Bennet's Birth Story

This time is all started with a jerk of a woman...

Mom had Lydia and Travis and I decided to have one more date night. I decided I wanted Chinese to see if it would help bring on the pain. I was already having contractions but we didn't want them to die off, so armed with a towel, we made our way to the buffet. As we entered the restaurant a gray haired woman, at a table full of women, saw me and loudly said, "Jesus Christ!" She then turned to the other women and whispered and nodded at my belly. All of them stared. She made me so mad... But I was really big.

By the time we got home we knew it was time to start timing the contractions. We knew it was the night so we called Bernice, got in bed and slept between contractions. Attending this birth was Bernice, my midwife; Kim, the leader of my LLL chapter and Bernice's birth assistant; Katie B, our good friend; and my mom would come at pushing time, Lydia in tow.

I had hoped to not labor through the night again but this time around the back labor was very limited so it wasn't as bad, and everyone seemed pretty confident that this labor and delivery would be shorter and easier. In the middle of the night we went for a walk to speed things up, I took a bath, slept some more, got sick a couple of times, and by the morning we were all pretty confident that the baby would be born by 10am.

But we experienced some problems. First, as my body was getting tired and I was beginning to feel the urge to push part of my cervix was not completely open. The baby was moving down but couldn't get through because of it. We tried a variety of positions, with Bernice holding back the lip, but in the end I was too exhausted and too, um, backed up. I must say that Bernice's positioning was quite brave since my water still had not broken. All I wanted to do was lay down and fall asleep but Kim and Bernice wouldn't let me. I believe I also asked them at this time if they had an epidural. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been with Lydia, but my body felt too tired to deal with it and work through the contractions. Alas, there was no epidural in the birthing supplies.

However, there was an enema, which was administered on the bathroom floor. They told me to try to hold it in as long as possible, but that was just crazy talk. As soon as Bernice was done I leaped off the floor and onto the toilet. After a bit I started to bear down and leaping off the toilet cried, "This isn't poop anymore!"

The next part I don't remember very well. I think I was kneeling for a little bit as I pushed out his head. I was so proud of myself, too, because I went slowly so I wouldn't tear like I did with Lydia. I remember Bernice having me reach down to feel his head as a way to encourage me, and Travis telling me that he had a cute face. It was painful and I know I was crying out, but it was about to get worse.

Both of his shoulders ended up getting stuck. This meant that Bernice had to reach up and free him while I was pushing. I know I was standing with my knees bent and I was hollering in pain. At one point I think I screamed out to Mother Mary, but I'm not sure what I said. I think it was a prayer, though. I know that my mom took Lydia outside because it was too hard for her to hear me in so much pain and she didn't want Lydia to become scared. I know Katie, who was supposed to be taking pictures, looked unsure and worried. Travis' body tensed a bit; Bernice and Kim became faster and more stern with their directions. I remember thinking, "My baby is going to die because of this."

When he did come out Bernice lifted him up to me. I turned him on his side and we started rubbing his back. His heart rate was checked and it was still strong, but he wasn't crying. Just as Kim went to get the oxygen, though, he started up and everyone was relieved. I looked down to see that he was a baby boy and then asked if I could sit down.

Travis cut the cord. The afterbirth came out without any problems. Mom was summoned and Lydia came in to see her new brother - although she didn't quite know what he was or where he came from. Baby boy and I got cleaned up a bit and went to the bed to rest while things were picked up. At that point Travis and I talked about the name.

As you probably know, we were originally going to name him Bennet, which was our boy name for Lydia and is a nod to the pope and my grandpa Benno. But when we learned of several other Bennets we changed to Kolbe. But recently we dropped Kolbe; Travis wanted to use Joseph and I wanted to go back to Bennet. As we sat on the bed we played Paper, Rock, Scissor to see who would get their way. Travis won 2 out of 3 but then said that after all I went through I earned the right to name him.

Bennet Mark weighed 10lbs 11oz. He is 21.75" long. His head is 14" and chest 15" in circumference. He latched on right away and is a great nurser. His pinky toes are crooked and all his toes are long and thin. He had hands like his Grandpa E and the nose of a Fandel. Lydia can say his name and it is so, so, so cute.

My afterpains are horrible - they travel all the way down to my knees - and my bottom is sore. With all the extra work that came from his shoulders I ended up needing some stitches. Other than that I feel good as long as I don't have to walk any further than to the bathroom. I've already lost 21lbs, but I still have 30 to go! I'll have to not eat too much of the plum birth day cake Katie made, though.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and warm wishes. God bless you!