Labor and Delivery Timeline

Here is the timeline starting on June 23 and continuing to June 24:

• 10:00 p.m.- Checked in to Baylor
• 10:30 p.m.- Given Cytotec to help induce labor
• 11:00 p.m.- Given Ambien to help sleep
• 11:30 p.m.- Sent Robert home to sleep
• 11:45 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.- Slept on and off; watched Planet Earth
• 5:00 a.m.- Started on Petocin; dilated to a 4
• 5:30 a.m.- Called Rob to come back over to the hospital
• 6:30 a.m.- Given an epidural (I wanted it before the shift change at 7:00)
• 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.- I slept on and off (I was so relaxed from the epidural); Rob watched Burn Notice
• 8:00 a.m.- Doctor comes in and checks me; dilated between a 4 and 5; Dr. breaks my water
• 9:30 a.m.- I felt continuous pressure, so I asked the nurse to check me; dilated to a 10!
• 10:00 a.m.- Doctor and nurses come in and get everything ready
• 10:15 a.m.- I start pushing; I pushed for 4 or 5 contractions; Rob was by my side coaching me
• 10:27 a.m.- Max was born; 6 pounds 15 ounces; 19.75 inches long

After Max was born, Rob was able to cut the umbilical cord. Then Max was weighed, measured, and cleaned up. Rob was given a shirt, and they put Max's footprints on it. They gave me Max, but I was not in a position to hold him (I had a lot of tearing- Max threw an elbow on his way out!). Rob held Max and stayed close to me. We actually did not decide on Max's name until around noon, after the room had been cleared out and we had a quiet moment to look and decide what we should call him. We were given lunch around 12:30. About 1:00 or so, we were able to go over to the postpartum room. By this time, my epidural had worn off and I was anxious to be up and about. I ended up walking down to the room, pushing my wheelchair, while Rob brought Max. Everything went extremely well.

We were impressed with Baylor. They always brought me AND Robert a meal. In fact, on Thursday night, we had our celebration dinner. Rob had steak and lobster, while I had steak and chicken. The hospital has more of a hotel feel to it. All the machines are hidden behind cupboards. They staff is all well-trained. I had the lactation specialists come in a few times to help me get started breastfeeding (things are going well now- Max and I are finally starting to get in sync). Rob had a pull-out bed to sleep in at night. We actually sent Max back to the nursery a few times so we could try and catch some sleep. I found that if Max was in the room, I would listen to every single sound Max made, rather than sleep. When we sent Max back to the nursery, he was always really good- he just slept (and didn't cry!). We feel so blessed to have Max in our lives.

I really couldn't ask for a better experience for my first baby. It has been a life-changing experience for our little family. It has made us a stronger, better, more loving family.