August 21 is both my husband's birthday and our wedding anniversary. I was eight months pregnant, and we had plans to lay low and celebrate at home. We had just returned from my step-sister's wedding in Chicago and were ready to relax after Kris came home from work.
The night before I had been waking up with contractions that I could sleep through. Throughout my pregnancy I had been experiencing Braxton Hicks. With Keegan, my Braxton Hicks contractions weren't painful. With Bennett, they had been painful since they started about halfway through the pregnancy. I just assumed that being closer to the end, and having had a very busy weekend out of state, that my Braxton Hicks had been a little more intense. It crossed my mind that it could be the early stages of labor, but I doubted it. I called my mom just in case to make sure she knew that I may need her to come watch Keegan.
I texted Kris, who was working in Kalamazoo, and just let him know that I was uncomfortable, and something MAY have been starting, but that I doubted it.
Keegan and I went to Walmart and bought some groceries. I had to stop a couple of times in the store because of painful contractions, but they were approximately 30-45 minutes apart, so I didn't think too much of them.
I came home and even baked Kris his favorite homemade chocolate cake (which he's coined 'Chocolate Thunder Cake', which I'll post a link to the recipe later). I made homemade tortellini soup. When Kris came home he saw I wasn't feeling too hot, and took Keegan to the park behind our house for a little bit so I could rest.
We went on with our evening. I got Keegan ready for bed and tucked him in. Around 8:00 my mom texted me wondering if the contractions had progressed at all. I let her know that although they hadn't improved, they hadn't really progressed at all and not to worry. No sooner did I text her that back, then the contractions really progressed and quickly became about 8 minutes apart.
You'd think that the second time you go into labor you'd know for sure you were in labor... NOPE. I think that instinctively I just think that I'm overreacting because in TV you see people screaming bloody murder and acting like they're dying. I just assumed that since I could handle it still, there was no way this was actually labor. I took a bath, and washed my hair. I even blow dried it... Kris started realizing that although I was verbally saying I wasn't in labor and was fine- I obviously thought that something was going on because I NEVER wash my hair and blow dry it at night.
He started packing his bag and called my mom. My mom left her house right away and got here exactly one hour later. The contractions were about five minutes apart at that point. I assumed that I would go to the hospital and they would be able to give me a shot to stop the contractions at this point because it was so early and "labor" didn't really even start until an hour or two earlier.
Of course, the normal route we take to Sparrow Hospital was closed for construction so we had to navigate our way around the back roads in the middle of the night while I was laboring!
We finally got to Sparrow and we made our way to the Labor and Delivery Triage. They were busy. Their rooms were full. Kris and I waited in the waiting room for about twenty minutes or so while I contracted and tried to distract myself with Candy Crush. I realized that this could really be "it" when the contractions started bringing me to tears in the waiting room.
I even overheard a man who was waiting on a family member comment about me... "
And this poor broad over here is having contractions every five minutes and they don't have room for her."
That made me cry even more. Ha!
As soon as I really started getting upset, a room opened up. Praise the Lord!
They came back and hooked me up to the monitors. I was definitely contracting. Also, at my first contraction, Bennett's heartrate dropped from about 140 to 60. They rushed three doctors in. They checked me immediately. I just remember the doctor saying that I was dialated to a 4.5 but Bennett was decending further. She told me that essentially this baby was pushing his way out and he was definitely going to be born soon.
I started crying (again!) and asked my awesome nurse, Katrina, if he would be okay being early. Katrina actually started crying, looked me in the eye and told me that yes, he was going to be just fine. In fact, when they asked who my doctor was, all of the nurses and doctors proclaimed, "OH! We LOVE Dr. Rajan! He is the best and exactly who you want as your doctor for this." Talk about a sigh of a relief.
My nurse was so awesome in fact, that she went to check on getting me a room in labor and delivery. She came back about 10 minutes later and said, "
I got you a room. And I got you a great nurse. I'm going with you." When I asked why she was coming with she said, "
I figure if I cry with a patient I better see it through with her until the end!" She was AWESOME. During labor we chatted and I found out that she even goes to the same church as us. SMALL WORLD.
They advised that because of his pre-term status, they did want me to get an epidural just in case. I had no problem with that at that point :)
They checked me just after my epidural and I had progressed to a seven all by myself.
They left me alone for about 45 minutes and after a while the whole team came in. I told them that I didn't call because I didn't feel like I needed to push. They advised that sometimes Dr. Rajan just gets a "feeling." He checked and I was at a 9.5 and my water still hadn't broken. He quickly broke my water, and they left for another 10 minutes or so to get the whole neonatal team in just in case.
There was literally about 15 people in the room while I was giving birth.
Awkwarddddd...
But luckily, it was the fastest birth ever.
After four hours at the hospital I was pushing. I pushed for a total of 9 minutes, which was three contractions. Out flopped my baby on the table. My doctor didn't touch me once during delivery. He stood back with his arms crossed and directed me like he was directing traffic. He didn't even catch the baby. When I asked why he was so hands off, he advised that he was only there to be consulted if I needed him. He said that my body and my baby knew what we were doing, and we didn't need him. He told me I did a good job... I told him that I will never have another doctor in my life and he better never retire. Ha!
Bennett Chase was born August 22, 2013 at 4:09AM. He weighed 5lbs 15.6oz and was 19 inches long. Pretty darn good for being an entire month early! He was just about half a pound less than Keegan who was only two weeks early. He was beautiful.
They quickly assessed Bennett and determined that he was just fine. They sent the neo-natal unit away and placed Bennett on my chest for an entire hour. I was in shock. I wasn't expecting to meet Bennett for at least a couple of weeks. It was so strange. It was wonderful, but it was just strange. Something about not feeling "ready" for him yet was slightly overwhelming at the same time.
It was a breeze delivery. It was quick, I didn't tear at all, I healed quickly and felt great.He has always had the most sweet spirited demeanor. He's more serious and contemplative acting than Keegan. I am so grateful for two different little boys, with two different little personalities already.
So thankful for Bennett Chase and "the wonderful, marvelous night he was born." :)
