First Baby Live-blog GO!

11:51 - We're here in the room, Amanda's hooked to an IV of Oxytocin and we're rolling along. I'd say she's been medicated now for about two and a half hours, and she's doing great. The contractions are definitely setting in, and they seem painful, but she giving the ol' natural birth thing a try (in terms of painkillers). I hope that she's ale to get through that way, since she seems to want to, but we're not by any means aginast the use of modern medicine. We'll see how it goes.

Current distractions: Leaning over the birthing ball and listening to "Don't Change Your Plans" by Ben Folds 5.

12:05 - There's some kind of incessant beeping going on. It's very loud and seems to be getting faster. Not like a "your heart is beating" bepp, but a "the elevator door is opening" beep. Hmm.

Now: Uncle Tupelo - Sandusky

12:10 - It was the IV machine. Low batteries.

1:08 - Amanda seems to have either developed a greater pain tolerance or the contractions aren't quite as bad. She got some sleep while I crammed a Quizno's(tm) Italian sub in my mouth down in the cafeteria, deciding to eat a big lunch in hopes that I'd be busy at dinnertime. Mom, Ashley, and Dad (whose flight home was cancelled after midnight last night) are here now, and it's a big pow-wow in the L&D room. Thanks for the comments, and keep them coming! I like to think Amanda feeds off the vibes.

On another note, this room is pretty sweet. Way nicer than the room we'll be in after the baby's born.

1:27 - Dilated 4cm! Progess! The baby will fly out any minute now. Or hour. Day?

2:10 - Here we are, two to three hours after we usually eat lunch, and Amanda's starting to show signs of hunger. They say that she's only allowed clear liquids and ice, but wow. It seems to me that fuel would be important on a day like today. Apperently, there was a study done in the 1950's that showed that women who required anesthesia during labor and delivery and who experience nausea from the anesthesia have of small chance of aspirating and then choking on any food they've eaten. Because of this study, hospitals are very wary of allowig women to eat, for liability reasons. Whatever.

I've been sneaking her bites of granola bars and Starburst, and have offered to go get her some Waffle Fries from downstairs. She declined the fries with a mild look of disgust, but we'll see how she feels in a few hours.

2:48 - The doctors just came in for another exam and decided to manually rupture the amniotic sac to see if they could get things going. Apparently Jude's head is corking up the cervix, so it was kinda difficult, but they were successful and now there's no turning back. The doctors said the pain will increase now, and Amanda just told me I may need to start censoring things she'll say. I'll just use my own judgment.

This day is going so much faster than I imagined it would. I expected a long, draining experience, but it's really been fast and progressive. I'm really glad things are moving along, albeit slowly, and am getting more and more excited.

We took bets on time, weight, and length.

Amy: 9:37, 8lbs8oz, 21.75 in.
Jon: 6:15, 8lbs10oz, 21 in.
Amanda: 7pm, 8lbs8oz, 21 in.
Ashley: 7:30, 8lbs7oz, 21 in.
Jan: 6:35, 8lbs10oz, 20.5in.

Winner gets to hold the baby.

3:02 - Amy also bets it's a boy.

4:00 - The contractions are coming on pretty strong and fast now. of course, she's still hooked up to the Petocin, so we'll see if that's the cause or if her body has taken over, but the doctors seem to think that she's moving along well. It's getting harder for her, but she's doing great. We're still laughing and making jokes, and she's being wonderful.

During her last contraction, she did the Apache dance.

4:30 - Contractions even stronger, she decided she wants the music back on.

4:45 - The music has really helped set a calm serene mood for this set of contractions. At this point she's sitting on the birthing ball, which removes pressure from her back while still allowing gravity to do its thing. She's focusing and breathing through the contractions and is being a champ. She's pretty zen, if zen wore a green gown.

We're a little concerned that the doctors haven't been in in quite a while and I'm wondering about effacement and dilation at this point.

Music: Guster, Hang on and Neko Case, Star Witness

5:48 - We've had a bit of a setback. The doctors just came in and she's no more dilated than she was the last time they checked a few hours ago. They decided to insert a uterine monitor to determine the strength of the contractions from the inside. The downside of that is that she has to stay on the bed, where the pain is much worse. The anesthesiologist is on his way, and she's going to talk about different options. The doctors think we might be in for a long night, unfortunately. I hate to see her so sick with pain. Hopefully this can start progressing.

7:36 - The last couple of hours have involved a visit with the anesthesiologist, an epidural administration, and a quick panic when her BP dropped to 79/43. After some smelling salts and a shot of epinephrine, she's stable and feeling great. I know she wanted to do it naturally, but everything we've heard about Pitocin is that the contractions are so strong that it's almost impossible to go without some sort of pain meds. Unfortunately, the last cervical exam about an hour ago showed no more dilation, so it feels like we're kinda stuck.

All told, I'm pretty upset. i never felt like the induction was necessary, since Amanda had a late ovulation, we're only a week past the due date, and the non-stress test showed a healthy placenta. We felt pressured to have it, and although we know we agreed to it, I'm starting to feel like her body was just not ready to deliver this baby. The artificial contractions brought on by the induction are just pain for something that's not ready to happen yet. I know the baby's going to be healthy, and that Amanda's going to be fine, and that we won't care in a few hours after Jude is born, but that doesn't change how I feel right now.

All that said, we're here, she's feeling great, and I'm about to eat dinner. We're going to have a baby before we go to sleep tonight, and that's awesome. We're going to stay positive and enjoy each others company (and try not to think about the c-word).

8:21 - Well, we know why the pain was so bad earlier. The baby is "sunny side up," as they say. He's head-down, which is good, but also facing up, which is bad. She's no more effaced than at 3:00 this afternoon, and she's still only dilated 5cm. Spirits are cautiously high in the room though, since Amanda's feeling good and chatty. I can't help but feel a could though, since it's progressing so slowly. I'm excited and wary, i guess. I can't stress enough how cool Amanda is being. She's got tubes in, tubes out, monitors, and a revealing gown, and is still the same old Amanda.

9:37 - We've passed the 12-hour mark! No news yet on any progress. Chris, Ashley and I entertained Amanda with high school forensics pieces. Chris and I did a Duo, then Ashley did Poetry, then an Impromptu by Chris, then an Extemp by me. We were really good. We totally would have won the room.

10:24 - 5.5cm, 50% effaced, station -3. In other words, he's still pretty comfortable. He is starting to flip over a little, which is nice. We're changing his expected birthdate to Friday, July 25.

11:12 p.m. - Amanda here. I'm kinda bored because I'm on my knees in bed leaned over on the birthing ball for support. Because Jude is "sunny side up," we're trying to turn him over in this position. I'm as comfortable as one can be when bent over a ball, and with the moms and Jon here the mood is relaxed and supportive. We are all getting really sleepy, but it's going to be a long night. I'm trying to just relax, and while I can't sleep, I can get very relaxed. After all of these hours here with minimal dilation, I'm glad I went for the epi. It wasn't the plan, but plans change and back labor and no dilation for 14 hours is good cause.

11:50 pm - The doc came in and told us to get some sleep, which is discouraging since it means she doesn't think we should expect anything for a while. Of course, just as we settle in, Amanda's anesthesia starts to wear off on the right side of her body, so sleeping isn't an option right now. The anesthesiologist is finishing another epidural and then he'll be here to re-administer. Hopefully it'll be soon, since we could all use some rest.

2:46 am - Amanda is dilated "a good 6," according to our current nurse. We've been sleeping off and on for the last few hours, and we're hoping something can happen by 7 or so. The current concern is that her foot is pretty swollen, and we're not sure why. I told her it's definitely gout.

3:08 am - moving along fast now...8cm a half hour ago, 9cm now....maybe a baby before dawn!

3:20 am - The room is set up for delivery, so hopefully this is the last post before the big one. Thanks so much for all your comments. They really helped Amanda cope with this LONG day. Cross your fingers for a safe delivery!

4:49 am - No baby yet. No pushing yet. They turned off the epidural so her pushes can be stronger, better-timed, and overall more effective. We've been waiting for the feeling to come back for a while now. She's definitely feeling the contractions again, but still no pushing. Every time I leave the room, there's a development. I go to the bathroom, she dilates. I go get a drink, the doctor does an exam, etc. We've decided that I should go home and get some more pants (since I packed everything but pants), and the baby will be here when I get back. Also: getting loopy. Haven't pulled an all-nighter since some time in high school. That's right, not even college.

6:29 am - Jude came at 6:05, there were complications. He had the cord around his neck and wasn't breathing. The placenta had also started to seperate from the uterus too early. They had to do an emergency forceps extraction, since there was no time for an emergency C-section. Amanda is ok, despite stitches and a liquid diet for a couple weeks. Jude is in the NICU, the doctors are vague about any prognosis. Shock, for now.



10:17 am - I've seen Jude, and he's breathing and his heart is beating. His skin is the right color now, versus his pale white at birth. His motor reflexes aren't quite right, and his neuro scans are still abnormal, but they say they may still correct themselves. We do know he's going to live, which I can't even express. They're monitoring him, since he's at risk for seziures and liver or kidney problems. Prognosis is anywhere from perfectly normal to permanent brain trauma. We'll just have to see. Thank you all so much for your well-wishes, thoughts, and prayers, and we will keep you updated.



Amanda had a rough go of it, having to get an episiotomy of the most major kind. She's not feeling great, but she's about to see her baby for the first time, which will help immensely.