Length: 54.6cm (21.5in)
Weight: 4.4kg (9 lbs 12oz)
It seems that Krista is fated to prairie-style births and may never enjoy the pain-eliminating fruits of modern medicine. As with "Ready, Set, Go!" Emma and "Press Eject to Deliver" Kate, Peter decided not to do any sightseeing on his trip down the birth canal.
It all started with such promise. Six days prior, after about a month of Braxton-Hicks contractions, Krista finally began having some real contractions. After a quick consultation with the doctor, we hopped in the car to Albany Med and arrived with what we hoped was plenty of time. An exam showed her to be at 3cm, but the baby was still very high. She was hooked to an IV, and blood work was quickly done, so it looked like she might finally be able to enjoy her long sought after epidural after all!
The contractions continued for hours, sometimes fairly intense, ranging from 2 to 8 minutes apart, but they never seemed to settle into a solid rhythm. After about six hours of this, she was still at 3cm, so they sent her home.
The contractions did eventually subside later that evening, although Krista would continue to have occasional ones over the coming days. The ambiguity of it all caused Krista to remark "I wish my water would break so we would just know when to go."
Be careful what you wish for!
| Monday evening | Krista starts having more regular contractions, between five and ten minutes apart, but not particularly intense. Krista and Dave go to bed, although Krista warns Dave that something may be starting. | Tuesday 1:40am | Krista's water breaks spectacularly! She shouts "My water broke!" and Dave is catapulted upright, wide eyed, and running in circles but still mostly asleep. |
| 1:48am | After doing some minimal cleanup, throwing on clothes and calling the doctor, we leave the driveway. Krista tells Dave to go fast. Dave does as he is told. |
| 2:15am | Arrive at Albany Med. Krista is wheeled up to Labor and Delivery and the paperwork, history-taking and other administrative stuff starts. |
| 2:30am | IV is started, exam shows her to be at 5cm. The resident declares that she will have enough time for an epidural and that the nurse anesthetist is on his way. Contractions getting hard and frequent, with heavy back labor. |
| 2:40am | Krista gets some Stadol in her IV, but it doesn't really do much. Contractions are about a minute or two apart. The NA takes her history again. While he chats, her unseen cervix is zooming open like a camera F-stop. |
| 2:50am | As the NA leaves the room to get his kit, Krista announces the urge to push. Everyone hustles to get into position. No epidurals today ... |
| next 19 minutes | The tempo settles down a little with pushes interspersed by one minute breaks. Being a full two pounds larger than either Emma or Kate, Peter needs more effort to move him on his way. |
| 3:09am | Peter emerges! Krista is relieved. |
| 3:20am | Krista's OB arrives, but unlike her OB from the previous two, he has a slower car and misses the placenta, getting neither the score nor the assist. |
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