After being in the hospital for about an hour, the nurse asked if I wanted an epidural now or later. The contractions were definitely picking up at this point so I said yes. I was really nervous about getting the epidural but it was pretty much painless and as soon as it took effect I was feeling great!
During the labor process, Calvin's heart rate kept dropping which was very concerning. The nurse put me on oxygen and kept making me switch what side I was lying on. They think his umbilical cord was getting pinched somehow and since my water had broken already there wasn't anything to cushion him. They were able to put fluid back around him and that seemed to help. The nurse said that there might be a possibility of an emergency c-section if it kept happening. I was getting a little scared and nervous at this point. But luckily the fluid helped and his heart rate was pretty stable during the rest of the process.
By around 1:30 it was time to start pushing but we had to wait till the doctor got there because he was in the middle of a c-section with another patient. He finally got there around 2pm and after 20 minutes of pushing, Calvin was born! Unfortunately during labor Calvin had pooped and during delivery he inhaled and swallowed the meconium. They had doctors there to take care of him right after he was born but they had to take him the NICU for a couple of hours to make sure everything was ok. The nurse laid him on my chest for about 15 seconds before they took him away.
Needless to say it was the longest wait till Calvin was finally released and I could actually hold my baby! Thankfully everything was ok with him, and he's been really healthy and happy since then! Cliff and I have really enjoyed our first couple of weeks of parenthood. It's definitely been more of a challenge than I thought, but it's been worth it! It's crazy to think that Calvin is only 11 days old but he has already changed so much since he was born. We love him lots and lots!!
