Liam's Birth

Matt, Mama & I got to the hospital at 6:30am and had to fill out a bunch of paperwork. At around 7:30am one of the OBs (not mine) did an exam and said everything looked very "ripe and ready"...all good news! Matt and Mama both disappeared to get coffee and make phone calls while the midwife and doctor hooked me up to the fetal monitor and stuck needles in my arm to get all set up for the Pitocin drip. Nice timing for my support people to be away --- I didn't take all that well to the needles and passed out. No worries...I revived, they reappeared and we were all set to go again.

The doctor didn't actually start inducing then so we hung out for awhile in the birthing suite, playing cards, watching Friends DVDs and hoping the contractions would start on their own. About this time, Matt commented, "Wow, this part of the birth sure is boring!" Little did he know things were about to pick up...fast!


Just after 9:00am my OB, Dr. Mastry, came in and checked the monitors but my contractions were still 20 minutes apart, so they started the drip to induce me. The anesthetist wasn't in the hospital though, so they told me to just breathe through the contractions awhile longer. The contractions got hard and close very quickly and I was soon asking for (okay, demanding) an epidural.Matt and Mama were great, getting me cold cloths, rubbing my back and feet, and constantly coaching me to breathe (instead of screaming). At 11:00am Dr. Mastry said the anesthetist was still about 30 minutes away, so recommended some Pethidine (Demerol) through the IV which I got about 10 minutes later. Dr. Mastry left the room saying to breathe and DON'T PUSH, but within minutes I was yelling at our midwife, "I can't not push!" At first she was room. skeptical, I think, but then there was a lot of scurrying around to get Dr. Mastry back in theAt 11:28am Liam was out of the womb and into the world...all before the anesthetist arrived or the Pethidine had a chance to kick in!

Matt cut the cord, and the midwife cleaned him up a bit and weighed and measured him. The pediatrician came in to do all the checks and gave him an Apgar score of 9 (which we're told is really good).

Then it was time for more happy photos before going to the recovery room.