The Birth

So labor & delivery didn't go quite like I planned, but then again, whose does? I was scheduled for a c-section on May 25th because Will had been breech since 34 weeks & there was little chance of him flipping. My ob/gyn didn't bother checking me at my last 3 appointments because Will was head up, breech, & riding high so naturally she thought nothing would happen on its own.

I won't go into gory details about anything because although I don't mind hearing about those kinds of things (biology grad here), I know lots of people would be totally grossed out. Suffice it to say things started happening the weekend before my scheduled c-section & Tuesday morning (the 22nd) I woke up at 3:30am with pretty intense pain. I had been having minor contractions on & off for weeks but this was definitely different & my suspicions were verified when the pain came 10 minutes later, and then again 10 minutes later. This happened for over an hour & I was pretty sure these were real labor contractions. Chris was going into work early that morning so he was up at about 4:30am. I told him I'd been having contractions but that they were far apart so to go to work but keep an eye on his phone just in case. He kissed me goodbye like always & since I couldn't sleep because of the pain I decided to finish packing for the hospital, shower, & get some things done around the house. I didn't eat or drink anything though because I knew with a scheduled c-section I wasn't supposed to eat or drink after midnight & I wanted to be on the safe side.

After a few hours the contractions were becoming more erratic--some 4 minutes apart & some up to 15 minutes apart--so I decided to call my doctor's office to see what I should do. I hadn't discussed with my ob/gyn about what to do if I went into labor because neither of us thought I would. Well, their offices didn't open until 8:30am & all I got was a recording so I called the hospital. They said to wait until 8:30am to talk with my doctor since my baby was breech. Figures. So I waited & it was really hard to not eat or drink anything since I was just trying to pass the time until my ob/gyn's offices opened!

Once 8:30am rolled around I called my doctor's office & left a message. A nurse called me back, asked me a few questions, & told me she'd like me to go into the hospital to get checked out. At this point my contractions were coming about every 6-7 minutes so it made sense but I didn't want to go into the hospital. First of all, the hospital was about 40 minutes away & I didn't want to waste my time driving all the way there just to have them send me back home if I wasn't really in labor. Second, they told me I couldn't drive myself so that meant calling Chris to come get me & I didn't want him to take off work if nothing serious was happening. So what did I do? I called my mom:) She said to call Chris. If these contractions were a fluke & I wasn't in real labor & dragged Chris out of work for nothing, then so be it. It was better than not calling Chris & later realizing I really was in labor.

So I called Chris. Half-hour later my mom called to see if Chris was on his way home yet. Nope. Chris hadn't called me back. So much for checking his phone often:) So I did the next best thing, I emailed Chris. This got his attention & he replied within minutes telling me he was on his way home. When Chris got home I was curling my hair & he thought that was odd but I told him I didn't think I was allowed to wear makeup or contacts so I wanted some part of me to look "ready". While I was taking my time getting "ready", Chris was throwing things in a duffle bag & putting things in the car & running around like a mad man getting ready to go to the hospital. I saw what I assumed to be a little bit of panic in my normally stoic husband & I love him all the more for it:)

On the way to the hospital I sent out a text to a few family members telling them we were on our way to the hospital, but weren't sure what all was going to happen & that we'd keep them updated. We checked into the hospital a little after 11am & they set me up on monitors to check my heart rate, Will's heart rate, etc. Chris just sat there, bored as heck, while we waited to see if we were going to be sent home or not. Finally we got some news: they were going to wisk me away for a c-section. Seriously?! While being monitored, they assessed that my contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart & they didn't want me to labor anymore since I was going to have to have a c-section. They gave me something to stop my contractions & didn't wait for any blood work to come back before they started prepping me.

Before I knew it, I was walking into the OR. Things were happening so fast & I could hardly get my bearings. I had been worried they would send me home because I wasn't in real labor & here I was in the OR, minutes away from surgery. Once my ob/gyn walked into the room I broke down & cried. I was also feeling the burn of the spinal at the time, but let's blame the crying on my feelings of being overwhelmed since I consider myself to have a fairly high tolerance to pain. Once Chris arrived, I felt so much better. The crying pretty much didn't stop until after Will was born, but knowing Chris was there made me feel more at ease.

At one point before the surgery, my ob/gyn showed me a pair of tong-like instruments & informed me that she had just pinched me really hard with them. It was at this point that she said I was ready for the procedure. Gee, thanks. During the whole 5 minutes or so it took to get Will out my ob/gyn kept a running commentary & I really appreciated it. Chris reiterated what she said as well & I was so grateful to be informed every step of the way. I was really surprised that Chris actually peeked over the curtain to see them pull Will out & snap a few pictures. He had always joked that he didn't even want to be there because the whole idea grossed him out. I was so proud of my hubby!

I remember the first cry. I remember the look on Chris's face. I remember the first time I saw my baby boy. I hope I never forget. I remember when I held him, thinking this whole thing was so surreal. How was it possible that I was holding my baby? It was a beautiful & wonderful experience.

Without further ado...


William Christopher Hansen
9lb 11oz
21" long
12:55pm