Don't worry, this is a short version -- the long version for his baby book is reallllly long!
Birth Story:
Pelham James Kellington BENINGER
Feb. 16, 2009, 8:22pm
7lb 8oz, 21 inches long
My contractions started on Sunday the 15th around 2pm, while Mike and I were at the movies. They were mild so we went to his sister's place for dinner, and by 9:30 I was wincing through them. We went home and I got some sleep from 11pm till about 2am, when the contractions woke me up and I had to breathe through them. They were pretty close together -- about 7 minutes -- so at 6am we called our doula, Melissa (SO GREAT -- Melissa was worth her weight in gold!), and she came over to help us labour at home. I had a labour ball and it was a godsend! Contractions got longer and more painful as the morning went on. I was very glad to be at home because I'm not a big fan of hospitals, and I could eat lightly and use my own bathroom and such. I relied on a lot of deep breathing and meditation to get me through the contractions, plus Mike and Melissa rubbing my back and encouraging me. I tried different positions and walking and standing (which eventually made me throw up once -- ugh) but swaying on the labour ball was by far the best.
At about 3pm, so after 13 hours of good labour, I decided we should head to the hospital, mostly because my contractions at that point were about 2 or 3 minutes apart and I was not looking forward to the car ride. We arrived and checked in at 3:40pm, and they had me hop up on a bed for a non-stress test to see how the babe was doing and to check my progress. I was 6cm dilated, much to the doctor's surprise -- she said I seemed too calm to be so far along! Being on the bed was miserable, as was having to stand so they could check the babe's heartrate (which they made me do regularly and it sucked hardcore). From that point on contractions were crazy intense and I tried a shower, which helped for a while. I was open to drugs but ended up not asking for anything other than the gas to get through the really long contractions (2 minute contractions with seconds in between = blergh) -- although the nurse ended up ripping off the mask so I could use it like a hookah because the mask just made me feel claustraphobic.
By about 7 or 7:30pm I was labouring on the toilet and they put pillows behind my back for comfort; when they checked me again I was 9cm dilated; after I started feeling a lot of pressure they checked again and I was 10cm. I said I felt the urge to push and so we prepped for pushing. I didn't know that most first time moms push for a couple hours -- had I known I don't know if I would have been so gung ho to push! But it turns out that wasn't a concern -- the doctor broke my water (that was one strong bag of waters!) and although the babe's head had been pretty high, it ka-chunked into place and I needed to push NOW. I pushed for 15 minutes -- babe's heartrate started to decelerate a bit so they put a monitor on his head -- and he came out fast, giving me a good internal tear. Apparently they also gave me an episiotomy because it was so fast that there wasn't time to, uh, stretch gradually, but I had no clue -- they could have tattooed me and pierced me to high heaven and I wouldn't have known at that point. He swallowed a ton of amniotic fluid and pooped a bit on the way out so the ped checked him out and he was fine. After he was checked out they put him on me and we all got to cuddle and such. With his little funny elf ears and fair complexion we thought he looked like a Pelham, so Pelham he is.
The worst part about labour and birth was being stitched up afterwards and then being made to feel like crap because my milk didn't come in quickly and Pel couldn't latch -- but that's another story!
And, of course, links to pictures:
Pelham's birth and early days
Birth Story:
Pelham James Kellington BENINGER
Feb. 16, 2009, 8:22pm
7lb 8oz, 21 inches long
My contractions started on Sunday the 15th around 2pm, while Mike and I were at the movies. They were mild so we went to his sister's place for dinner, and by 9:30 I was wincing through them. We went home and I got some sleep from 11pm till about 2am, when the contractions woke me up and I had to breathe through them. They were pretty close together -- about 7 minutes -- so at 6am we called our doula, Melissa (SO GREAT -- Melissa was worth her weight in gold!), and she came over to help us labour at home. I had a labour ball and it was a godsend! Contractions got longer and more painful as the morning went on. I was very glad to be at home because I'm not a big fan of hospitals, and I could eat lightly and use my own bathroom and such. I relied on a lot of deep breathing and meditation to get me through the contractions, plus Mike and Melissa rubbing my back and encouraging me. I tried different positions and walking and standing (which eventually made me throw up once -- ugh) but swaying on the labour ball was by far the best.
At about 3pm, so after 13 hours of good labour, I decided we should head to the hospital, mostly because my contractions at that point were about 2 or 3 minutes apart and I was not looking forward to the car ride. We arrived and checked in at 3:40pm, and they had me hop up on a bed for a non-stress test to see how the babe was doing and to check my progress. I was 6cm dilated, much to the doctor's surprise -- she said I seemed too calm to be so far along! Being on the bed was miserable, as was having to stand so they could check the babe's heartrate (which they made me do regularly and it sucked hardcore). From that point on contractions were crazy intense and I tried a shower, which helped for a while. I was open to drugs but ended up not asking for anything other than the gas to get through the really long contractions (2 minute contractions with seconds in between = blergh) -- although the nurse ended up ripping off the mask so I could use it like a hookah because the mask just made me feel claustraphobic.
By about 7 or 7:30pm I was labouring on the toilet and they put pillows behind my back for comfort; when they checked me again I was 9cm dilated; after I started feeling a lot of pressure they checked again and I was 10cm. I said I felt the urge to push and so we prepped for pushing. I didn't know that most first time moms push for a couple hours -- had I known I don't know if I would have been so gung ho to push! But it turns out that wasn't a concern -- the doctor broke my water (that was one strong bag of waters!) and although the babe's head had been pretty high, it ka-chunked into place and I needed to push NOW. I pushed for 15 minutes -- babe's heartrate started to decelerate a bit so they put a monitor on his head -- and he came out fast, giving me a good internal tear. Apparently they also gave me an episiotomy because it was so fast that there wasn't time to, uh, stretch gradually, but I had no clue -- they could have tattooed me and pierced me to high heaven and I wouldn't have known at that point. He swallowed a ton of amniotic fluid and pooped a bit on the way out so the ped checked him out and he was fine. After he was checked out they put him on me and we all got to cuddle and such. With his little funny elf ears and fair complexion we thought he looked like a Pelham, so Pelham he is.
The worst part about labour and birth was being stitched up afterwards and then being made to feel like crap because my milk didn't come in quickly and Pel couldn't latch -- but that's another story!
And, of course, links to pictures:
Pelham's birth and early days
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