Owen Clarence Lockhart: The Birth

Where has the day gone? It is now 8 o'clock and I have yet to begin my post for the 7 day 7 post challenge over at Conversion Diary with Jennifer. 

And I have no idea what I want to share with you guys today. So after referring back to that topics I brainstormed, I decided to type out Owen's birth story.  So here we go.

39 weeks with Owen

On March 2nd, 2009 with snow on the ground, I was three days past my due date, but I didn't care.  Chris was at Basic Combat Training so I had convinced myself the longer I was pregnant the younger our son would be when he met his dad.  I remember being really tired and taking a nap.  I hadn't heard from Chris in a while so I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up to a phone call from him around 7:30pm.  He told me how he had won a 20 minute phone call by answering a question correctly.  I was a little relieved to hear from him.  I didn't know what the future held.  Giving birth, at the time, seemed a little frightening.  Really it was the fear of the unknown.  How painful was it??  That 20 minute conversation was enough to push down some of the anxiety.  Once we said our goodbyes I went to the kitchen, filled up my "ice cup" for the trillionth time, returned to my room to write a letter to Chris as I had done every night since he left.  Around 11 o'clock I rolled over in the bed to go back to sleep.  At 11:30 felt the first of many contractions.

I began timing them.  The were 10-20 minutes apart and not too painful.  I decided I probably needed some sleep. At 4:00 am I woke up to a stronger contraction. I timed them again.  Still about 10 minutes apart and since I was starting to feel uncomfortable I decided to fill the bath tub.  The warm water helped with the discomfort.  I would refill the tub when the water would become cold.  I did this until about 6:30.  I started timing them again.  From 6:30 to 7:30 the contractions went from 5 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart.  They were lasting for about a minute and were starting to take my breath away.  I woke up my mom and told her that it was going to be today and then I called Dr. Dorn.  After speaking to me he told me to head to the hospital.  We get to the hospital and as they are getting me into the system my mom french braided my hair on either side so no loss strands would annoy me.  At about 9:30 I was taken up to Labor and Delivery.

I put on a gown and was check. I was dilated at 4.5 cm.  The nurse informed me that was pretty good for my first baby.  I continued to walk and rock and sway through my contraction, but the back labor was not ceasing and my exhaustion was taking its toll.  I could not relax between contraction anymore.  The thought of a needle in my spin scared me, but something had to give.  When the nurse came in to check me again I was at 7 cm and I spoke with her about some kind of relief.  I really don't know the name, but it was a muscle relaxer.  It was just enough.  I could still feel my contraction but it took the edge off my back between them.  I was actually able to get some sleep.  I had various visitors my mom, my dad, my mother-in-law, my sister, and my friend Libby.  My mom, my mother-in-law and Libby remained in the room to make sure my needs were met.  My dilation continued to 8.5 cm and stalled.  My water had not broke and they asked if I would like them to break at about 4:00pm they broke my water and my contractions became more intense.  I quickly became fully dilated and was given the go to push if I felt like I needed to push.

So I pushed, and I pushed and I pushed.

They brought out a mirror so I could watch, but if you know me...I don't handle medical situations very well.  I don't know if I was trying to be polite, but I never mentioned that I preferred not to watch.  So the mirror stayed.  I continued to push until everyone around me told me to look down.  Owen was halfway out and I could see his swollen face covered in goo.  At 6:06 pm with one final push he was here.  They laid him on my belly for a while before cutting the cord.  Everyone was eager to measure him since he was quite large. Eventually he was taken to the other side of the room as I was being stitched up.

March 3, 2009 at 6:06 pm 10lbs 6 oz 22 in

He was 10 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches long with a powerful set of lungs.  And he was AWESOME.  I was in love with him from the moment I knew I was pregnant.

I devoured my cold food.  And was left wanting more.  I was moved to my room.  I was really weak and could not walk without assistance.  I later found out I lost three time the amount of blood that I should have lost.  I had some visitors who came and went.  My adrenaline was wearing off, but I was waiting for a call from Chris.  I was tired and Chris was tired.  But we were filled with joy. We couldn't believe he was here. We were now a family of three.

Family Day at BCT March 25, 2009

Amelia's birth story.
Simon's birth story.
Becket's birth story.