The Story of Ben...

From the pictures in the previous blog you can see some of our story but I thought I would give you the entire full story. I will start by saying, I love this little guy and the past week was all worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Last week on Tuesday, we went to the doctor and planned for a slow induction to start Friday night if Ben had not made his appearance before then. The doctor thought we would start Friday night and Ben would be born on Saturday. My dad was supposed to leave Sunday morning to go back to the states. At the doctor’s appointment Ben's head was very engaged but my cervix was just soft, no effacement or dilation and sitting behind Bens head. So, the week went by and Friday night came.

Allen and I set off to go to the hospital. That night they gave me castor oil and an enema to hopefully start contractions to soften my cervix. Then in the middle of the night they put a prostaglandin tablet on my cervix to help with the process. Saturday morning they came and got us to go to the delivery room. In the delivery room, they started Pitocin at 7 am, hooked me up to the monitors and we waited. And we waited. I had contractions and they slowly increased the pitocin dosage. Then about 12 my doctor came and examined me again and there were no changes. My cervix was still just soft. He said we would continue the pitocin and he would recheck me in a couple of hours. He also put another tablet of prostaglandin on my cervix.

A side note: I have a great doctor here. He is actually the owner of the hospital and brought in-vitro fertilization to this part of the world. He is in his 70's and just a wonderful doctor with lots of experience. He knew I really wanted a natural delivery and was taking his time trying to get me there.

Well, about 3 or 3:30 he came back to check me. By this time, I was having so much back pain from the pitocin and just knew that I had made progress. However, because of the position of Ben's head it was terribly uncomfortable for him to examine me because the cervix was so far behind his head. I shouted out in pain, so he brought the anesthesiologist in to give me a little laughing gas to help with the exam. I have had laughing gas before and had an adverse reaction but I thought maybe it would be ok this time. So, I started to breathe the gas and felt great. Then all of a sudden, it was like I was suffocating and it felt like I was losing control. I almost hit the anesthesiologist trying to get the mask off. Then I started crying uncontrollably! It was terrible. But Dr. Khalani had been able to get to my cervix.

So, out of the corner of my vision as I am crying uncontrollably from this medication, I saw him talking to my mom and my friend, Angela. I heard him say that he thought they should switch off the pitocin, give me some Demerol and let me relax. Then, he would monitor me through the night and start again Sunday. At this point, I lost it because I knew that meant I was not making any progress and Ben was not going to be born on Saturday or at least not soon. So, Dr. Khalani came over and talked to me about the situation. I had made no progress and my cervix was still the same. He thought that I should relax, get some pain meds, go back to my room, and have dinner. He said that sometimes people will go into labor on their own once they take a break. I was so tired at this point and knew my dad was going to miss the birth of Ben. So, as I laid there on the delivery table bawling everyone left the room except for Allen. I could not believe this was happening. I was so upset and so tired. I refused the medication at first because I so wanted this to all be over and have my sweet son born.

Allen and I talked. I shared that I was so disappointed about my dad missing the birth. I asked Allen to ask my dad to change his flight back. Also, Allen talked me into getting the pain meds, which was a good decision because my back was so tight and I was so sore from a day of contractions and the previous night. Allen was great and went and talked to my parents right away. My dad and mom came back in the room and told me they would love to switch dad’s flight to not think about it again. We had some friends waiting in our room and within an hour they had dad’s flight changed.

I went back to my room, ate dinner and waited. Throughout the night they did two stress tests to check on Ben. We also put another prostaglandin tablet on my cervix. I had contractions on and off all night but nothing consistent.

The next morning at 7 they came and got me to go back to the delivery room. At this point, I knew a c-section was a very big possibility but did not want to think about it. Around 9 the doctor came and examined me after 2 hours of pitocin. I could tell he was not happy with my exam. He pulled up a chair and talked to Allen and me. He started by asking if we had the delivery date right, which we all knew it was correct. Then he asked me if I had ever had any sort of surgeries or cauterization of my cervix, which I have not. He said that at this point my cervix should be soft like his lips and it was still hard like his ring. Also, with Ben as far down in the birth canal there should be changes to my cervix and it was not safe to continue to put Ben through the stress of the situation. We decided to try for another couple of hours and then if there was no progress, we would need to do a c-section. He said it is very rare but in some people their cervix will never change. Of course, this was not what I wanted to hear but I trust my doctor and knew he has lots of wisdom.

So, at around 11:30 they examined me and there were no changes. I was really tired and wondered if there had been changes if I would have been able to birth Ben. They started to prep me for the c-section. The anesthesiologist came in and talked to me about my options.

They rolled me into the surgical suite and prepped me. It was really nice because they let Allen, my mom and Angela in with me. Also, I was able to see the whole procedure on TV. Also, my pediatrician was there. She is a believer and prayed with me before they started. It was pretty cool to get to see the whole thing on the screen. As they pulled Ben out, they dropped the curtain so I could see Ben. It was awesome! Unfortunately he was so engaged they had to use forceps and a scoop to get him out. So he was a little bruised but so handsome! I am amazed by our Father. After the pediatrician evaluated him they brought him over to me. Oh, I will never forget that moment as my sweet boy lay by my head! It was totally worth the many hours of pain and frustration. He was precious! He reached out his hand to me which was so awesome because mine were tied down by my side!

As they got Ben out, they nicked something and I started to bleed. They had to transfuse 2 units of blood. However, it is really cool because they get blood from the US Embassy before any procedure. So, I did not have to worry about where the blood came from and it was a minor bleed so they got is stopped and sewed me up. Allen went with Ben to the nursery and I went to the recovery room.

Allen came back and told me Ben weighed 4.200 kilos! Which is equivalent to 9 lbs and 4 ozs!!!! He was 21 inches long. I could not believe he was that big but he is perfect!

Once I got back to my room, Ben was there waiting for me and it was so great to see my sweet little boy. He fed great right away! What an answer to prayer! We had to stay at the hospital another two nights and came home yesterday. It is wonderful to be at home. I love being a mom and loving on Ben. Allen is great and has been such a huge help. There is nothing like seeing Allen with Ben.

So, that is the saga. Sorry it is so long but thought you might like to know what happened. Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement.