So, yes, I've been a self-absorbed mom recently and haven't posted ANYTHING since before Benton arrived! YIKES!!! Well, here's an extra-long post about Benton and how we're doing.
Benton arrived 10/9/10 at 2:34 pm via c-section. This was 10 days prior to his planned c-section. I was working on Friday morning, and hadn't felt him move much, and was having HORRIBLE constant contractions across the top of my stomach. I called the Dr and they asked me to come in so they could check me out. Mind you, this is the 3rd time I've had to go in somewhere because of contractions, so I didn't think much of it now. I drove myself to Des Moines and went to the office, they hooked me up for a NST (non-stress test). Of course, Benton made a huge liar out of mommy and started moving the minute they had me hooked up!! He was fine, but I was contracting. I spoke with the Dr and decided not to be checked, and to go home. I called Steven and asked him to come pick me up because the contractions were hurting, and I didn't want to drive home while I was having them (45 mile drive). While I was waiting on him, the contractions got closer together and a bit stronger, so back upstairs I went....I had the dr check me and I was only at a 1. Things just didn't "feel right" though, and she and I agreed it would be best for me to go to L&D and be monitored for a few hours (and hopefully get the contractions to stop). Steven gets there and we head across the hospital to L&D. I'm hooked up to the monitors and sat for a few hours. The on call Dr came in and talked to me about the possibility of delivering and the risks associated with an early baby (he was only 38 weeks at this time). After a few hours of monitoring, he decided to keep me overnight for further monitoring because of some of Benton's reactions to the contractions - his heart rate wasn't returning to normal "quite fast enough". Steven and I walked to my room and was hooked back up to the monitor, and left for the evening, being told to "try and get some sleep" - still only 1 cm dilated at this time as well. I was given 2 tylenol pm (yes that's 50mg of benadryl), and it didn't touch me. I maybe got 30 minutes of sleep between 10pm and 3:30am. I filled the time watching tv and walking a few laps around the floor. At 4am, I begged for an ambien, they agreed and it got me about an hour of sleep, no more.
Shift change at 8am brought the Dr that I saw in the office Friday. She explained that she'd check me again, and if I hadn't progressed I'd be sent home, but if I was starting to progress, she'd deliver Benton that day! Quietly hoping that I'd changed a little, I agreed. After a quick check, and the good news that I was progressing, we began really getting ready for a c-section. I called my parents, and they quickly packed and headed this way. Steven's mom was already in KC, as she left Friday afternoon, stating she'd either come all the way up for Benton's birth or spend a nice weekend in KC if she wasn't needed yet!
We were pushed back a few times due to emergencies in the main OR, but finally got taken down about 1:30 pm. I was okay until I was being wheeled down to there. I suddenly realized our lives were really changing, and going to quickly! Of course with all this confusion (and the confusion to follow), no pictures were taken here, so you don't get to see him in his great get-up! Take my word - he was cute...
I got my spinal, and things got started. Steven sat at my head and talked to me the whole time. I think the worst part was the nausea right before things were started (quickly fixed with a nice dose of something in the IV), and the smell of the actual procedure - some cauterizing tool they were using. I didn't feel the "tugging" everyone says they feel, the spinal really took well! But at 2:34 pm, I heard the most beautiful sound in the entire world - my baby's cry. Steven got to see him being delivered, and said he was beautiful! He was taken to the corner of the room, and evaluated quickly. The NICU team was there due to him being early - as a precaution - and they decided he needed to go to the NICU because he had fluid on his lungs still and wasn't breathing quite deeply enough. We decided Steven needed to go with him, and I would go to the room to recover. They wheeled Benton by in an incubator on a CPAP machine so I could see him, and quickly whisked him away.
When I returned to my room, Steven's mom was there. Steven came back shortly and showed me pictures of my beautiful baby. Of course, he had a lot of things on him, monitors and IVs...it really was quite scary, but they said he was doing well. We had some other things happen in the hospital that I don't really want to talk about right now, but will sometime soon...
Needless to say - he was in the NICU for 4 days, but went home with me on Tuesday 10/12.
He is perfect now. Growing well, and doing great! I love my little boy and love being a mommy - it's so amazing seeing that we actually created this little man. More to come....
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