The Couch Family: Jacob Hugh couch birth story

My Labor Story

The day that we brought Jacob Hugh Couch into the world. I was due to deliver on May 14th 2007 but that day came and went with no sign of impending labor the doctor scheduled me for an induction on May 22, 2007 to arrive at the hospital at 6:30am. I was not to pleased about this but I was ready to have this baby. The doctor had told me that there was a risk with inductions on first time moms who have not begun labor at all, there was a high chance of me being in labor for a long time and a high possibility of a c-section. On the day before the induction my mother and I were to clean the house so it would be already for me to go to the hospital the next day. David was planning on finishing up the bathroom that we had been remodeling. We got an early start to what we knew was going to be alot of work, I really got into it from scrubbing the floors to the fans! Later that day we had planned to go to one last trip to Outback before the baby came ( I was craving cheese fries). After finishing all of our work we were ready for a break so we headed to Moes for a BIG burrito ( I was to be NPO after midnight) after that we stopped to get a few things from Lowes. As I was walking into Lowes I got a horrible cramp in my abdomen, I had to stop right in the middle of the street, I blew it off as to we had been working all day. We got home and sat down to eat our burritos at this point I had been cramping alot. At lunch we looked at each other and said "So how far apart are those things (contractions) suppose to be?" We both addmitted we did not remember. But we thought, maybe you are in labor? So we went and dug out the book from childbirth class and started to read (we should have done that before now!) OK we need to time from beginning to start of next one. We began timing and imagine that, I was regular every five minutes. We continued timing as they got stronger right there on the couch they began to be painful and they began to get closer together. After about three hours David decides to call the doctor. Th doctor calls back and says you better come in. I insist on taking a shower (that is the one thing I have been told to do defintely before heading off, so I decide to listen) as David hurries me along half way through the shower I decide maybe this was not the smartest move as I double over in pain. The bag is already packed and we get in the car and off we go. Ofcourse I go into labor during5:00 traffic, We get to the hospital and check in at about 5:30pm. They take me back to the triage room and hook me up to the monitors my heart is racing so fast. I ask myself has the day finally come? We hear the baby's heart beat and then the nurse checks me. My cervix has finally softened but I am only one centimeter dialated. They call the doctor since I am due to be induced in the morning he wants me to stay there. They take me to a room to get me settled in. By this time it is shift change so the nurse takes my vitals starts my IV and hands me off to the next nurse. I can not remember her name but she was so nice and helpful. She informed me of everything that was going on. Dr.Rebenack came in and told us that he was going to give me a little potocin drip because I would probablly be in labor all night and he was going to head home and monitor me from there.

A few hours into it about 7:45pm the nurse checks me and I am dilated to 2 or 3 I can not remember exactly. At this point I am starting to be in alot of pain so she asks if I would like my epidural? I said "YES". The doctor comes to administer it I am now having regular painful contractions. So I find it hard to stay still while getting a needle in my back. The first try fails, so he must attempt again. The second try was successful. I begin to feel relief watching my contractions on the monitor as they come regularly, but I feel nothing. At first I was completely numb but then I started getting a little bit of feeling in my legs at this point the nurse checked me and I was dilated to three centimeters. So I am still comfortable and a few visitors drop by (Sheila, Tina and my parents have arrived for the long night). About an hour later the RN checks me and I am now a whooping 6 centimeters, in just one hour 4 centimeters. So they start getting things ready and the RN tells me to lay on my left side, thats when the pain got strong and I begin complaining that I can not handle it. So the Rn decides to check me again since I am in so much pain I am now at 10 centimeters and the baby is on his way out fast. So they call the OB back in to the hospital it is now around 11:00pm. I tel the RN that I feel him comming out quickly, she calls the Dr in and I began pushing at 12:00am. It is alot of work and very painful (even with the epidural) I push for only about 20mins before I can see his head and at 12:30am Jacob Hugh Couch

comes into the world and the doctor is stunned that Jacob is 22 inches long and 10.1 pds, he said that he had no idea that he would be that big (and he apologized). I was very overwhelmed. When I held him though I felt very proud and scared all at one time. The night went by so fast, but the memories will be with David and I forever. Jacob will always be are first born son.