bennett's birth story. part three.

read part one here and part two here.

the doctor came in to check me around 6am on july 6th and i was no further dilated. when she told me that, i honestly thought she was joking, but i was too tired to even really react. she said she'd be back to check me again in an hour or two and then they'd decide what was going to happen based on my progress.

not long after that, my water broke. i have never been so relieved in my life. i knew at that point we were having a baby that day. they got me ready to move into a labor and delivery room and told me the anesthesiologist was on the floor and could get me an epidural right away if i wanted. i literally couldn't say yes fast enough.

the anesthesiologist came in once i got into the labor and delivery room. i'm sure they legally have to walk you through the procedure of getting an epidural, run down the list of potential risks, etc. but i just kept saying, "it's fine. just do it." joe was probably looking at him and silently apologizing for his crazy wife. the epidural provided relief from the pain pretty quickly and i was falling in and out of sleep almost right away. joe said later that i acted like i was high and said some pretty odd things to the anesthesiologist and nurses about how great epidurals are. sounds about right.

they also got me started on pitocin at the same time. i barely remember this, but i'm pretty sure that my parents came in from the waiting to say hi to me. there were several of joe's family members in the waiting room too, ready and anxious to meet our sweet boy. i don't know how long i slept, but it couldn't have been too long. the doctor told us that typically women progress at a rate of about 1 cm per hour, so joe walked out to tell our family members to go grab some lunch, that it was likely going to be several hours before bennett would arrive.

the next thing i knew, i woke up to nurses buzzing around me. apparently they had to go retrieve joe from the waiting room because i had already progressed all the way to 10 cm and was ready to push. 10-15 minutes later, at 11:52am, bennett james wienke was born.

first family photo.

7 lb. 8 oz. 21 inches long. full head of hair. just perfect.

and so began the crazy whirlwind of a year we've had. being bennett's mom and dad has been the best, most fun, hardest, most stressful honor of our lives thus far. i can't wait to see what the next year has in store for him and for us as a family.