Caleb's birth story

I had my 40 week appointment with Dr. Bowman on my due date, July 10th. She hadn't seen how bad my PUPPP's had gotten. Once she saw how terrible it was, and how much it had spread on my body she told me that if I wanted, she would induce me today. No need to go another day suffering, since I was 40 weeks. Before I had PUPPP's...being induced would have been a no thank you. But I honestly couldn't go another day with this rash.

We left the office and went straight to labor & delivery. I wasn't expecting it to happen just like that. We were pretty excited. Dr. Bowman broke my water and started me on pitocin a little after 4:00 pm. Not too long after, I started feeling the contractions. My goal was to go as long as possible before I got the epidural. Spencer was such a great help while I went through each contraction. Pitocin makes your contractions come on hard and strong. And I really needed his help to get through each one.
Eventually I needed the epidural. It was pretty difficult to stay very still with each contraction that came while I got the epidural. I was happy once it finally kicked in. Spencer and I tried to sleep but it was hard, especially for Spencer, because we were so excited and full of anticipation.

I was dilated at a 4 and they noticed that the machine wasn't reading my contractions correctly. So they put an internal monitor in and found out that my contractions were right on top of each other and Caleb's heartbeat was decreasing and he was having a hard time with the pitocin and the frequent contractions. They gave me oxygen and took me off pitocin. Spencer and my dad gave me a blessing and after they did that, my body went from a 4 to a 6 all by itself, and Caleb was doing much better. When they put me back on pitocin they went back to a low dose. And things were going much better.

At 3 am they checked me and I was an 8. Things were progressing faster then we thought they would. They still thought it would be until maybe 8 or 9 in the morning until I delivered. I started to noticed a lot of pressure a little after 4 am, the nurse checked and I was a 10 and the baby's head was +3, meaning it was almost time to push.

Soon Spencer grabbed my leg and the the nurse grabbed the other. And the pushing started. I didn't push the button for more medicine because I wanted to fill some sensation so I could push more effectively. But I didn't know that it would be almost 2 hours before Caleb would come out.

I pushed for an hour and finally the crown of his head was out and it was time to get the doctor for the last couple of pushes. The nurse paged my doctor, who just happen to be the on call doctor for the whole floor...

Right before we paged Dr. Bowman...a lady had came in fully dilated and crowning. No time for an epidural...which meant she couldn't be left alone because you can't control the pushing. So Dr. Bowman couldn't leave her until her actual doctor got there. So the nurse told me that I had to stop pushing! and we would just do "rest and descend" meaning I would sit there and let my contractions push Caleb down and I just laid there using all my strength to not push.

It was torture! The epidural wore off. I felt everything. And with each contraction he would get pushed farther and farther down and I just took it. The pain was too much. I pushed the button for more medicine but it was too late! it wouldn't start working in time. I felt I was being torn apart.

Finally Dr. Bowman came in after 35 mins of rest and descend. I was exhausted. It still took 7 minutes to push him out. I was so exhausted after laying there waiting for 35 minutes. By body was working so hard even though I wasn't pushing. I didn't think I was ever going to get him out. I would cry and tell them I'm sorry I don't think I can do it. But Spencer and them would give me encouragement and finally he came out!! It was a rush of relief.

The minute he came out, the doctor handed him to me. I was over come with emotion. I started to cry. He was so beautiful. I couldn't believe the overwhelming feeling of love and joy that came over me. He was so worth what I just went through.

Spencer was in love with his little boy. You could see the love in his eyes. He never left the side of his son, except to hug me and tell me how proud he was and how strong I am. It was an amazing, unforgettable experience. We love Caleb to pieces and he is perfect in every way.

If you look at the pictures taken seconds/minutes after he was born, you can see the part of his crown that was sticking out for 35 minutes. Good thing his cone head went away by the next day. Because it was pretty bad right after he was born.

We had many family members come visit us. But all I wanted to do was hold Caleb and stare into his beautiful eyes. Man his eyes would stare into your soul! They are so alert after they are born. It was good to see family, but man! I was so tired. I loved seeing family but next time...we'll have people come to visit the second day. So I can sleep. :)

I will never forget this experience. There were some hard moments, but there were also some amazing ones too. We are so blessed to have this perfect little boy. We love you Caleb!