HE'S HERE!!!

James Schoville Dalton arrived into the world at 4:09 am on August 7! He weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces, and was measured at 22 inches long, though our pediatrician measured him at 20 and three quarters.

The birthing process was incredible - something I can only try to describe with words, but the amazing experience will not be done justice.

On Friday, August 6, I woke up to some contractions that felt different from the usual Braxton Hicks, so I began to time them, and they were five minutes apart for over an hour, an indication that labor has begun. Jimmy was at work, so I called him to tell him to get in the car and start heading north to Alexandria - my parents and I would meet him there.

When we got the hospital around 1:30, the doctor, Dr. Siegel, checked me and I was only at 2 centimeters and 90 percent effaced, but he was confident that I was beginning to dilate quickly and labor was impending. He said it could be twelve hours or it could be Sunday, but that I was definitely on a "short leash". However, hat leash was just not short enough to keep me admitted, so at 3:00 in the afternoon, back to southern Maryland we reluctantly went. As we drove back, my contractions started getting even stronger, and we all thought it was pretty crazy to be spending so much time in traveling in the car while I was in labor.

I'm gonna have to get back to you regarding how we spent the rest of our time at home. The rest of the night, in fact, is a little hazy and surreal. I do remember making a phone call to the on-call doctor, Dr. Salgado, asking her when I should come back up, as the contractions were getting more and more painful. She asked if I wanted an epidural, and I told her I was unsure. She said it's better to spend more time at home if an epidural is not in the picture. Understandable, but, Lady, I live an hour and fifteen minutes away. She told me to call her again when my pain level was a seven on a scale of one to ten. I told her I was at a five, but what did I know? I felt I needed to know what a ten felt like in order to accurately rate the pain! And, in retrospect, I can now say I was more likely at a three on that scale. Yes, childbirth hurts.

At any rate on the pain scale, my parents, Jimmy, and I knew we would be going back to the hospital that night, so they rested and watched movies as I endured contractions that were growing more intense each minute. Around 10 pm, when I was having trouble talking through them and was buckled over with each one, my mom said, from personal experience, "Okay, it's time to go." And it's a good thing we did.

We arrived at the hospital on 11:30 pm, and the nurses there immediately knew I was in labor. I was checked right away, during which I was thinking of some of the Baby Story episodes in which the women were writhing in agonizing pain only to hear they were one or two centimeters dilated. All I could do was just pray that the pain I was feeling was justified and, luckily, it was. The nurse announced that I was between six and seven centimeters dilated.

It was at this point we were introduced to our amazing, wonderful, incredible, can't-say-enough-good-things-about-her nurse who was in attendance for the delivery. Karah came in with her bandana around her head, laid-back attitude, and said she was the lucky one who would be with us for the birth. Immediately, she made us feel like we had known her for years and had shared many a weekend beers on outdoor patios. My type of gal.

Karah asked, even before we went to the delivery room, whether or not I wanted an epidural. I told her, "I've made it this far...I think I'm good." And then I think I followed that with, "Well, how much worse is it going to get?" She was frank when she said it would get worse, but, she was confident, based on how I was already handling the pain, that I could do it without. So we went without. And I have to say, I'm pretty proud of myself, and I have no regrets. Would I do it again? Probably, although I do think labor would probably be a little bit more fun with an epidural (for everyone!). The way I see it, though, is that four and a half hours (which is how long we were in the delivery room) is a very manageable amount of time to be in the worse pain of your life. If the labor would have progressed more slowly, I may have opted for the drugs.

Once in the labor and delivery room, my mom, dad, Jimmy, Karah, and I all "hung out" for a few hours - mainly, they were in charge of a few duties to help make me more comfortable, including fanning me, cooling me with a wet cloth, rubbing me down when I needed it, and getting their hands "the f&$* off me" during contractions, though I was slighlty more civilized about it. Still, Jimmy has never heard, "Don't touch me!" so much in his life. Poor guy - he handled it like a champ, though.

Karah constantly reassured me I was a freaking rockstar, and that I made childbirth look easy. I'm pretty sure my head grew about five times its size due to her praise about how amazing I was doing - it was like I labored better than anyone EVER had in the entire history of the world. And Karah made it known how much fun and how easy I was making her shift. If it weren't for the pain, I'm pretty sure we would have just hung out and partied all night long, because, as she often reiterated, everything was "groovy." Anyway, I can't gush enough about this woman. She deserves a freaking award, and apparently, so do I for being the Greatest Child-Rearing Woman in the History of Planet Earth. Duh.

Dr. Salgado came in a couple of times to check me, and they hooked me up to the IV because there was a small chance I was going to have to have a C-section (when is there not?). Apparently, I was dilating rapidly, but James' head was not descending. They decided to go ahead and break my water with the risk that the umbilical cord would come out. Thankfully, the breaking of the bag went beautifully, and shortly after, his head began to descend.

Around 1:30 or 2:00, Karah announced we could start to practice pushing. At this point, the contractions were quite painful, and it actually felt "good" to push. For a little bit. After awhile, my contractions started coming one right after the other, with literally no break in between them, and James' heartbeat began to fall with the stress. Karah made the call to go ahead and give me a shot to slow down the contractions, which ended up working well (they slowed down to about a minute or two apart, rather than back to back - geez, thanks) and James' heart rate stabilized.

Finally, Karah told us it was time to call in Dr. Salgado. Before I knew it, she was at the foot of the bed, Karah and Jimmy were holding my legs back, my mom was standing in the corner with tears in her eyes and her hands over her mouth, my dad was quietly and calmly sitting near my head, and I was pushing a child out of me. Now, let me digress for just a moment. Most women I have talked to about childbirth say, "You forget the pain." I'm gonna have to say I disagree. I don't think I will ever forget the physical sensations of bringing my son into the world (thanks to not having the epidural, as well, I'm sure) and, in a way, I'm okay with that. It was truly the most amazing experience of my life. I won't get into specifics, but, I mean, I felt EVERYTHING. And it's pretty incredible how your body just kind of takes over at a certain point. Yes, I did a lot of work to get him out (I mean, my biceps HURT the next day from holding my own freaking legs up) but my body also just took charge with every push. I know that is kind of hard to understand, but I was very surprised by the sensation and want to mention it in the event that I actually do forget one day.

One of the concerns the doctors had regarding the baby's estimated weight was the chance of Shoulder Dystocia, which is when the baby's shoulder gets stuck in the mother's pubic bone. It can be a very serious situation if not resolved almost immediately. This indeed did happen during delivery, but thanks to a great doctor, I never would have known had she not told the nurse afterward for documentation. The problem was resolved beautifully, and thank God, because it CAN lead to brain damage or worse for the baby. And James' umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, as well, but she also took care of that immediately (and without me knowing, I think). It took James a few minutes to really give a good cry (the nurses had to literally piss him off to get it out of him) which was a little bit nervewracking, but he was great, just "a little stunned" according to the doctor. Um, totally understandable, Little Dude ... you just became a human.

The labor really couldn't have gone more smoothly, and I feel blessed to have gotten the opportunity to bring a person into the world. We are so happy to finally have him here. He really is a miracle, and I thank God every day for giving us a perfectly healthy little man. We can't stop kissing him. No one could have prepared us for the change and hard work parenthood brings, but we are loving growing into our new roles.

I will try to continue to keep up with this blog, though surely the entries will be fewer and farther in between for awhile. Keep checking back for updates on the Dalton family of three, and thanks so much for all your support, prayers, and well wishes. We are so appreciative!