Welcome, Casey!

Name: Casey Benjamin
Born: January 27, 2009, 1:13 PM
Weight: 6 lbs. 7 oz.
Length: 19.5"

I was diagnosed with Obstetrical Cholestasis around my 29th week of pregnancy, and due to possible complications related to the disease, it is recommended that all Cholestasis patients be induced around 36-37 weeks. On Jan. 26th, at 37 weeks, I had an amniocentesis done in order to make sure Casey's lungs were mature and ready for delivery. It came back positive for maturation.

I had originally been scheduled to come into the birthing center at 8am the next morning for my induction, but the Dr. who was on call that day and did my amnio suggested I come in that night of the 26th instead, so they could start me on Cervadil and prepare my cervix a little more before starting the Pitocin in the morning. At my amnio appt., I was 1 cm dilated and about 50% effaced.

We spent the afternoon making last minute preparations for our little boy, and I made sure to eat a good meal, since I wouldn't be allowed any food at the hospital until I delivered.

We got to the birthing center at around 6:30. The Dr. said the Cervadil would help soften and ripen the cervix, and may cause some contractions, but they would most likely be minor enough for me to get some sleep, so we planned for my fiance to go home for the night and get one last good night's rest. The Cervadil was inserted at 7:30, right after Matt left for home.

About 8 I started to contract, and I felt them all in my back. By 9 I had called Matt and told him I needed him to come back...I wasn't getting any break between the ctx and could barely breathe for the pain. The monitor wasn't picking them up, so it was hard to tell if they were doing anything, but the pain was intense, and the nurse gave me some Percocet around 9:30. Matt had made it back by then, but I could barely talk and was doing some pretty heavy moaning and breathing. The Percocet didn't do much to help the back pain at all, but when the nurse checked me at 10:30 I had progressed to 3cm, so I felt like at least the contractions were doing something!

They kept getting worse, and by 11:30 I was begging to get in the Jacuzzi tub, not sure if they would let me since I had been told I had to stay on the monitors while the Cervadil was in. Labor is the most dangerous time for Cholestasis babies. It can stress them out without warning, so they like to monitor them really well. The nurse called the Dr. and to my surprise she said I could use the tub, they'd just have to remove the Cervadil.

Ohhhh the tub was heaven! It allowed me to relax and gave me some breaks in between contractions. Unfortunately I was only able to stay in it for an hour before I had to get back on the monitors for 20 minutes. By that time, they had once again become so close together that I wasn't getting any breaks, so I asked for the epi man to come save me.

He was pretty prompt, and I got my epidural around 1:30am. The nurse checked me then and I had made it to a 4. They also put in an internal contraction monitor since the external one wasn't picking up my ctx. They were pretty regular, but not measuring very strong. Matt and I were able to catch some zzzzzs on and off until about 6:30 am when the Dr. came in to check me. I was still at 4, so she broke my water, which unfortunately didn't force my contractions to be any stronger.

Finally, we started the Pitocin around 10 am, and things moved pretty quickly after that. By 12:30 I was feeling pressure and trying not to push with each contraction. The Dr. made it into the room around 1, and I pushed 5 times before little Casey slid out! He was sooo tiny and perfect. I felt a lot more of the birth than I had with my daughters, so it was a new experience for me to feel the pain of pushing, but I only had a tiny tear that didn't even need stitches.

He is a pro at breastfeeding, and is just the sweetest little guy. I love waking up to his daddy holding him with so much love in his eyes.