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Oliver's Birth

I am now Pregnant with our second child and I though it might be time to put into writing what I experienced the first time. The birth of Oliver was a very positive one, and joyous event in my life. Prior to getting pregnant with Oliver I had lost a baby at 14 weeks . This was extremely hard on me for I really wanted to be a Mom. I had about 6 months to grieve this loss when we had decided to move from the Midwest to Washington, DC. The plan was that I would stay in New York with in-laws until we could get into the house we had rented. While in New York I took a home pregnancy test and it turned positive right away!! I was alone and feeling very scared being away from my family. When I finally joined Andrew we were very excited!!

The search was on to find a Doctor. It was really very easy, because I knew what I needed and wanted in a Doctor. I had a difficult pregnancy, I was scared that something would go wrong and I was throwing up all the time this never did go away. I got so sick around the middle of my pregnancy Andrew brought me into the emergency room where they had to give me an IV for dehydration. From there everything went fine. I was due May 7, 1996. My parents came to town the week of the 7th of April we did a lot of walking and had a great time with them. My nephews kept telling me how big I was! I never did pay attention to them.

I awoke on April 15, 1996 ( our second year Wedding Anniversary) with what I thought might be contractions. It had been a difficult pregnancy. I called Andrew at work and told him I thought something might happen. He said he would be around all day and just call. Through put the day I had many of these contractions they seemed to be every hour. About 2pm I called my Mom and my Sister who both told me to call the Doctor and ask her. Well I did she had said that it was not the "real thing". I was a little disappointed but I was 3 weeks early so I understood.

That night when Andrew got home we went out for Mexican dinner. I was so happy to get out and eat. I walked outside the restaurant and threw up everything! This had been happening throughout my pregnancy so it was of no concern of mine. We went home for an early evening and to enjoy some down time with the television. About an hour after I got home I went into the bathroom and "pop" my water broke. I called the Doctor and the Dog sitter. At this point it started to rain really hard. I started to pack for the Hospital. I called my Mom and my Sister who were very calming I knew I could do this.

Then We left for the hospital. This is when I got scared. Andrew and I started to have this very intense conversation about girl names. We had a Boys name picked out but were unable to decide on a girls name. On the way to the Hospital the contraction started coming every ten minutes. As soon as we walked into the Hospital they stopped!! I walked a bit but then I was too tired and needed to rest I was able to sleep for about an hour they started Pitocin and the contraction started coming very fast I was getting scared. The nurses helped me a lot and then about 6 am Andrew woke up and took one look at me and got a nurse who gave me nubaine for the pain. It took effect and worked well. I knew when it wore off. At about 8am my Doctor came in to check me and ordered an epidural. That was wonderful!! She came back at 9am I was making real progress. I started to push at 11am until 5pm. I did need all kinds of help. The other nurses pushed on my stomach that was an odd feeling. I never felt like I was not being asked or things were happening to me. I felt as though I was part of the decision making process. It was hard but worth it. I was blessed with a 6.9pound baby boy!!! Just as I realized that I saw a ray of sun shining through the window. I also had a wonderful Hospital and a caring Doctor.

This Birth Story Was submitted by Bridget
Benjamin's Birth