Baby on Board

Our son came into the world at 3:15am on November 16th, 2009. My due date of November 8th had come and gone by then, and, when I was told on November 10th that I was not at all dilated and that a due date could not be determined, I made the decision to have my labor induced. This decision was made partly due to financial reasons. I could only take one month off work and I had already been off for almost a week. I wanted to have as much time at home with the baby as possible. So, on Sunday, November 15th, a little after Midnight, my husband and I checked into the Sunnyside Kasier Labor and Delivery Ward in Clackamas Oregon and settled into the room where our son would soon (we hoped it would be soon anyway) be making his grand entrance.

The doctors gave me a pill at almost 1am that was supposed to jump start my contractions. They explained that once my contractions were coming at an optimal rate, they would get me started on pitocin. At 8am on November 15th, they started me on pitocin. They started me at 2 drops an hour. They would check on me every hour to see if the dosage needed to be increased. And oh did they increase it. By 5:30pm, they had me on 12 drops an hour (this sounded like a lot to me but apparently I was lucky as the nurse mentioned that some patients have to have up to 20 drops per hour). By this point I had gone from being not at all dilated at 7am to 3cm at 5:30pm. My contractions seemed to be off the chart and, although I was utilizing the birthing ball, the bathtub and my breathing exercises by that point, nothing seemed to be able to alleviate the pain of the contractions. My husband sat patiently by my side as the hours ticked by and I alternated between squeezing the circulation from his hands, telling him I loved him and not wanting him in the room. My contractions were coming 60 seconds apart and lasting about 30 seconds each. Hour after hour of this had broken me down and I found myself sobbing in the bathtub, just wanting the pain to subside.

At around 6pm, the lovely nurse and midwife that would eventually deliver our baby came in to see how I was doing. Upon seeing my husbands hand clenched in mine and seeing the distress that I was in, the midwife called in the anesthesiologist to give me my epidural. The next few hours after that were a happy, hazy blur. I didn't feel anything and I slept peacefully as my contractions progressed. The nurse and midwife woke me up occasionally to get my vitals. At around Midnight, the nurse called the midwife in to address a concern regarding the baby's heartbeat, the midwife acknowledged that concern and broke my water. The nurse had me start pushing and had me continue to do so until about 1am at which point she noted that the baby was not far enough down and suggested I sleep for a while longer. The nurse and the midwife came back in at 2am and had me begin pushing again. I don't ever remember such a strange experience as giving birth. I felt nauseous and so thirsty. I was *pushing* as hard as I could but the nurse kept prompting me to push more (which I don't think was possible). I was frustrated and scared and overwhelmed by the burning sensation of my body opening to accommodate the baby as well as the incredible ball of pressure that I was feeling.

At about 3:00am the nurse let us know that she could see the head crowning and asked if I wanted to reach down and feel it. At that point, the pressure and burning sensations I was feeling were so great that the last thing I wanted to do was to reach down and feel the baby's head so I opted to just keep pushing. At 3:15am, the baby's head fully emerged and I felt a warm gush as the body followed. I didn't hear the baby crying and the midwife was speaking urgently to the nurse. I panicked as I realized that the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck (I would later find out that the cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times). After they cut the cord, he still did not cry for a moment or two and the world seemed to stop. Suddenly, I heard his cry and I lay back on the bed exhausted but relieved. We had done it and our son was finally here!

The nurse took Johnny aside and they weighed Giovanni, brushed his feet with ink to get his footprints, and gave him a sponge bath. They then handed him to me and I held his bare skin to mine and kissed his head. I spoke to him gently and he seemed to recognize my voice. He looked at me with his big, trusting eyes and snuggled against me. I remember thinking that he just had the most perfect, beautiful little face and features.

Giovanni's first few weeks at home have not been without trial. I got an infection in my left breast, Johnny (my husband) nearly cut off his thumb in a freak accident, and baby G has had bouts of colic and acid reflux that span from screaming fits to sleepless nights. We are all learning though, to work together as a family, as a team to try and understand each other and get used to this new life. Johnny and I are beginning to fall in love with the baby and take turns rocking him, singing to him and snuggling next to him in play and in sleep.

This baby is a precious gift and as he becomes more alert and aware and astounds us with the knowledge that he was created inside of me and that we have been entrusted with the responsibility of raising him and teaching him about the world around him, I can't help but to fall ever more madly in love with him. Watching him discover the world around him makes me feel like, in some ways, I am discovering it for the first time too.

Welcome to the world Giovanni Elijah Cabrera!

-New Mommy in Town