I typed up Sam’s birth story to put in my journal, and I’ll include it here too. This is very lengthy, and I do not expect many people to be interested in all the tiny details except perhaps a few select family members, so this is my disclaimer: You may find this very boring. Consider passing on reading this post and just skip to the pictures. :)
I went in for my OB appointment on Wed morning (March 10th) and was told that I was 4 cm dilated and 90% effaced. My doctor stripped my membranes and said, “I’ll see you at the hospital tonight. And if not tonight, then tomorrow!” He had already told me in recent visits that I would deliver fast and that he wanted to monitor me in labor since I was a VBac, and we had agreed that I would go to the hospital when my contractions were 5 minutes apart.
Within a couple hours after my appointment I was having back pain and I knew right away that my doctor was right about me going into labor that night. I already had my bags packed, Jed had given me a priesthood blessing the week before, we had arrangements for Ben and Eliza, my house was clean… so I felt pretty prepared. :) The only thing to do was take a picture of me at 40 weeks and then wait for labor! Around 4pm I noticed regular but not painful contractions, every 15 or so minutes. Between 6 and 7:30pm I sat on the couch and timed my contractions (10 min apart, 30 seconds long, and getting painful) while Jed wrestled with Ben and Eliza in the front room. Then Jed took the kids to our friends house to go to bed and when he got back home I laid on the bed while he sat in the armchair next to me, and we talked while I worked through the contractions, still about 10 minutes apart. I wasn’t working really hard, just had to concentrate and breathe through the contractions, but it wasn’t very bad. Maybe around 9:00pm they started to get more difficult, but still 9 minutes apart and only 40-50 seconds long. Jed and I still talked between contractions, deciding on the name Samuel for our baby and talking about all kinds of other things. :) We talked about how wonderful it was going to be to have our baby, and hold him and enjoy him. Ah, so exciting! And yet, at the same time, I felt like I had a lot to endure between now and then, and for some reason talking about the prize at the end was slightly depressing. I felt like I still had to “walk through-” and Jed finished for me “the valley of the shadow of death?” and I smiled “yes,” even though that sounded so dramatic.
Around 10pm I started to have a few contractions that were 7 minutes apart, and right about then I started to feel worn down and very uncomfortable. I told Jed we should call my doctor and tell him that I was in labor. We decided to time five or six more contractions so that we could give him a good estimate of where I was in labor. The next couple contractions were 7 minutes apart and 45-60 seconds long. The 60-second long contractions were so awful I wanted to scream, but I worked through them like the others, with relaxation, breathing, and mental imagery-- and repeating to myself, “Oh good, it’s almost over. Oh good, it’s almost over…” when they were half done. J At this point (~10:30pm) I told Jed, “Let’s go to the hospital. I’m feeling like I’m in a lot of pain and if I haven’t progressed much, I just might get an epidural.” Jed was very surprised I wanted to go to the hospital already because I had been very firm that I would not go before the contractions were 5 minutes apart and regularly 50-60 seconds long. (And of course he was probably surprised about me considering an epidural too. J) Jed called my OB and said we were heading to the hospital, and my OB said he would have the resident call him once we arrived to see how far I was progressed.
I was nervous about the car ride to the hospital – if I had contractions like the ones I had been having at home just beforehand, it could be a horrible trip. But I only had a few contractions on the ride there (25 minute trip) and they were only about 35 seconds long. We arrived at the Labor and Delivery Unit sometime after 11:00pm and the nurses said, “She doesn’t need to go to triage, her doctor already called her in a room.” At this point I was feeling pretty good when I was in-between contractions. But when I laid down in the bed, my contractions suddenly started coming 2 ½ minutes apart, and I told Jed, “Get a nurse in here to check me because someone has got to call my doctor right now!” Luckily my doctor was already there – he decided to leave for the hospital when we called him. He came in and checked me and said, “Well, you’re complete. You can start pushing any time.” Wow! I couldn’t believe that I was dilated to a 10 and my contractions never got close together! Although I could believe I was dilated to a 10 by the way I was feeling. It just goes to show that timing contractions is very helpful, but the way I feel and my intuition may be more important when it comes to getting to the hospital! (And it makes me wonder if I was dilated to a 10 for the whole car trip to the hospital when I was in labor with Eliza…)
My OB got everything ready for delivery in the next few minutes and then I started to push. Phase 2 of Labor: Pushing….. Let’s just say that the pushing part of this delivery was the most excruciating and agonizing thing I have ever, or will ever, experience in this life. There. It’s the truth. I don’t take it back. After 15 minutes I started to tell Jed and my doctor, “I can’t do this anymore! I’m going to die!” Luckily I was nearing the end, and they were able to give me a goal for an end in sight. When I said, “How many more? How many more, do you think?” my doctor said, “Only 3 or 4 more.” And then after a few more, “How many more contractions? How many?” and he said, “You are right there. Maybe only 2 or 3 more.” I said, “TWO. Two is the goal. Only two more.” That happened a few times, but it sure did help to have an ending goal in sight – something to work toward. Finally little Samuel was born, and I think I could have passed out with relief! I only pushed for 20 minutes, which is a rather short pushing stage. I can’t fathom having had to push for a minute longer, though! I told Jed and my doctor that next time I'm getting an epidural. I've proved to myself two times, with Eliza and Sam, that I can deliver a baby, and now I think I'm okay with trying out an epidural again. :) My doctor said I better arrive a little earlier next time, then. J (By the way, I don't remember it being so painful with Eliza's delivery, so I don't mean to turn anyone off from a natural childbirth. Hers seemed to be an easier experience.)
Seeing Samuel for the first time was amazing and happy. They immediately laid him down on top of me, and it was incredible to know that this was my tiny sweet baby. I was overcome with awe and gratitude. He was here. He was safe. He was adorable. And I loved him.
Jed cut the cord while I held him for that moment, and then they took him to get weighed and all that while my OB sewed me up (I had about a 2nd degree tear). That seemed to take a loooong time, and later Jed teased me because I kept telling my doctor, “Oh, I really don’t feel good down there. How much longer do you think? Oh, that does not feel good. Are you almost done?” They offered me a shot of Demerol, which I immediately and thankfully accepted. I knew I was being a baby about a little bit of pain and discomfort after just having delivered a baby naturally, so I joked, “I’ll do pain during delivery, but now that he’s born, I don’t want any pain at all. I’ll take anything you’ve got.” :)
When they brought Sam back, I got to cuddle him and I felt so happy to have him here finally! I had ‘walked through the valley of the shadow of death’ like Jed and I had been talking about, and I was on the other side and I was SO THANKFUL! So so so thankful that was behind me and now I could fully enjoy our prize at the end!
Samuel is so darling. He is so sweet and innocent. A precious little boy that has been sent to us. Jed and I just loved holding him and looking at him in the hospital. It seemed such a waste to have him laying in the bassinet when I could be holding him, so he spent a lot of our hospital stay being held and snuggled. :)
Although he definitely has the look of our babies, he also seems to have his own look, too. (More so than Eliza did; Eliza looked a lot like Benjamin.) Jed and I need to pull our Ben and Eliza’s baby books to compare newborn pictures. Sam might have just a tiny bit more hair than they had…. Anyway, he sure is adorable!
Here is Sam with me just after delivery. I could have cropped out my psycho hair even more than I already have, but when I look at those crazy bangs it makes me feel thankful for my sweet and caring husband who tenderly molded them that way as he comforted me in labor. :)
Sam was just over one month old in these pictures.
Last of all, a quick picture of Sam and I after church. He was wearing the cutest little outfit that my friend, Jen, picked out for him. She called it a 'little man' outfit. :) 
Last of all, a quick picture of Sam and I after church. He was wearing the cutest little outfit that my friend, Jen, picked out for him. She called it a 'little man' outfit. :) 
