Back in 2009, I started this blog with 5 posts about Sam’s first month: labor and delivery, week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4. Now that I have Campbell, I am enjoying reading over those posts and comparing what life was like then and now. I thought it would be fun to recreate those posts with my experiences with Campbell! So here is the birth story. Don’t worry, it’s not graphic and there won’t be any videos 😉

As I think I mentioned before, my doctor and I decided to schedule and induction on the day before my due date because we didn’t want to risk me  having an even bigger baby than Sam. Originally I was scheduled to go in Tuesday morning for my induction and I’d told almost everyone that date. But then I read my friend Merritt’s blog in which she talked about keeping their scheduled c-section date a secret so that everyone would be surprised when they heard the news. I wished I had kept my induction date a secret, but it was too late at that point. However, at the last minute (Friday afternoon) my doctor called to reschedule my induction for Monday morning. I decided I wouldn’t share the date change with anyone so we could still have a little element of surprise. I also assumed all along that I would go into labor before my induction anyway!

My induction was scheduled for Monday morning at 1 a.m. So after watching the Super Bowl. Ben and I got our stuff together and headed to the hospital. Once I was admitted, the resident came in and administered a drug that is supposed to cause contractions. They told me that my doctor had ordered a very mild dose, so it was likely that not much would happen. However, I was sure that it would send me into labor. I went to sleep fully expecting to be awakened in an hour or so with intense contractions. At 7:30 my doctor came in to check my progress and found that my cervix hadn’t changed at all. I was 3 cm dilated when I came in and I was still 3 cm dilated! She told me she gave me a mild dose because she didn’t want me to be uncomfortable! I was so disappointed! Then she told me she would break my water and then come back in a few hours to check my progress. If breaking the water didn’t send me into labor, I would be given Pitocin, which is the standard drug for an induction.

Immediately after she broke my water, I felt a contraction. My doctor said I was probably just feeling discomfort from having my water broken, and she left. But within just 20 minutes, my contractions were so strong I decided it was time for an epidural. My nurse was surprised and looked on the monitor and said she didn’t see any contractions. She decided to adjust my monitor and as she was doing so, she felt my belly and said that I definitely was having a big contraction! She went to go get the anesthesiologist. After about 20 minutes (of pretty excruciating pain) the anesthesiologist arrived. He was the chattiest doctor ever. He found out what Ben did for a living and started talking politics and cracking jokes. Poor Ben was doing his best to be polite while also trying to ignore him so he could provide me with the support I needed! Finally I got the epidural in and started feeling a little bit better. But after a few minutes, my nurse and I realized that I had what is known as a “window” on my right side where the epidural was not working. So half my body was numb and the other half wasn’t.

Meanwhile, I started feeling the need to push. This seemed pretty improbable since at this point, I had been in labor for about 45 minutes. My nurse called my doctor back in who checked me and found that I was already 9 centimeters dilated (10 cm is considered fully dilated). They scrambled to get prepped while I screamed in pain! I really did not plan on having an unmedicated labor so I was less than thrilled with the fact that I still had full feeling on the right side of my body. I remember squeezing Ben’s hand and pleading, “Help me! Help me!” Ha! It is funny now, but not so much at the time! Finally the doctor said I could push. I pushed one and a half times and the baby was out! It was SO fast! All told, I was in labor for one hour and 15 minutes! The nurse and doctor were joking with me about how fast it was afterward. My doctor confessed that she had crawled back into her bed at the hospital, assuming it would be several hours before she even needed to check on me again! And they both said that next time I should come in, get an epidural, then have my water broken! I am sooo thankful that I was in the hospital when my water broke, or else I probably would have had the baby in the car on the way to the hospital! Yikes!

If I’d had a “birth plan”, this wouldn’t have been it. But the end definitely made it all worthwhile!

Campbell Ellen Miller

Born at 9:01 a.m. on February 6th, 2012

8 lbs 10 oz

20 3/4″

We are adjusting to being a family of four. Sam, along with his parents, have fallen instantly in love! However, I wouldn’t mind a little more sleep…

And the story behind the name–Campbell is in honor of Ben’s maternal grandmother Belle and Ellen is in honor of my maternal Grandma Katie, whose full name was Catherine Ellen. We hope that over time we can share our memories of these wonderful ladies with Campbell.