It's the Simple Things

Benjamin Mitchell arrived on April 17th at 4:00 p.m. He weighed in at 7 lbs. 10 ozs. (3 ozs. heavier than Grant was) and was 20 inches long. My doctor admitted me to the hospital at 6:00 p.m. on Monday the 16th to kind of get things going and the plan was to start the actual induction Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning around 9:30 a.m. Dr. Martin came in to check everything out. I was only dilated to 2 centimeters and she went ahead and broke my water to get things moving a little faster. I had been having some bearable contractions since about 3:00 a.m. that morning but once she started the Pitocin I wanted my epidural pretty bad. They had a record number of OB/GYN patients in the hospital on the 17th and 18th. They delivered two babies in the ER and had moms laboring in the triage most of the night. There were at least 18 births on Tuesday that I know of and maybe more.

Because of the large number of patients and shortage of rooms I did most of my laboring in a regular room. I was on the waiting list for a labor and delivery room. Well, around 3:00 p.m. I started to feel quite a bit of pressure and called the nurse about increasing my epidural. She came in to check me and I was at 7 centimeters. Steph had made in into town around 1:30 p.m. and mom and dad had come for a visit with Grant close to 3:00 p.m. Since I was at 7 centimeters we sent dad home with Grant so he could take a nap and mom stayed since we figured I'd at least have Ben in the next few hours. About 10 minutes after dad left I was still feeling tremendous pressure and the nurse came in to empty my bladder (disgusting, I know). Well, that must have made plenty of room for Ben to make his final descent because that increased the pressure I was feeling tenfold. The nurse checked me again and I was at 9 1/2 centimeters. The nurse advised me over and over not to push (it's harder than you might think) and they all started running around like crazy because they didn't have a warmer or anything ready for me to deliver. They unhooked the bed and went running through the hallway with me to a labor and delivery room. When we got to the room there were still janitorial staff there mopping the floor from the previous mom who had been there. I think I probably had at least 5 nurses in my room running around to get things ready. This whole time I'm holding on to the bed panting like a dog trying to hold Ben in. It was definitely insane and was pretty comical believe it or not. My doctor (who is 7 months pregnant with twins) made it into the labor/delivery room shortly after I did and asked me if she had time to go pee. I told her that I had crossed my legs and held him in that long what difference did a couple of minutes make. She left for a short period of time (I assume she went to the bathroom) and when she came back I asked her if she felt any better. She's such a great doctor! So laid back! After about five minutes of pushing Baby Ben made his entrance with a cone head and a few bruises on his face where I had held him in for a few minutes. All in all I labored for only 6 1/2 hours and only had bad labor pains for 2 1/2 hours of that. I labored with Grant for 16 hours and pushed for 45 minutes so this was definitely a different experience.

I feel extremely blessed that everything went as fast as it did and am glad to be back home in my own bed. Ben is a blessing and it's amazing the amount of love I feel for him. I wondered beforehand what it would feel like to love two children as much and the same. It feels absolutely wonderful! I couldn't ask for anything more. God has blessed us in great ways.

Ben didn't eat much at the hospital yesterday so I figured that as soon as I headed for bed last night he would be wanting to eat. Well, that's exactly what happened. He made up for his lack of feedings during the night last night. Still, it wasn't as bad as I anticipated and am only a little tired today. Nothing a couple of naps won't take care of. Otherwise, between bottles he slept about 2 1/2 to 3 hours so I did get quite a bit of rest. Another blessing!

My mom and dad have been here this entire week to help out with Grant. Grant loves his Mamaw and Papaw and we are extremely thankful for all of their help. Thanks Mamaw and Papaw! We also are thankful that Aunt Steph got to make it down for the birth. She was able to be in the labor and delivery room with us along with mom when Ben was born. Thanks Steph! Ben had a few visitors in the hospital... Mamaw, Papaw, Big Brother Grant, Uncle Jason, Aunt Steph, cousins Nathaniel and Jared, and Heather and Ginger. Thanks for visiting everybody!

I'm off to take a shower and a nap. I'll update you guys possibly this weekend when I get another burst of energy. Later!