Caleb was born on July 7, 2015, at 3:40 am after nearly 60 hours of labor. Our little guy weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz and was 20 inches long. My labor and Caleb's delivery didn't go quite as planned and a lot of what we had in our birth plan went out the window as my labor progressed, but he is healthy and that's all that matters. Here's how it all went down.......
On July 4, 2015, I started having contractions at about 8:30 pm. They were very sporadic and varied in intensity, so we decided to wait it out and see if it was the real deal. I didn't sleep the best that night as every time I would get comfortable, another contraction would come. The following morning, the contractions continued. I used my labor ball and breathing techniques I learned in our birth classes to get through the contractions as we tracked them. At about 3 pm on July 5, 2015, they started coming every 5 minutes. After the women's World Cup game (Go USA!) on July 5th, we decided to go to the hospital and get checked out. At 7 pm we were put in a labor & delivery room and I changed into the pretty little hospital gown. An hour later, I was checked and I was only dilated to 1/2 a centimeter, but 90% effaced. My blood pressure was on the higher end, which I know was only due to the anxiety/pain/stress of what was going on, so I was admitted. I continued to have strong contractions, but wasn't dilating on my own. Eventually at 12 am on July 6th, a balloon catheter was used to dilate my cervix to a 3 in an attempt to get my labor to progress. Within 30 minutes the catheter fell out on its own and I was dilated to a 4. That motivated me to continue laboring naturally and fight through the pain of each contraction. However, I was checked again at about 3:30 am and there were no changes. I was still at a 4. After 31 hours of laboring on my own, I was physically exhausted and couldn't manage the pain any more so I decided to get an epidural. I feel like I put up a good fight on my own and did the best I could without an epidural, but something had to give and I needed to relax. That epidural was heaven sent and quickly became my new best friend!
At 6:30 am, I was checked again and there was still no progress. The doctor broke my water hoping I would start to dilate on my own, but that still didn't work. Eventually, I was put on pitocin and was pretty much maxed out on the amount I could get over the next 12 or so hours. I was checked every few hours and either made little progress or none at all. At about 10 pm on July 6th, Chris and I discussed having a c-section instead of continuing on pitocin in hopes of a vaginal delivery because I wasn't dilating fast enough. However, when the doctor checked me again I was dilated to a 9, 100% effaced and Caleb was at +2 station. I dilated to a 10 around 1 am on July 7th and got the urge to push at 2:15 am. After an hour and 25 minutes of pushing, Caleb was born. It was the most amazing experience to see him for the first time and I am now a believer in love at first sight!
While Caleb was on my chest doing skin to skin after delivery, he was having some breathing issues as it sounded like there was fluid in his lungs that couldn't be suctioned out. The doctor had the NICU team come over to do an assessment on Caleb and they decided it would be best to take Caleb to their mini NICU to clear his airways. Chris went with Caleb and within 15-20 minutes, Caleb was back on my chest. He had quite a bit of fluid/boogers in his nose and chest that had to be suctioned out. Blood was also drawn to check for any infections due to my water being broken 18 hours before delivery.
We spent the next 30 minutes or so bonding and then were transferred to a post-partum room. Later that day, we were told Caleb's lab work came back negative for infection but his numbers were slightly elevated and they were going to do another blood draw later on to compare his labs.
The following day, July 8th, Caleb had a little jaundice and his labs came back; some came back within normal range and some were elevated. The attending pediatrician told us she believed Caleb was fine as he was born full term, eating well and appeared healthy, but she wanted to run the situation by the attending NICU doctor. At about 11 am, the pediatrician told us the hospital would like to admit Caleb to the NICU due to his elevated lab work and jaundice. I instantly started crying and when the NICU team arrived to get Caleb, I felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest. It was the worst feeling ever and I'm pretty sure I cried for the next 24 hours. Caleb was put on two different antibiotics and placed under the bilirubin light to help his jaundice. Seeing him hooked up to IVs, monitors and not being able to hold him whenever we wanted to due to being under the lights was heartbreaking. He stayed under the lights for 16 hours and continued on the antibiotics for 48 hours. Every 12 hours, labs were taken and they all came back negative and his numbers were within normal range. On Friday, July 10th, Caleb was officially discharged from the NICU and we were able to bring him home!
Our first night home was a little rough trying to adjust to each other and get to know Caleb, but every night has gotten better. While Caleb was in the NICU, he was given a pacifier and formula to supplement while my milk was still coming in. We originally did not plan on introducing a pacifier at all or bottle to Caleb until he was 4-6 weeks old so we could prevent nipple confusion, but he has done amazing going back and forth between breast and bottle. He is no longer getting formula, but the paci has stuck around. Little man just loves to suck and if it's not his paci, it's his hands. We only use the pacifier when he's fussy and needs to be soothed. We don't want Caleb to get in the habit of having a pacifier 24/7 and definitely don't want him becoming dependent on it. He is nursing like a champ and thankfully my milk has finally come in. We nurse during the day and I pump at night so he can take a bottle in the middle of the night when we don't want to do marathon feeding sessions. It just makes it easier for all parties involved and he's still getting my breast milk.
Caleb is sleeping 3-4 hours at a time and is so alert. He is already lifting his head and rolling onto his side. He had his first check up with his pediatrician yesterday and he is just 4 ounces away from being back at his birth weight and he's already grown a quarter of an inch! He is truly amazing and we couldn't have asked for a better baby.
As for me, I feel great. I did have some crazy swelling in my feet, legs, hips and hooha for a few days after delivery, but 5 days post partum I was able to wear a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans and I'm about 10 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight. I am amazed with my body and what a woman's body is capable of. I carried and nourished Caleb for nearly 10 months in my womb, delivered him vaginally and now I am able to breastfeed him. I don't think I've ever felt so confident in my body and proud of it. I am so looking forward to getting back in the gym, lifting weights and building back some of the muscle tone I lost during the pregnancy. Healthy mommy equals healthy, happy baby and I certainly don't want to let myself go now that little man is here.
Chris has been amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better partner to share this journey with. He never left my side during labor and delivery and was so supportive during the whole process. He is an amazing father to Caleb and loves spending time with him. He helps me during the day and at night which helps tremendously now that we have a routine established that seems to be working just fine for little man.
I am truly blessed and will forever be grateful for Huntington Reproductive Center, Dr. Norian and his staff for making our dream a reality. Although my labor and delivery wasn't what we had planned initially, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I loved being pregnant, am so grateful I was able to have a vaginal delivery and I'm enjoying every minute of being a mommy. Caleb will no doubt have a sibling or two in the future 😍
