The Beginning of Caden

A little earlier than we thought he would come, but we are so glad he's here. And since I have been getting so many questions about his arrival, I thought I'd share some my account of how his little life began...

Casey had decided to go on a ski trip to Winter Park, CO with his brother in law, Corey and his friend, Jeff. We figured since it was three weeks before Caden was supposed to be here, that all would be fine. I had come down with cold and decided that it would be best to take it easy over the weekend so I didn't set myself into labor while Casey was gone. The boys left on Friday morning and were coming back on Monday the 11th. The entire weekend, Casey was very good about answering my phone calls as he knew if I were in labor, he would want to get on the road immediately.

Monday morning, I woke up earlier than normal (about 6 am) and just started going about my day and dressed for work. I went to have breakfast and when I finished, I got up to take my dishes to the sink, my water broke. This was around 7 am. Once I got all changed and situated, I called Casey. I knew it was about 6:30 am in Colorado and Casey had told me that they planned on leaving around 6 or 7 so I was very hopeful that they were already on the road. I called Casey and he didn't answer. I called again and it sounded like I woke him up.

"Are you guys on the road yet?" I asked.
"No."
"Well I think maybe you should be.... I think my water just broke," I said.

Needless to say, Casey was a little freaked out and couldn't believe that I was going into labor. Like I said, this is 3 weeks before Caden's due date and we figured there was no way I was going to go that early.

I called the doctor's office at 8 am and told them that I was pretty sure my water had broke. (By this time I had already changed my pants 2 times). Stephanie, one of the RNs told me to go to the hospital immediately. I called my sister, Kris and they boys had already given her a heads up so she was already getting ready to pick me up. I told her that I felt fine and could meet her at the hospital. She said I was crazy and I thought she was probably right so Jonzy and I packed bags and did a little light cleaning while we waited for her to show up. Jonzy knew something was up as he kept smelling my clothes and would not leave my side.

When Kris and I got to the hospital, they asked us to wait to be checked in. The lady that checked me in wasn't very pleasant and I wasn't really in the mood to deal with her. After all, I didn't see my labor ever starting this way and I really didn't think Caden was going to be born until the 23rd. And on top of that, while we were waiting, I had another gush. So here I was checking in with completely wet pants.

Once I was checked in, they took Kris and I to the labor and delivery room, room 456. It was comfy and cozy. My first nurses name was Elizabeth and she was really great. She was probably in her mid 50s and had 5 kids of her own. She was really good at listening to me and I think she knew that Kris and I didn't have any clue what we were doing. Since my water broke, they hooked me up to the monitor to check the baby's heart beat and monitor my contractions. My contractions were few and far between. My OB wanted me to start on Petocin immediately, but Elizabeth delayed me a little bit because she knew of our concern with Casey getting back in time. I told her I didn't really want Petocin because it usually lead to getting an Epidural. She said that she would start me off on a low dosage and slowly increase it.

Casey kept calling for updates and I felt really bad for him because he was worried that he wouldn't make it back in time. I knew that he would because I wasn't progressing very quickly and all the staff were very aware of our situation. Kris and I basically hung out in the labor and delivery room resting and chatting. We even played a game of black jack.

Casey called when they were pulling into Lincoln and asked me if he thought it was okay if he went home to take Jonzy out. At that point I was only dilated to about a 5 and I didn't feel like it was going anywhere fast so I said it would be okay. He showed up to the hospital at about 6:30 pm and was in a frenzy. It took him a little bit to calm down and fit into the peaceful environment that Kris and I had created. Once he had his mind set, he did great. He was by my side for every contraction and even did breathing with me. He was so helpful in keeping me focused and on top of my breathing. Shortly after he showed up, my contractions started to get worse. They started to be painful and more consistent. We also got a new nurse, Nicki and her trainee, Julie. Nicki was awesome and was the perfect nurse to get me through the labor. She was with me ever step of the way and helped me focus when I was getting off track. Her trainee, Julie was a newbie and it was pretty obvious. She would ask me questions mid contraction and keep asking me until I answered. I heard Nicki say a couple times to wait and let me get though the contraction. It was a little irritating at the time as she didn't understand that I had to retain my focus.

Nicki kept checking to see how far dilated I was and I remained at a 9 for what seemed like forever. After I had a couple contractions where I felt like pushing, she started to let me push. That started around 12 am. My OB showed up around 12:30 which I was thankful for because I thought that meant I was close. I pushed forever and ever. I was running out of energy with every contraction and push that I did. Luckily, Casey was on my right side, holding my right leg though every push and counting to ten. He helped me stay focused and helped me so much.

When Caden came out (at 2:47 am... yes, I pushed for nearly 3 hours!!) and I heard him cry, it was the most joyful noise I've ever heard. I was so glad he was here and okay. I was so glad that I had made it through labor and we had done it!! It was a long labor and I was very tired, but it was such a happy time. No epidural... which I am amazed at and there were a couple times I felt I was surely crazy for not getting one. It is truly amazing what our bodies can do when we put our mind to it.

Thankfully, I was surrounded by some of the best people to get me through it... mainly my husband, Casey. There is no way I could have done it without him. Now we are a family of 3 + Jonzy and I couldn't ask for a better partner in all of this.