Mattea Birth Story: Part 1

Today, the house is relatively quiet and back to normal. Both kids are at home. Jennifer has not gotten a fever or chills today, and I even got in for a little bit of work done at the office. Our life was not nearly as serene a week ago.

We visited the OB/GYN for our weekly appointment on May 7th. That monthly appointment was followed by an ultrasound. We expected to hear that our child was larger than average for her gestastional age. What we discovered was that at 36 weeks our child was measuring at 9.5 lbs. The doctor told us that he would induce labor a week later, on May 14th.

On Monday, May 14th, we were instructed to call the hospital at 530am, and then we were told to arrive by 730am. We arrived closer to 8am to Rapid City Regional Hospital. They took us immediately to the labor and delivery room, and began to ply Jennifer with drugs to induce labor in short order.

The doctor broke Jennifer's water around noon. Soon after labor began to intensify. At first the contractions appeared to be "normally" painful for Jennifer. But, after a few hours, it became apparent that there was something wrong. Even when her body was not contracting, the pain in her birth canal continued to intensify. A pain reliever was provided. Then two epidural treatments. The pain was continuing to get worse, and the baby was not moving when she was examined. It became apparent that the baby was not going to be able to fit through Jennifer's birth canal. Thus, Jennifer and the doctor opted for a change in course, and put her under general anastesia to deliver the baby Caesarian.

This left me in an empty delivery room, alone. I was instructed to wait until someone came to get me. I cleaned up the room, and looked around at an empty room that was supposed to be full of the joy and pain of childbirth. Filled with concern and a lack of control, I began to feel my throat get a little tight and my eyes began to sting. I decided to take pictures of what I saw. Here they are: