I've said this before but I really like birth stories! I think each one is special and unique and every mother deserves to tell it! I did this for Micah's birthday so now it's Caleb's turn.
My pregnancy with Caleb went very well. I felt pretty good physically (as good a pregnant woman can) and emotionally I was pretty strong too. I had some similar early symptoms with "morning" sickness just like I did with my first pregnancy. Towards the end however, my blood pressure kept creeping up. I remember that during the last couple of weeks of doctor appointments they would take my blood pressure a couple of times while I was at the office. Finally at my 39 week appointment my doctor showed some concern. She set up some test for me and the baby to make sure things were ok. I had an ultra sound and some other typical tests and then went home to wait for the doctors decision. A little while later the nurse called to say that the doctor didn't think it was an emergency but thought we should get the baby out sooner rather than later. I was to go in on Sunday night (this was a Friday) to be induced. So we got all prepared over the weekend. On Sunday my sister came over to stay with Micah. I felt a little emotional as we kissed him goodbye knowing that when we came home we would be bringing his baby brother.
We arrived at the hospital sometime shortly after 7. By 9:00 I was all set up on a monitor and give the cervidil. Since I did the same process with Micah I felt comfortable going into it. I kind of knew what to expect. But every birth is different and I wasn't as far along as I was when I was induced with Micah so I wondered if everything would turn out the same. We put on a movie and tried to relax. I had to lay in bed for a certain amount of time while the cervidil took effect but after a while I was unhooked from the monitor and given a little more freedom again. I eventually drifted of to sleep and the next thing I know I woke up around 2 AM. I was feeling really uncomfortable and figured it was just because I was pretty much sleeping on a board. I woke Brad up and told him how I felt. I told him I wanted to try sitting on the couch for a little while. He said "maybe you are in labor." We decided to ring the nurse. She came in and hooked me back up and sure enough I was having contractions. They were different than I remembered with Micah. I just thought I was having back pain! I told Brad that I was ok for now and he should try to get some more rest for when the real pain kicked in! So he laid back down and I tried to relax. After that I couldn't really tell what time things happened. After some time the contractions started to come a little harder. I woke Brad up for support! I'm not really one to move around much through the pain so I basically stayed in bed for a while. At some point I decided to use the shower. I remember how much I liked it and how relaxing it was when I was in labor with Micah. After some time in the shower things were really picking up. The nurse checked me and I was around 5 or 6 cm dilated. At that point I knew the pain was only going to get worse and it was already pretty bad. I went ahead and asked for the epidural. They started pumping me full of fluids to prepare. Here's where I made my mistake. The nurse asked me if I wanted something to "take the edge off" while I waited for the epidural. I remember they gave me a shot of something when I was in labor with Micah and it didn't do much so that's what I was thinking would be the case here. I was in a ton of pain though and figuring it wouldn't do much harm I said "sure." I really should have asked what they were giving me because she gave me Nubane. The drug kicked in quickly and I felt very loopy. I was talking to everyone (no clue what I was saying) and pretty soon the doctor came in. It was probably around 7 or 7:30 by then and I did have my epidural. So totally drugged up I was feeling fine! I was aware enough that I felt super numb and asked them to take my epidural down a notch. (I know...some of you think I'm crazy!) I wanted to be able to feel a little bit though! The doctor checked me and decided to go ahead and break my water. They said it wouldn't be long after that and it wasn't. Somewhere close to 9 I was ready to start pushing. I still felt really loopy and pretty numb but I was able to push him out pretty quickly. And so April 12, 2010 at 9:00 AM, Caleb Joseph Heller was born! He weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz and was 19 inches long!
Caleb has so much personality! Sometimes I call him my sour patch kid because he will do something naughty like hit or throw a toy and then love on you right after! He is so full of life though. Always talking and laughing. He and his big brother are best friends already! I love that kid so much!
Happy Birthday, Caleb! You are one amazing little man!
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