Feel free to skip this first part if it is too much information for you...
After the last post we went to the hospital a second time in the wee hours of Sunday morning. I was having what I thought were really long contractions...like 7-15 minutes long, and we were concerned about the baby. Off the to hospital we went, and it turns out I was starting to get dehydrated and it was causing my contractions to come right on top of each other. What I thought was one long contraction was actually two, sometimes three in a row. I asked them to let me come home (they thought I was crazy), because I still was just starting to dilate. At the hospital they made me stay on a monitor and lay flat in the bed...really uncomfortable.
After laboring all day Sunday, finally about 1:00 am on Monday morning, I felt like I was ready to go on to the hospital. The third time was the charm, and we didn't have to come back home again. By this point I had been in continuous labor for over 60 hours and I was pooped out from only sleeping between contractions, but so ready to see the little one. I can only imagine what the whole experience was like for him. It is probably good babies can't remember and God hard-wired our bodies to produce chemicals that make women love their babies, or else no one would do this have a baby thing.
Once we got to the hospital, the nurse checked me and I was already 4-5 cm dilated. YEAH PROGRESS, I thought. But after she checked me I started bleeding pretty heavily. It turns out I was having a placental abruption, which is where the placenta separates from the uterus before the baby is born. That means that the baby can't get oxygen, and it is pretty serious. But, because of God's grace we got to the hospital right as it was starting and there was never a time they were really worried about CJ. His heart rate stayed strong through it all so we both felt peace when I had to have a c-section. The hospital staff was awesome at explaining exactly what was happening and they moved quickly to make sure CJ was never in danger. The only complication is that when we arrived at the hospital they were actually doing another emergency c-section in the main operating room, and I had to go to the secondary room. It was a busy night in labor and delivery!
CJ was finally born at 3:08 am on 1 June 2009. He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. While we were in the hospital he lost about a pound, but the little porker has already gained it all back. They usually gain about an ounce a day, but this little guy, gained about 2.5 a day.
After it all, I would do it again. Isn't this face worth it all...
