Charlie's Birth Story

I decided to write Charlie's birth story, while it is fresh in my mind. It has been going on 6 weeks since his birthday, and I don't want to forget the details of his birth and the experience. I was a week overdue with the little guy, I guess he was comfortable and didn't want to make an arrival into the world.... so instead of being induced (which I didn't want to go through this time), my doctor had me come into her office to check me and then sent me to the hospital for some tests to make sure that it was o.k. to let him simmer a little longer. I didn't have my needed paperwork, so I raced home to get it and give my car to my mom. I picked up mom and Nate and then, according to my mother, was driving like a lunatic to get back to the hospital. I guess (though I don't know if it was as evident as she might tell you), I was acting a bit off and she predicted that today was going to be the day for Chas' arrival (she was right!). Once I arrived at the hospital they checked me in and hooked me up to the monitors for a non-stress test. The test was registering some small contractions. I was on the monitors for about an hour and everything was looking good. The baby was doing very well. Then they sent me for a sonogram - everything looked great there too so I was o.k. to not go the induction route for a little longer. After the sonogram, they hooked me back up to the monitors and I started having more regular contractions. My doctor was at the hospital for another birth and had them hold me so she could check my progress again after her delivery. Needless to say after an hour or two more, she decided I was actually in labor and progressing. She wanted to keep me at the hospital instead of sending me home. I guess being at the hospital was a sign for my body to start going into labor. At this point it was probably about 1 p.m. and Les was at work still because we weren't sure if I was in active labor or not... turns out I was... and it turns out we were having some severe thunderstorms, tornados, and rain in our locale. Les had to battle the elements to make it to the hospital in time. He arrived at about 3:30. I was about 7-8 cm at this point and the pains were becoming pretty intense, so his arrival was welcome! The doctor came in and indicated that all was progressing pretty rapidly. She said it was the last chance for an epidural. I decided to forgo it, albeit little apprehensively. About 3-4 contractions later we were ready to push. I pushed for about 15-20 min. and then Charlie made his entrance into the world. It was a thrilling and empowering moment. It was such a positive experience and all pain subsided in the seconds after he was born. Charlie was born at 4:45 p.m. He was alert and healthy: a beautiful baby boy.