Surprise! Surprise! He's Here!

Caleb Steven Dallaire decided to make his appearance 4 weeks early on October 14th. We were caught by complete surprise, but are thrilled that he is here and is healthy. Here's the quick run down of the events of the day.

I woke up on Columbus Day and decided that it was time to pack my overnight bag. I figured the weeks were getting shorter and I didn't want to forget anything. About mid morning I thought that maybe my water had broken, but wasn't too sure. I had a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday and was going to just wait until then. After talking with my friend Melanie, she convinced me that I should just call the doctor and explain what happened. The midwife told me that I was still pretty early so more than likely it wasn't my water, but I should come in and be checked just to be on the safe side. I called Nigel and we drove down to the hospital since the doctor's office was closed due to the holiday. The drive down Nigel kept saying, "This is it!" We might be spending the night. I thought he was crazy. I figured she would send us home breathing ‘newbie’s’ under her breath.

To my surprise and the midwife’s she told me that my water had not broken but that I was 3 cm dilated and a 100% effaced. What! When did that happen? She said I was already passed the early stages of labor. She told me to walk around for an hour and she would check me again. An hour later I was 4 cm dilated and started having contractions. I kept thinking how random it was that I just happen to go into labor while I was already at the hospital. The contractions started coming faster and stronger and before I knew it I was admitted and asking for an epidural. After about 2 hours of painful contractions the anesthesiologist finally came in. He was a pleasant little man from India. It was difficult to understand him so I was worried that I would move or do something wrong. He told me to relax that it would just feel like I had a piece of food stuck in my teeth.....literally? I said.

Once I had the epidural I felt much better. I managed to sleep a bit throughout the night, but stalled around 6cm. The midwife gave me a dose of pitocin to move things along. The next morning I had stalled again around 8cm. This time the midwife decided to break my water. That was all it took. I immediately started to feel the pressure and the urge to push. What I would like to know is what happened to the epidural at this point. I felt everything and it was not fun. Remember the ring of fire my birthing teacher talked about....she wasn't kidding. Giving birth is no joke. I almost wonder how woman go through it more than once. Fortunately Nigel, my mom and the nurses were all great cheerleaders throughout the whole process. It was quite the out of body experience. I yelled, said I couldn't do it and almost wanted to give up. The midwife said, "reach down you can feel his head". Are you kidding me!! I yelled, "No, just get him out!"

After an hour and a half Caleb was here and I was exhausted. A week later I can now say that it was completely worth it, but still the hardest thing I've ever done. And for now, I'm pretty sure Caleb will be an only child.