Aiden Douglas Goodenbour
May 29, 2011, 7:30 pm
7 lbs ~ 20 3/4 inches
On Sunday, May 29th, I woke up about 4:30 in the morning with contractions. I thought to myself, "These are something new- I just might be in labor!" I woke Doug up at 5:30 and said I think we're going to have a baby today. It was a rainy day and we laid around in bed until about 9. In anticipation of being gone a few days, I dictated my sub plans for the last days of school to Doug and he typed them up for me. I also did some homework for my Grad class (I know, just what I should be doing when in labor). At about 10:30, the contractions were getting stronger and I decided to take a bath (my first in about 7 years!). This helped a bit, but I was still uncomfortable. We decided around 11:00 we should probably go to the hospital. It took us about a half an hour to shower/finish packing things. As Doug loaded the car, I decided I was hungry, and, surprise, had some cereal. We left for the hospital at about 12:30, stopping to get Doug some lunch on the way.
I had called in to the hospital on the drive, so they were expecting us. When we got there, I changed into a very flattering hospital gown and was checked for dilation. I was about 2 cm dilated. The nurse had me walk around the floor for an hour to see if that would dilate me further, as I wasn't quite far enough to be admitted. After a very boring (and uncomfortable) hour of walking, I had progressed to 3 cm. She called the doctor on-call (Dr. Wenzel) to see if I should be admitted or sent home. (I didn't say anything, but I was not going home. If I had to, I would have sat down in the waiting room- I was in pain and knew this was time.) Fortuntaely, Dr. Wenzel decided that I was making good progress and should stay. I sat around for about a half an hour and decided to get in the whirpool (my second bath in 7 years!). While in there, I heard a pop and thought my water broke- unfortunately I couldn't tell as I was sitting in water. The contractions started to intensify and I decided to get back in bed. Dr. Wenzel arrived and checked me out. My water had broken and I was now 5-6 cm dilated. After 30 minutes of contractions, I decided that I could not handle the pain and requested an epidural. Unfortunately, just because you request it at a certain time, it does not mean you get it at that time. About 15 minutes (and some painful contractions later) the anesthesiologist came in placed the epidural. I did not even feel her place it and the relief was immediate. I was able to relax and was now 7 cm dilated. Doug decided to go move the car and get something to eat. About 5 minutes after he left (at 6:25 pm), Dr. Wenzel decided to give me to Oxytocin (to intensify the contractions). I text him to let him know. Four minutes later, Dr. Wenzel examined me again and I was 9 cm dilated. It was about time to push! I quickly text Doug and said, "You better get back here!" He returned without having time to get anything to eat and I started pushing.
Doug assumed a position next to me. After about 10 minutes of pushing, I noticed that Doug was really pale, cold and sweating. I asked if he felt alright. The nurses looked at him and told him he better sit down. They went and got him a sandwich, chips and apple juice. While he was eating, I kept on pushing. He finished the food and looked much better. Another 10 minutes went by and again Doug wasn't looking so good. This time he had a ringing in his ear. He sat down again and I pushed for the last few minutes. After about 45 total minutes of pushing, Aiden Douglas Goodenbour was born at 7:30 pm. He came out screaming, announcing his arrival. He also came out peeing, and managed to hit Dr. Wenzel, a nurse, and me. As they went to get his vitals, he pooped on another nurse. Aiden's first visitors were Grandma and Grandpa Goodenbour. After an hour or so, we were moved to our recovery room.
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