TMI 35 And then there was Noah

My first son was born in 1982. I was 22 years old. He was a week overdue and weighed in at 9lbs. 15 oz. I had him naturally.

My second son was born in 1984. I was 24 years old. I was on active duty in the Army by this time and was running around 20 miles a week and continued to do so until I was 8 months pregnant with him. They made me stop then because it made me have contractions. I smoked cigarettes with him because I heard it caused low birth weight and I was young and foolish. He was due June 30. I went into labor June 20th at 9:00PM. I had him June 21 at 7:10. He weighted in at 8lbs 4 oz.

Needless to say, I wasn't anxious to go thru normal labor and delivery when I was going to have an elephant of a baby. The ultraounds we had done to check on the problems with the baby's head indicated this baby would also be large. I went to the Ob/Gyn Dr on May 4th for my weekly appointment. My cervix had started to soften and the baby I had started to dialate. The doctor estimated the baby would weigh between 8 and 9 lbs and even though I wasn't due until May 19, he told me I could have the baby whenever I chose and he would induce me. I decided the next morning would be good. I was tired of being pregnant. I had gotten to the point where I was so physically stressed I would have to stop and take a break while emptying the contents of the washer into the dryer. I thought I would never have any energy or strength again.

Dennis was still behaving. We set the 13 year old up with his friends to spend the night. We went to Macaroni Grill for a last meal for me before the baby then we checked into the hospital to have the labor induced.

They put me on the most uncomfortable bed I have ever laid on. Hooked up up to noisy miserable contraptions and gave me something to soften and ripen my cervix futher. They thought that would be enough to cause me to go into labor. If it didn't, they would give me Pitocin in the morning. I got no other drugs and had mild labor all night long. By 6 AM, my cervix had softened but I had not progressed into active labor. They started the Pitocin. It always makes the labor 10x more painful. After about an hour, I needed a painkiller. My body was violently contracting and I was barfing from the drugs. They gave me so much Demoral that I woke up only for contractions. They happened about every 3 minutes but I would definitely sleep between them due to the drugs. My water broke and Dennis called for the nurse. The baby had started to crown so they called the Doctor that was just in his office down the hall. He came in, I pushed twice and Noah was born. He was so beautiful. He had the most gorgeous golden reddish blonde hair.

I was so drugged up I didn't trust myself to hold him more than a minute. They took him to the nursery, cleaned me up a bit and put me in a real bed. I was so much more comfortable and so tired, I slept. Dennis went home to shower and eat and came back. When he came back, I was awake and I had Noah full time. The next morning, less than 24 hours after he arrived. We were going home.