Introducing Caleb Dalton via scrapbook and his birth story...

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Thursday Oct. 6th at my OB appt I practically begged Dr. Sharp to get this baby out of me! He scheduled me for an induction Sat Oct 8th at 7:30 am and told me to call at 6:30 to make sure they had a room for me. I was so excited that rather than going to work Sat morning I was going to have my precious baby boy and have this pregnancy come to an end. This pregnancy was worse than my first by far! I had a lot of back/pelvic pain, low energy, and raging hormones that caused a lot of anxiety which I am not accustomed to. Work had become very difficult! Anyways, the night before my induction I could not sleep very well due to nerves and was wide awake at 4:30 am. When I called at 6:30 the lady matter of factly told me to call back at 9:00 because they did not have a room for me. I began to cry and was disappointed. At 9:00 I called and they told me to be in at 10:00. I was very relieved and excited! Dylan had spent the night at my mom's house so we were able to just grab our bags and drive to the hospital. When we got there the nurse took my history and started my IV. I was grateful that she got it the first time, unlike the 7 attempts it took when Dylan was born. My blood pressure was high when I got there and I just thought it was nerves. My blood pressure stayed high my entire hospital stay up until the last time they checked it before I went home. My dad had taken a bus trip to the University so he kept coming and going. The labor and delivery department was extremely busy and we basically waited around for hours waiting for the doctor to see me and get the medication started. Meanwhile Bryan, my dad, and I played cards and watched TV. I was dilated to a 2 and was 70% effaced upon admission. Finally at 2:00 they started me on Penicillin since I was GBS positive and then they started the Pitocin at 3:00 to start my contractions and labor. I was still feeling and good and we continued to play cards until about 5:00 when Bryan drove my dad to his bus. When he came back around 5:40ish I was starting to hurt. I told the nurse that after the doctor broke by water which was going to be at 6:00 after the second dose of antibiotic that I would want the epidural. She decided to have the anesthesiologist come in then to get my history so we would be ready to go when Dr. Sharp broke my water. When the anesthesiologist came in I learned she was an attending and would only be there for another 50 minutes so I asked if she would do it then because I did not want a resident placing my epidural. As she placed it and afterward my pain increased rather than decrease. I was starting to experience a lot of anxiety and beginning to panic when the chief resident came in and checked me. I was dilated to a 6 and 100% effaced and 0 station. The Dr. said he would be back in an hour to recheck me. The anesthesiologist then told me that my only option for pain relief was to take out the epidural and start over. It had not been 5 min since the Dr. had checked me that I began to feel extreme pressure and the need to push. I told the anesthesiologist that there was no time to replace the epidural. The nurse then checked and said I was fully dilated and at +2 station. She immediately called Dr. Sharp in. He did not even have time to put on a gown. I pushed for maybe 3 minutes and little Caleb was born at 7:07 p.m. All the sudden I had this little one on my chest and was in shock because of how fast everything had just happened. Bryan was wonderful and helped me stay calm and coached me as I pushed. He was able to cut the cord this time which he didn't do with Dylan since the Dr. did it too fast. Overall it was a good experience and I am glad I chose an induction since it allowed us to have care arranged for Dylan while we were at the hospital. Caleb was very alert and calm when he came out and other than the second night at the hospital when he was having issues with throwing up he has remained that way. He has had a couple nights where he has slept 6 hours straight, but usually it is about every 4 hours. He is a beautiful baby and I am grateful for be his mother. The pregnancy was definitely worth the trouble to now have this precious child in my home. I absolutely love my husband and two boys and look forward to the rest of our lives and the opportunity I have been given to be their wife and mother!