His Birth Story

Sam's birth story is very special to me. He was my second fastest labor but the first one that Ben and I welcomed on our own. My parents had planned on coming up so my mom could be with me but my dad was having some medical issues of his own. He ended up having a stint put in the same morning I was having Sam. We really need to stop having medical procedures together. Gratefully my dad is doing much better but it made it so they couldn't travel quite yet. Ben and I are a really good team and did just fine by ourselves. 
We arrived at American Fork hospital by 7:00AM and got put in a room and the induction process started. I was so grateful for my awesome nurse who made us both feel at ease and helped make me not miss my mom as much. Naturally my blood issues gave them all cause for concern and then to top it off my blood pressure was high throughout as well. I was already dilated to a 4 when I was first checked and then they started the pitocin at 8:00AM. The doctor came in and broke my water and the contractions started coming. I was trying to go without an epidural and breathe through them but it got to the point where they were right on top of each other and I was getting no breaks. After a couple hours of this I decided I couldn't do it any longer and requested the drugs. They checked me again and I was between a 5 and a 6. By the time I laid back down after the epidural was placed I was feeling so much pressure and so the nurse checked me again and I was at an 8. My contractions were so strong and coming so fast that the epidural couldn't get ahead of the pain and it took a while before I got any type of relief. The epidural did help bring my blood pressure down. The doctor was worried that I would need magnesium to help with my blood pressure and it was a serious concern but luckily it went down to a safer number. I finally felt some relief from the epidural but it was short lived. I started feeling a ton of pressure and soon needed to push. I was at a 10 and ready to go. The doctor came in and had me start to push but he became concerned about my clotting issues and how high the baby still was. He decided to let me just hang out and let my body work the baby down with the contractions. I, however, was not on board with that plan. It felt better to push, so the nurse let me do little pushes to help ease the pain and pressure. Through these pushes, I managed to turn Sam from anterior to posterior and bring him down to crowning, all in about 15 mins. The doctor came back in and after a little bit longer pushing, Sam was born at 12 noon exactly. He was immediately placed on my chest and Ben cut the cord. Ben stood my side throughout the whole process and was so supportive of me. He talked me through the pain and encouraged me through the pushing. And managed to keep all of our family updated and take pictures too.

One concern I had about my mom not being with me was who was going to take the picture of my baby on the scale. She has taken that picture for all of my other 3. Well Ben knew my worry and was right on top of it. Sam was a very nice 7lbs 10oz. and 20 inches long.

After he was weighed and measured and wiped down a bit, they put him right back on my chest for some skin to skin time. It felt amazing to have this precious miracle fresh from heaven so very close. He stayed there for a couple hours before they took him to the nursery to get cleaned up. Ben got to go with him and watch him get his first bath and do the footprints. I stayed behind and was cleaned up myself and then moved to my recovery room.

Soon Ben wheeled my little Samuel into the room and I lost it. He was just the cutest thing with a head full of blonde hair and I was so overcome with emotion. Ben and I had a quiet moment to ourselves and said a little prayer of gratitude. It was finally sinking in that we had another baby after all those years of trying and our hearts were full.

Throughout our hospital stay, every single person who came into our room commented on his hair. He was all the talk in the nursery too. No one could get over how much hair he had and what a light color it was.

We stayed 2 days so that I could continue to be monitored because my blood pressure was still a little high. They diagnosed me with gestational hypertension. The only downside was that the hospital was not letting any kids under 14 visit due to the cold and flu season so we couldn't have the kids come see their new little brother in the hospital. It did, however, give Ben and I lots and lots of time to just enjoy and love on our new baby by ourselves.

Like a first time mother, I rode in the back with Samuel on the drive home. He cried some but seemed to enjoy the vibrations of the car. We didn't sleep much those first few nights as we tried to adjust to everything but I can't imagine him not being here and I am thankful beyond words that he arrived safe and sound.