Christian's Debut

Christian Steven arrived June 22, 2008 at exactly 7 pm. He weighed 7 lbs 1 oz and is 19.5 inches long.

It started Sunday at 3 am. I woke Richard up at 4:30 when I was certain I wasn't in "false labor". Richard called my parents at 5 am since they had a 5 hour drive to the hospital. We were sure I was going to be in labor for 20+ hours, so they decided they would leave at noon.

By 7 am, my contractions were intensifying, but not consistent. So I refused to go to the hospital. If I wasn't far enough along, the hospital would send me home. I was only going to take that 20 mile car trip once.

By 9 am, Richard was nervous. The pain was so intense, that I couldn't talk. I was nauseous. Richard and my best friend, Molly called a useless Ask-A-Nurse from my insurance company, the hospital, my mother-in-law, and a neighbor. All said I should go to the hospital. I wasn't convinced until my sister called and said go. I was in Active Labor. My sister called my parents and told them to get moving or they were going to miss it.

We arrived at the hospital at 11 am. I was already dilated 5 cm! I wasn't going any where. I was wheeled directly into the delivery room. I wanted an epidural. It would only be a few minutes; the anesthesiologist was finishing an epidural down the hall.

An hour later, I was still only dilated 5 cm and the anesthesiologist still hadn't arrived. An emergency C-Section had become top priority. It would be another 3 - 4 hours before the anesthesiologist could make it. I gave in and took the narcotic they offered me. It helped between contractions, but not during.

I don't remember what time the anesthesiologist finally arrived, but I was more than ready for it. Molly and Richard could not take my screaming much longer. As soon as the epidural was inserted, I became a different person. I joked around with Molly, Richard, and the nurses, only pausing to breath through the contractions, which had subdued to lots of pressure, but no pain. A doctor broke my water to get labor moving.

My parents arrived around 5 pm. Sometime after 6 pm, it was time to push. My doctor was on her way. The nurse had me start pushing 15 minutes later. My doctor still hadn't arrived. Christian had crowned before she arrived.

The doctor scrubbed up and I pushed for about 20 minutes. My doctor asked me, "Are you ready to have a baby with this push?" She performed a small episiotomy. I pushed and Christian was born at 7 p.m. exactly.

He was set on my stomach, all gray and slimy, but beautiful. The nursed wiped him off while I stared in disbelief at my son. He was healthy and strong. I turned to my mom and Molly and asked, "Do you want to know his name?"

PS: All pictures courtesy of my best friend Molly, who took over 200 pictures that day!