Jack Stetson Carbonneau

Our baby is here! I can't believe it. That was THE fastest 9 months of my life. I have to write the birth story here for myself and for whoever else wants to read about it! I need to start a few days before though of course :o). Enjoy!

I was scheduled to be induced Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 at 5 a.m. but REALLY didn't want to be induced...who would? I wanted this baby to come on his own in his own time. So, at my doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon I was hoping to have progressed from 2 weeks of being not dilated at all. The doctor checked and I was 2 cm, 60% effaced...I was okay with this but wanted it to be more. My mom came up to be with me and help me with whatever I needed prior to being induced. I had some minor contractions here and there but nothing that I thought was serious. Tuesday night came and we called the hospital to see if they were still on schedule for the next morning...nope! They said to call the next morning about an hour before my appt so we went about our night, baking cookies, cleaning and getting last minute things together. I was surprised I was able to sleep so well knowing the next day I'd be having a baby!! I woke up the next morning at 3:30 am, called the hospital and they told me to go back to bed and wait for THEM to call me because they were backed up. Fortunately I knew it wasn't going to be the next day or anything because I was on a medication that was "timed" so I was higher on the list to get in.

5:30 am rolls around (I'd gone back to bed) and I get a call from the hospital saying "hi Meghan, you had an appt at 5:00 to be induced...it's 5:30, are you coming in??" Anyway, I told them what the previous person had told me and they said "okay, sorry for the miscommunication. Come on in whenever-we have a bed ready for you."

Go time!! We got up, showered, and got everything ready and headed over to the hospital. We got checked in after a few minutes and got prepped and ready to go!

*Side note--I'd been preparing for the birth using hypnobabies (look up more information if you're curious...I don't want to type out a so much stuff but essentially it's teaching your body to go into an instant state of relaxation during contractions using self hypnosis). Anyway, I'd prepared using this method because I really wanted to TRY having a natural birth. I'm not anti-medication or anything, I just really wanted to try because I didn't know any different and yes, I'm one of those who believe my body was designed to do it so it could!

Okay, moving on. The nurse (AWESOME nurse named Leslie!!) got me started on pitocin around 8:15 am or so. Dr. Layton (my AWESOME OB--seriously love the guy) came in at 8:30 am and broke my water. They checked me and I was STILL 2 cm, but 70% effaced. I was slightly discouraged because I was hoping to start a little further along. Oh well. The contractions started and I used my hypnobirthing techniques to get me through them. They weren't unbearable by any means but I could definitely feel what a contraction was. Up to this point I wasn't really sure what a "real" one felt like.

A couple hours passed (like, 4) and things were getting REALLY intense...I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep going. The anesthesiologist had come in earlier and introduced himself to me and after he left I was really tempted to call him back in the room :o) I wasn't worried about what people would think if I DID end up having an epidural, I just didn't want my baby to be medicated coming out--that was all I could think of. So, at 12:30 I needed to go the bathroom and I had some bloody show (sorry for the info but it's all part of the story :o) so the nurse decided to check me again because that's a sign of things getting started! Fortunately she hadn't really needed to increase the pitocin because my body had started working on it's own. So, she checked me and I was at a "loose" 4...kind of discouraging because after that I felt like I just couldn't handle anymore. Steven leaned down close to me and I said "babe, I can't do this anymore. I need the epidural. I know I told you I was going to ask for one at some point and you'd just need to reassure me everything was going to be okay but I REALLY need one." So sure enough he just kept saying "babe--you're doing SO good. You've got it." I wasn't really getting frustrated with him but I knew he was going to just keep saying that and not give in to me :o) I'm so glad he did what he did. The nurse came in and said I was doing amazing so that was encouraging as well.

Around 1:15 or so I needed to go to the bathroom again and right after I went I had a contraction and I couldn't really stand or anything so the nurse said "I'm going to check you again..." By this time she had come in and turned the heating lamps on and stuff which I thought was weird because we were thinking i was going to have the baby late that night (the nurse's goal was to have him by the time her shift was over at 7:00 pm). So when she checked me she said "you're at a 10!! You're ready to start pushing!" THANK GOODNESS! I wasn't sure how much more I could take. I had gone from a 4 to a 10 in less than or about an hour. No wonder things were getting tough and when I had asked for the epidural it was because I thought I was maybe at a 5 and I still have 5 cm to go and it was going to get a LOT worse.

So, around 1:25 p.m. I started pushing. A good feeling because it was what my body wanted to do and I knew we were so close to having him. 14 minutes later he came out! I think my first words were "hey there--you're SO tiny!!" I held him while they cleaned him off and then they took him for a few minutes to do the weighing and all that. He was 5 lbs, 9 ounces, 18.5 inches long. Teeny tiny!

Neither Steven or I cried but I think it was just all so fast and crazy and then he came out! Of course I thought he was the most precious little thing and you really do just immediately fall in love with them. I wasn't in the most comfortable position because of the dr working on me so it was hard to just relax and enjoy the moment. I didn't tear in the normal spot but did a little on the inside (some weird part I guess) but it was pretty uncomfortable.

Right after I held him I said "yay! I get to order food!" I was worried I would have him RIGHT after the hospital closed and would have to live off "snack food" until it reopened :) So, I ordered a cheeseburger, french fries and some fruit. Yum. I got eating and so did baby Jack!!

So there it is. The nurse said she doesn't think i would have progressed so fast had I not been using hypnobabies (or some other relaxation technique) so I am SO SO SO happy I spent the time preparing for it. It was SO worth it. The nurse kept asking me questions about what it was and said she had some friends who were pregnant that she was going to recommend it to. She even stopped Steven in the hall the next day and said my birth was absolutely amazing (sorry, I get to brag a bit because I'm proud of my hard work!) and she's been delivering for 20 years and this really was the most amazing thing she's seen and how great it all was. I look back now and loved being able to feel my body working (even if it was hard!) and knowing I did it! All along i knew I wanted a natural childbirth but didn't ever believe I could do it. I just always had that doubt in my mind.

We got moved into a postpartum room, had visitors and got to do all the fun hospital stuff with a baby! We got to go home the next day and now we're loving every minute of being parents. It really hit me yesterday when I was holding him how absolutely wonderful and precious he is. I can't imagine life without him and am SO excited now for life WITH him.

Pictures to come!