According to my dad, only 2% of babies actually arrive on their due dates. But are you really surprised that mine did? I guess he takes after his Mama and likes things to happen on time!
Samuel Denn Heiner came into the world at 3:11 pm on Tuesday, May 2, 2006. He weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was about 20 inches long, and has a VERY full head of very blond hair.
I did not have any contractions whatsoever until Monday, and they were hours apart and not strong at all. Justin and I went to bed at 1:30 am, thinking about our doctor appointment today and whether we would start thinking about implementing labor if he didn't come in the next few days. 2 hours later at 3:30, I woke up in bed to my water breaking. I waited about 1/2 an hour and had a couple of contractions, so we called the hospital and headed over to labor & delivery. We got to the hospital a little before 5 am and I stayed on the monitor for a while. When we got to the hospital they didn't do an internal exam, and my contractions were about 6 minutes apart. Since my water broke before we came to the hospital, they told us that depending on progress, they would probably start pitocin to augment labor around 9:30 (6 hours after the labor started). I walked around and Kira and Mom got here a little while later.
The contractions got harder and longer, and it was not too long before I was considering re-thinking my idea of not wanting an epidural. Around 7:30 am, the doctor came and checked me, and I was 6 centimeters already. Then, the contractions got further apart, but longer and more difficult. At 10:00 am, we decided we did want to use pitocin to speed things up, and I also decided that I wanted an epidural. It was great! I could even have pleasant conversations with the people around me during the once excruciating contractions.
Around 12:00 pm, Laurie and Rob had arrived. Around 12:20, I was still 6 to 7 centimeters, and the nurses suggested I kick everyone out so I could get some rest. So just evacuated the room, and we rested while listening to Sarah McLachlan. Since I only got a couple hours of sleep last night, it was good to be able to rest for an hour or so.
At 1:15 pm, the doctor stopped by because the baby heart rate was sporadic. I was given some oxygen and was checked out and found out that I was already 10 centimeters, and it was time to push. Since we had been told that it would be at least an hour and a half before we would even be getting close, everyone was still far from the room. We rounded up Mom and Kira, put everybody else on alert, and around 1:30 pm, the pushing began. It sure was hard work. I still was not feeling any pain because of the epidural, but I could feel tremendous pressure and (especially near the end) a very strong urge to push during the contractions. When I saw the contractions spiking on the monitor, I was glad that I could not feel them as well.
About 2:00 pm, Justin's mom got to the hospital. She had just come from Puyallup, where Justin's cousin had given birth about an hour earlier. She was so happy that she was getting to witness two births in one day.
During the pushing, Kira, Edie, and Deanna were in the room encouraging me. For the most part, it was quiet and calm in the room, which helped me relax. The occasional joke about silent births was made as well.
When we were able to see the head, the doctor, Rob, and Laurie came into the room to cheer me on. The last 10 minutes was definitely the worst part, especially when Sam had half of his head popped out for upwards of two minutes. But then, after 1 hour and 40 minutes of pushing, it was over. A beautiful baby boy was placed on my chest and everyone in the room was driven to tears.
I know that Laurie got some beautiful pictures, and we will send some out as soon as we get them.
Although not a champion eater yet, he is definitely a world class pooper. Before being in the world for more than 2 minutes, he had already dropped his first load. And within a half hour, he had already gone twice more. It was then that they decided Justin should give him his first bath and they should put a diaper on him.
2 comments:
The close-up pic of Sam's face is precious! Love it.
My firstborn arrived on her due date... but I was induced!
What a beautiful baby and story! He really is such a doll! You make some beautiful babies, mama!
Loved reading about Sam's birth.
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