Meeting Baby Bennett
- Joelle Samples
- Dec 31, 2016
- 4 min read
One year ago today Shayne and I went to Midwest Fertility Clinic for to have our natural IUI done in hopes we would become pregnant. One year ago today, Bennett was conceived. New Years Eve will always hold a special place in our hearts, and we hope you enjoy reading about our journey to meeting sweet Baby Bennett. The best is yet to be!
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The day had come. I couldn't believe it. I was forty-one weeks and two days pregnant, and we were finally on our way to IU North to meet our baby.
Earlier that afternoon we had lunch with our family and one of my dear friends who flew in from California to be here for the baby's arrival. Lunch was great, but leaving my family was really hard. I remember hugging my sister before we left and starting to cry. We both did. And then I hugged a few more people, and I cried even more. It was such an emotional time. Our journey, our path to parenthood ... it all led up to this moment and it was overwhelmingly exciting. I had been waiting for this day for a long time. I couldn't wait to be a mommy, and I was even more excited to make my husband [Shayne] a dad.
After thirty-one hours and twenty-two minutes of being in the hospital, we finally found out that we were having a son. We finally got to meet our sweet Bennett!
So let's back up...
My pregnancy.
After struggling with infertility for so long, I felt incredibly blessed to be able to enjoy this very special time in our life. My pregnancy was smooth. I barely had any morning sickness, I felt fairly well-rested, and I was able to continue practicing hot yoga throughout all three trimesters. I absolutely loved being pregnant! In fact, as the baby's birth day neared, I felt myself feeling really sad that the pregnancy was almost over. I was sad because I didn't know if I'd ever get the opportunity to experience pregnancy again. I was, of course, really excited too! I was so anxious to see how the baby's birth day would unfold. I couldn't wait to see his or her little face, and to see my body go through the miraculous transformation that happens during birth.
Planning for the baby's birth day.
Fairly early on in my pregnancy, Shayne and I talked about hiring a doula to support us during the baby's birth. I have epilepsy, and because my seizures are typically caused by stress and sleep deprivation (which both shout labor!), I really wanted to make sure that Shayne would have the support he needed in case something happened. After interviewing a few doulas, we decided to hire Brandie from Hoosier Doula. We cannot say enough good things about Brandie .... we just love her!
Brandie helped us to prepare for our birthing time as much as possible. She educated us on what labor would be like, she prepared us for some obstacles we might encounter, and she empowered us to have a voice. I remember having a conversation with her during one of our meetings about my priorities: 1. not having a seizure 2. not having a c-section 3. not getting an epidural 4. not being induced.
Being induced at forty-one weeks and two days.
Yep ... you read that right. I was induced. One of the four things on my list of priorities that I didn't want to happen. My pregnancy had gone so smoothly and the baby always seemed to be in the right position when we went to our doctors appointments, so we really never thought we would get to the point of induction. I was totally bummed.
There are several reasons why one would choose not to be induced, and we agreed with that reasoning. We felt like when the time was right, my body would know what to do. BUT....after being presented with a non-medicated option, we decided to move forward with scheduling the induction. We felt good about using the Foley balloon catheter, but still had hoped the baby would just naturally come before we had to go in to the hospital on Sunday [October 2nd].
October 2nd, 2016
We left for the hospital about 6:30p on Sunday, and by 7:30p the ball was rolling! The catheter was placed and I started experiencing pressure waves around 10p. And, I'll admit it ... as much as I didn't want to be induced, I was extremely excited that we were getting closer to meeting our baby! My heart was fluttering with excitement!
That first night at the hospital was good, but long ... mostly because I was so excited, but also because my pressure waves started just as I was trying to go to sleep. Thankfully, I was able to catch a few hours of shut eye before Dr. Pease came in to see me the next morning. I was so anxious to find out how much I had progressed overnight!
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