On the Day You Were Born

It's a Boy!

Sean Patrick Michael Arteaga Jr. 

December 23, 2018 at 3:29 pm

6 lbs 11 oz

20 inches long

We were blessed with his arrival 1-week early which made for a memorable early Christmas present. I was convinced I would go postdates with this lil one as I had felt great in the previous 2 weeks. Slept better than before! Early labor started on Saturday the 22nd morning. I woke up to some light but noticeable cramping but decided to ignore it and went about with my plans. Around noon, the cramping became a more noticeable and I took a nap to distract myself. That afternoon the cramping continued, yet very irregular. Despite the cramping, I still made it to my 3pm manicure appointment. That evening, after Sean was off work I mentioned what had been going on throughout the day and I imagined in the next few days we would have a baby. We made plans to head to dinner. Around 8pm we went to dinner and by then the cramping took my breath away at moments. We made it through dinner and by 10pm we were home watching television. At this point, I had to stay active through the cramping. 

I walked around the house or bounced on a birthing ball. I attempted to go to sleep at midnight, but that was not happening! I stayed downstairs and put on a show and continued to stay active in early labor. There was no sleeping! Around 3 am the cramping intensified and I knew this could be something as they also became regular occurring 5-7 minutes apart. I showered twice for pain relief and by 5:30 am Sean woke up and asked if we should go in. As a labor and delivery nurse, I thought I would know if I was in labor but I didn't! With the hopes to have a natural delivery, I wanted to avoid going into the hospital too early. I contemplated calling the midwife but was finally convinced by Sean to call around 6:30 am. I called and explained what had been happening over the last day and the midwife stated that I was in early labor - to sleep, take a warm bath, eat breakfast and if the cramping intensified to call back and then head to the hospital. I only made it one more hour! At 7:30 am, I called back and told her there was no sleep happening. We gathered our pre-packed hospital bags and headed out the door around 8 am. 

The car ride was intense! I just kept saying out loud, "I just need to make it through this car ride". Having to be in one position was not helpful! Good thing that there is no traffic on a Sunday morning. We arrived within a half-hour and checked into triage. I was put on the monitor for 20-minutes, which again was torturous to be in one position! The L&D nurse checked me and I was 5-6 cm dilated and I earned an admission. 

I continued to labor by staying active in the room walking around and the birthing ball. The room also had a jetted tub. I spent 45-minutes in the tub! The midwife had told me that she would be in at noon to check if I had made any progress. Noon came, and she was nowhere in sight. 1215 pm and nothing. At this point, I was impatient and made a comment that I needed to know where I was at because if I had made no progress I was getting an epidural. The contractions were intense and I even said to Sean once, "I don't cry but this one makes me want to cry". Around 12:30 the midwife came in and checked me and I was 8 cm. She broke my bag of waters and I asked for the nitrous oxide for pain relief. The one reason I had chosen this hospital and midwife group was that of the nitrous oxide. I was told it was broken and I could have Fentanyl. I accepted it! I was given Fentanyl and laid on my left side with a peanut ball. By 1 pm had progressed to complete and my mom came into the room and I started pushing. Wow, is pushing a whole other game! 2.5 hours and multiple positions later we welcomed our little boy into the world. And as his ultrasounds always showed his hands by his face it was only fitting that one hand snuck up on his way out. Hence the 2.5 hours of pushing!

Looking back at his birth story, there isn't one thing I would change. I welcomed every painful contraction knowing we were closer to meeting our baby. Sean was so supportive and I know I couldn't have done it without him. Having my mom in the room for pushing not only brought me support but Sean as well.

Happy 1 week of life, my beautiful boy.