Ethan's Arrival

I can't believe I'm sitting in the same apartment, with the same wonderful husband, now the proud parents of a healthy one-week-old son. (And just for the record, I totally called the 18th as Ethan's birthday. I have witnesses!)  It's so strange to think we are responsible for another human being! We are thrilled to have Ethan in our lives, and even more thrilled at what an easy baby he is (now that he's got the eating thing down, anyway!). It may be a bit of an overshare, and a little lengthy, but for those who want to know, following is our birth story...

I woke up on Thursday morning at around 6:15, February 18th, to use the bathroom. I felt an odd pressure, similar to a popping sensation, that was different from the baby's usual movements, and I wondered if it was my water breaking, but since nothing followed, I couldn't be sure. I went back to bed, only to feel immediate and strong back pain. I wondered if it was a contraction. I then saw signs of having lost my mucous plug, so I woke Greg and called the doctor's office. I still thought labor might take a couple days, if it was just my mucous plug. The woman who answered the phone said it sounded like it was, and she would page the doctor. The doctor called me within two minutes, and while I was describing it to her, a gush of fluid told me it was indeed my water breaking. She told me to come in right away. 

Greg and I packed our things (he hadn't packed anything at all yet!) and headed for the hospital. My contractions were already about four or five minutes apart, and getting stronger and more painful all the time. As we drove, I called our family members to tell them the news, and about halfway to the hospital I was having trouble speaking during contractions. 

When we arrived around 7, and I stepped out of the car, I lost the last of my water. We made our way, slowly and painfully, to the hospital, and they took me back to get a gown. At this point I needed to stop and breathe through the pains that were coming fast and strong. We got to the room and they offered me an epidural, which I gladly accepted. It took about half an hour to get it, though, and during that time I was in a lot of pain. Greg was great at coaching me through with breathing and relaxation techniques, and I just kept telling myself it would be over soon. I was 4 centimeters dilated and ready for some pain relief!

The epidural worked like magic, and immediately I could no longer feel my contractions, which were now 2 minutes apart and 70 seconds long, according to the monitor. Our nurse was fun and upbeat, excited to see how swiftly I  was progressing. I felt great, now that I could no longer feel the pain.

About an hour and a half or so later, Dr. May entered to check on my progress. To all of our great delight and surprise, I was 9.5 centimeters. He said we'd be having a baby in an hour and a half or less, and he was leaning toward less. WOW! I wanted it to be easy... I had no idea it could be this easy!

We waited another hour or so for the last little bit of dilation, then pushed about 5 times with Shannon. When the baby was at a good place, she called the doctor, and he had me push another 5–10 times. All I could feel was a tightening when I had a contraction. Dr. May eased our baby out very gently and carefully, and held him up. Greg said, it's a boy! and I reached for my son. He was everything I hoped for, and I was not surprised to see him. I knew it would be him.

Ethan James Riffenburgh was born at 11:23 am after just 5 hours of labor. He was 8 lbs 6 oz and 20.5 inches long.