. I was completely uncomfortable laying on my back (never quite figured out how to get rid of the back pain I had for my entire pregnancy). Every time I tried to turn on my side or find a comfortable position either the heart monitor for the baby or the contraction monitor would quit working – and in would come a nurse. Also, I was worried about the birth of our son and whether or not he would be healthy. The Dr had warned us that baby Bennett would have a 90% chance of going into the NICU. The Dr came in the morning to check my progress and I was having contractions 3-4 minutes apart…but I still wasn’t feeling much of anything. I was only dilated to 3 cm…so I still had a long way to go. The Dr decided to start giving me pitocin to get labor going.
1:30 PM -- All of a sudden contractions are strong and painful. I have been waiting all day for something to happen, I am finally making progress.
2:30 PM -- An hour of pain is enough. This is when I asked for an epidural. The anesthesiologist showed up soon after. I could feel the right side of my body going numb, but not my left. The nurse was going to put a catheter in, and then they were supposed to put me on my side so the epidural could start taking effect on the left side. The anesthesiologist said he would be back in an hour to check my progress. This is where things get crazy. The nurse suddenly blurts out that he would not need to come back in an hour because I was 9.5 cm dilated and was going to have the baby before then. She was trying to get a hold of the Dr with no luck…so she then explained that I didn’t need to worry, she was qualified to deliver babies if necessary. My mom was out in the hallway with my Dad, and things started getting really hectic. The nurse told Matt to run and get her help and tell them to bring a table. (He turned really pale at this point). She was strapping an oxygen mask around me, and pulling out supplies, etc.
3:30 PM -- My mom and Matt made it back into the room, and the nurses started filtering in. (Because of Bennett being pre-term, there were two extra nurses on hand to evaluate him as soon as he was born). Soon after, the Dr. ran in…Literally, ran in. She had been in another area of the clinic and came as fast as she could. Before I even had time to collect myself, she was at the end of my bed telling me to push. I could still feel all of my contractions since my epidural still hadn’t taken full effect. Pain or not, I still didn’t find this part too difficult. In fact, I think I made a comment that I could totally handle this and would definitely give my parents more grandchildren. Haha.
3:51 PM -- Our baby boy arrived! My mother, Matt and I were all in tears. That was truly the happiest moment of my life. He came out screaming, which was the first sign that he was healthy. The Dr had explained that the main concern would be whether or not his lungs were fully developed. That did not appear to be a concern. Bennett was checked out right away, and the nurses left without him! No NICU stay!
We did it! 26 days early, but for whatever reason Bennett was ready to join the world. I consider myself very lucky. Labor and delivery went smoothly, and we have a healthy baby boy. Life is wonderful…and for that, I am thankful!
