Elaine Caroline Benton

Wow...what a journey to get where we are today! I wanted to journal about Lainey's birth story so I wouldn't forget anything. Unfortunately, it has taken me 10 days to finally sit down in front of the computer long enough to do it but here goes...

Tuesday started out like a normal day. We got up and got dressed and ready for work. I was busy all day but managed to leave a little before 4 p.m. to come home because I knew that the hospital would call between 5 - 10 to let me know when I would be admitted. I came home, changed and finished packing the hospital bag and Troy and I ate some dinner and did some last little things around the house. At 7:30 someone from Rex called asking if we were ready to come in. Um, yeah! So off we went and we arrived at the Birth Center right at 8. We were checked in and I got settled in and changed into my hospital gown. We were so excited...I couldn't believe that we'd soon get to meet our baby!





That night the doctor gave me Cervidil and checked me at around 10 p.m. Apparently I was having some small contractions but was still not dialated at all. At midnight they came back to remove the Cervidil and to check me again (still no progress). They also gave me an Ambian so I could sleep and told me they would come get us up around 6 in the morning. Man, that Ambian did the trick! I went right to sleep and woke up at 6 on the dot. I got up and showered and then the nurses came in and hooked me up to my IV (Pitocin and a saline drip) and monitors (my contractions and the baby's heartbeat) around 8 a.m. And so began a long day of waiting. Family arrived, visited and milled about and I started having contractions. The doctor came and broke my water at 11:45 a.m. to see if that would speed things along because I was only 1 cm dialated. Wow...what a flood! My sister joked about everyone needing gollashes and she was about right. Not to be gross, but I gushed water for hours and had to repeatedly have the bed pads changed. Hours went by of gushing and contracting. During this time, we visited with family and watched the Pirates of the Carribbean movies (the cable was terrible...thanks P&C!). Around 4 p.m. the doctor checked me and I was only at 2 cms. That was a bit discouraging. They said that basically my body wasn't taking the hint and getting the kick start that the Pitocin offered. This wasn't terribly comfortable though because I was having basically back to back contractions with no break in between but the contractions weren't actually being productive. They kept upping the Pitocin level and around 8 p.m. they asked if I was sure I didn't want the epidural. Troy and I talked it over and I decided to get it so I could get a good night's sleep because it seemed I would probably be pushing late that night or early in the morning.



The epidural wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and then the pain relief was great (though it was weird to be all numb). We carried on a bit more and about 10 p.m., the doctor checked me again. There was still no progress and he said that he thought the baby was so large that my contractions were just kind of squeezing my uterus and the baby but not pushing down to get me dialated. He said that it was time to start thinking about maybe a c-section. I was really disappointed to hear that...that was my worst fear: that I would labor for hours and then end up having to have a c-section. The doctor said that I could continue to be in labor all night and we would still probably arrive at needing to have a section so we could either do it now or later. Troy and I talked to it over with the doctor, then the nurse, then each other and then our parents. About 10:30 we called the doctor in and told him that we were going to go that route.

From the time we said go, it was a whirwind of activity. We barely had time to bring our parents up to tell them our decision when the nurse kicked them out to get me ready for the OR. Within 10 minutes they were wheeling me down the hall and zipped me into the OR. That was a bit frightening because Troy had to stay outside and the OR was full of people who were all busy prepping stuff but no one was really talking to me. They moved me onto the operating table and began getting my anesthesia going. Then my doctor came over and talked to me for a minute which was comforting and Troy was able to come in to sit at my head. Side note: we were so exhausted by this point that he actually took a cat nap while waiting for someone to bring him into the OR. Only Troy could fall asleep right before his wife has major surgery and his baby is born! The surgery was really fast...it wasn't painful at all, just lots of pressure and then they pulled our little girl out and she instantly started crying. Troy got to watch the doctor actually pull her out and then he left with the nurse to watch them clean and weigh her.



That was by far the hardest part. I got to see her for just a second and then she and Troy were gone and the most difficult part of the surgery started. There was so much pressure as they stuffed my insides back. All I can remember thinking is, "I wish they would just stop for a minute. If they could just give me a minute, I'd be okay." Apparently, I was totally white and green around the gills and was shaking but I don't remember any of that. The anesthesiologist shot a few things into my IV and that was the last thing I remember. Then next thing I knew I was waking up in a different room and Troy was by my bed with a nurse on either side. I was so out of it...it felt like I was trying to wake up from the deepest, hardest sleep of my life. I was fighting to hard to be awake. I asked Troy how long I had been out and he just told me what time it was which meant nothing to me. Then the nurse said, "Now I'm going to just press down to check your abdomen." Holy cow...I have never felt such pain my life. I gripped the side rails of the bed as hard as I could. I'm not sure what else they did but it was just a few minutes and she had to do it again. That was the worst! Then they were wheeling me off again, this time to my post-partum room. Then I finally got to really see my baby.



So all in all, it was a long and tiring process but this made it all worth it. Elaine "Lainey" Caroline Benton was born at 11:43 p.m. on July 21st weighing 7 lbs 10 oz (yeah, the doctors were totally wrong about her size!) and measuring 20.5 inches long. She is absolutely beautiful and we are so in love with her. We have been taking lots of pictures and I'll of course be updating the blog with those. Right now though...I'm going to go enjoy my sleeping baby. :)

Just the two of us...

...but not for long! I am writing this on the eve of being admitted to the hospital to be induced. Actually, they will admit me tomorrow and probably break my water and see if I'll go into labor on my own and then actually induce me Wednesday morning.

I can't believe we are here. It seems like it has been so long and also that it's flown by. I can't believe I've been pregnant for nearly the last year. I can't believe I've grown a person inside me...and that now it will be coming out to live with us. So weird! I also pointed out to Troy that it is our last night at home as just a couple. I'm sure it'll never be the same but that we'll never be able to imagine what this has been like (before the baby).

I just wanted to take a moment to get this down so I won't forget. It's just so amazing to me...I'm about the experience the greatest thing in my life up to this point! (I said that to Troy at dinner and I think he was a little insulted at first but marrying someone - even someone you truly love - just can't compare to growing someone!)

So...thank you for all of the thoughts, prayers and well wishes. It really means a lot to me. And thanks for following my little preggo jounrney on this blog! It will now obviously become all about Little Miss Benton and I can't wait. :) We'll post pictures as soon as we can!

The Final Countdown

Has anyone else noticed that I usually update my blog on Thursdays? Not sure why that is. Anywho!

So...the big news for us is that by this time next week, our baby girl will be here! I went to the doctor yesterday and they said that I have not started towards labor but because the baby is rather large, they scheduled me to be admitted Tuesday night and induced on Wednesday. Which is exciting and weird all at the same time. To be honest, I'll be a little disappointed in my body that I couldn't get things going in a timely fashion on my own but I also don't want to let things go too long and then have no option but a c-section. I'm still holding out hope that labor will progress naturally and that I'll be in the hospital having this baby before my induction date but time will only tell!

In the meantime, I think I'm going to buy a Hanes XXL and write on it in permanent marker: "I'm due on Sunday. It's a girl. Yes, I'm very excited. No, we're not settled on the name yet." I went to Sephora today and was the main attraction. Every worker there asked me this litany of questions. I kind of wanted to call a meeting or make an announcement from the registers so I could answer everyone at once. One girl kept coming back over to talk to me about my pregnancy, plans, experiences, etc. All of that is fine, it's just a little funny. Plus, she was a little pushy (I mean, when you ask if we've picked out a name and I say, "Well, sort of...we've got one we like but we're still not 100%" you don't come back with "Oh...well, what is it?" Yeesh people.) The other thing I think is really funny is how everyone always asks if I'm excited. Do you really think I'm going to say, "Hell no! Have you SEEN a birthing video??" although I think that's going to be my next response. :)

Also, apparently I have the pregnancy glow. I thought it was just because it's 96 degrees and humid because it's July in NC but hey, if people think I'm glowing, I'll take it. It's a lot more flattering that just looking like a sweaty girl with facankles. I think my work sees through this though because they keep asking if I'm okay and hinting that I maybe look a little worn out. I guess toting around this extra 40+ pounds is starting to weigh on me (pun intended). By the end of the week, I just want to spread out on the couch and get a massage. Too bad my days usually end with my running some errands on the way home and then cooking. Oh well...I keep hoping gravity will be kind and get things moving.

So keep us in your thoughts & prayers that I will go into labor soon and that it will be smooth and problem-free. Baby will be here soon!!

Sweet Baby

Okay, I know I promised a slideshow of belly pics but then when I put it together, I was not sure that I was ready for that to be out on the interwebs! It's a lot of large bare belly. I might still...we'll see.

I know I've been a little absent from the blog. I had a couple of worrisome doctor's visits but everything's fine. It started with my 37 week appt where I was measuring 41 weeks. Um, yeah. I have always been concerned that she would be a large baby because I was (I weighed 10 lbs, 7 oz...go ahead, pick your chin up) and it was suspected that my Mom had undiagnosed gestational diabetes. So this is something I've brought up repeatedly but my doctors have never seemed very concerned. After all, my 25 week glucose test was fine. But last week they were a bit surprised by this and decided I should go back for another ultrasound to get an idea of how big she is. Wednesday I went in for that appointment and they checked her and her measurements were kind of off. She was a bit misproportioned with her head measuring small and her abdomen measuring quite large. Needless to say, I was very concerned and upset.

They decided to send me to Duke Perinatal Consultants to get a more high-tech ultrasound just in case their measurements were wrong. After all, her head is now very low so it was hard to get a good angle. So we went this morning...and they were right. I was really upset but the doctor was great and explained that it's not so much that she has a small head (she's just petite) but that her stomach is really large. She said that this is usually an indication that the mother has had some sort of diabetes. Well, imagine that! I gave her the background on my mother's experience and how large I was and she was shocked that my doctor's office had not kept a better check. She was really surprised when I told her that on a few visits, I'd had elevated sugar in my urine. She said, "And they didn't check you again?!" Nope. Soo...the baby is fine and she said there's nothing to be concerned about but I feel terrible that I've been poisoning her with my peach milkshake infatuation. This also explains the facankles. So even though I'll be 39 weeks on Sunday and am so close to the end, I'm going to work really hard to cut back on my sugar to see if that helps any. I'm just relieved that she's healthy and fine...she'll just have a big belly at first. So now we're just waiting on her to decide to come out!!

July = Baby

I apologize for slacking off a bit in my blogging. To make it up to you, I plan to add a slideshow on here of the belly pics we've been taking weekly since finding out I was pregnant. It has really been interesting to watch my belly (and other things) grow! It's funny looking back...I thought I was so obviously pregnant around the beginning of my second trimester and now I look at the pics and it's like, "Oh, what a tiny little bump I had!" And then we get to 24 weeks...

Anywho...we've been busy getting the house together and washing baby things and just generally preparing ourselves for the fact that we will soon be bringing a tiny, helpless little person home. That just almost doesn't seem legal.

Now for the Holly & baby update. To put things into perspective for you, I'm typing this at work while wearing flip flops and with my feet propped up on an empty paper box under my desk. So needless to say, the recent boiling temps have been taking their toll on me. By the end of the day, my feet and ankles are huge. Troy has coined the term "facankles"...as in, not just cankles, but fat cankles. Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I also quit wearing my wedding bands a few weeks ago because if my hands would swell, it was awful trying to get them off and I didn't want to end up having to have them cut off or something. So now I look like a knocked up floozy with facankles.

Baby is still doing great...just getting crowded. She now does what I call her fish flop where it seems like she gets to frustrated at her lack of space that she does one mighty flailing to change position. It's pretty entertaining. :) And I still love when she pokes her little feet out. I can't wait to grab those little feet!

I go back to the doctor tomorrow morning so we'll see if there has been any progress from last week (where they said no dilating and they think she'll sit tight until sometime around her due date). I'll keep you posted!