**Written 04-15-13 and backdated to 04-07-13**
**WARNING: This is a rather lengthy recount of my labor and delivery, however I want to document what I remember for future memories.**
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| Baby Caleb |
Mr. Caleb Patrick Arkins arrived Friday April 5th at 5:48 pm. He was 8 pounds 11 ounces and 20.25 inches long.
2:30 am: I woke up with contractions that were not unbearable, but too uncomfortable to sleep through. I started timing them on my phone and they were averaging about 10-12 minutes apart. I stayed in bed and fell in and out of sleep in between each contraction.
5:15 am: Our alarm went off for work and I was still having contractions at the same 10-12 minute rate. I told Bryan I was having contractions and was going to work from home for the day. We agreed he would go in and we would stay in touch to see if the contractions got closer or went away. I got up, took a shower and got dressed for the day in case I ended up going into work.
6:45 am: Contractions are still consistently coming, some a little closer when I'm up and moving. I log in to work and continue to time them. Some contractions are more painful than others but I can still work/walk/talk through them.
8:30 am: My contractions slow down a lot and I only had 2 in an hour time span. I decided to go a walk around the neighborhood to see if they will pick pack up. It was hot and sticky out so I went to the neighborhood gym and walked for 35 minutes on the treadmill. The contractions definitely picked back up so I headed home. They were averaging about 8 minutes apart. Of course on the way home it starts to rain. I was the crazy pregnant woman walking the streets in a hoody in the rain. haha.
9:40 am: When I got back home, I logged back in to work for another hour and continued to time the contractions. They continued to average about 8 minutes apart but started to get more and more painful. I got a point where I had to hold still for each contraction because moving was painful.
11:00 am: The contractions continued to get stronger and started coming every 4-6 minutes. By 11:30, they were all around 4-5 minutes apart and they HURT.
11:35 am: I called Bryan at work and told him it was time to come home. I started packing the rest of my suitcase taking a break for every contractions.
12:30 pm: By the time Bryan got home, the contractions were easily coming every 4 minutes. He quickly packed up his stuff and we headed for the hospital. Right as we were pulling out of the driveway a contraction hit and I made Bryan wait till it passed to drive. When it was done, I jokingly told him he had 3 minutes to make it to the hospital. :)
1:10 pm: We arrive at the hospital and I head to triage to check in and fill out paperwork. They take my vital signs and we wait to be taken back to be examined. By this time my contractions are coming every 2-3 minutes, getting more and more painful.
1:45 pm: I'm examined in triage and officially dilated to 5 cm. We're definitely staying and having this baby TODAY! I told the nurse about my quick delivery with Cameron and she took it to heart and started hustling to get us checked in. She started my IV, took some blood work and completed the check in process on the computer. She got my epidural paperwork so we could get that started and be ready ASAP once up in labor and delivery.
2:15 pm: My room in L & D is ready and a wheelchair comes to take us upstairs. I got set up in bed, my nurse Glenis got all the monitors set up and assured me anesthesia was on the way to start the epidural.
2:30 pm: The anesthesiologist arrives goes through all her questions, risks etc. and she started the epidural process. By 2:45 pm it's in place and I start to feel some relief. Now I get to just relax and wait for the Dr. to come examine me.
4:00 pm: Dr. Logan comes to my room and examines me. I've made it to 7 cm and she breaks my water since it still hadn't broken. She said to expect an additional 1.5 cm every hour. We're left to hang out on our own and my nurse says to ring if I feel pressure.
5:30 pm: I start to feel a bit of pressure and I got shaky and jittery. I ring Glenis and let her know. Within 5 minutes she comes in and examines me. She says I'm at 10 cm and it's definitely baby time! I do 2 practice pushes with her and she says it's go time. She rings the Dr. and starts setting the room up.
Dr. Logan comes in and I get set up to push. We wait for the next contraction and do three pushes. Caleb is ready to come out and Dr. Logan says we'll be having a baby on the next contraction. I gear up for the one and three pushes later at
5:48 pm Caleb was born!
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| Just Born |
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| I just had a baby. :) |
Once Caleb was born, they put him on my chest to be cleaned off and then proceeded to let me hold him for an hour before they took any measurements. When they finally measured him, Caleb weighed in at 8lbs 11 oz. and 20 1/4 inches. After running all their tests, the only concern was his blood sugar. He measured 42 when the minimum they like to see is 45. The nurse told me to continue to try and feed him and she would remeasure later. We stayed in L & D for another 2 hours where I continued to try and feed Caleb and then ordered dinner for myself.
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| First time holding Caleb |
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| Mommy and Caleb |
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| First Picture with Mommy and Daddy |
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| 8 pounds 11 ounces |
8:30 pm: The nurse came back and retested his sugar level. It had dropped to 37 now so we were told it was best for Caleb to go to the transitional nursery to have an ounce or two of formula to help bring his sugar levels back up. Bryan went with Caleb to the nursery and I was taken to my room for the rest of our stay.
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| Daddy and Caleb |
9:30 pm: Once settled in my room, Bryan made his way back and we headed to Caleb's floor to check on him. The pediatrician came and talked to us and told us he was doing very well and his blood sugar was up to 63. They were going to continue to observe him and then clean him off and bring him back upstairs.
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| Being monitored in the transitional nursery |
11:30 pm: Caleb finally made his way back to my room and so our adventure begins!
