You may have already heard the news on social media, but if not, our baby boy is here!!! Bensen was born Sunday, April 19th at 1:32 am. He weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces and is 18.5" long. His hand is always next to his face, he sticks his little bum out and stretches his feet just like he did while he was inside me, he loves to make random noises all day long and he's a great sleeper! He has so much hair, makes the cutest little pouty faces and has perfectly squishable cheeks. Bensen is a great baby and we are so blessed to have him in our lives!
You may have already heard the news on social media, but if not, our baby boy is here!!! Bensen was born Sunday, April 19th at 1:32 am. He weighed 6 pounds 2 ounces and is 18.5″ long. His hand is always next to his face, he sticks his little bum out and stretches his feet just like he did while he was inside me, he loves to make random noises all day long and he’s a great sleeper! He has so much hair, makes the cutest little pouty faces and has perfectly squishable cheeks. Bensen is a great baby and we are so blessed to have him in our lives!
Bensen’s Birth Story According to Joe
Joe read his version of the birth to me when he was writing an e-mail to his brother who is on an LDS mission last night. It was so perfect that I asked him if I could share it as part of this blog post.
The birth was uneventful in the aspect that Amberly’s body is a birthing machine. She was like, “Hey, we are having a baby tonight.” I was like, “Naw, you just need to poop.” Then she calmly packed and asked me to put it in the car. We drove to Kristi’s house and gave her a key so she could help us out with Howard and went to the hospital. Basically put in the epidural and then the baby pooped out. Amberly literally said, “that was easy” after Bensen basically self ejected.
Not only was Joe an awesome partner to have by my side during labor and so willing to do things that he said he would never do when I gave birth, but he has been so helpful afterward as well. I have an IV in because I’m on antibiotics for a fever that I had after giving birth and it makes things a little more difficult. He unplugs my IV and helps me to the bathroom, plugs it back in and helps me get comfortable, goes everywhere with Bensen and takes his picture and has been great help while we’ve been trying to get Bensen used to breastfeeding. Love in our relationship definitely isn’t romantic and magical right now but I’ve never loved Joe more!!
Bensen’s Birth Story According to Amberly
I’ve been saying for the past week that if I could just have a week more before baby boy arrived, it would be perfect. I had so much going on with school and work and trying to get a few things finished up around our house. My to do lists definitely weren’t done, but all of the urgent and important things had been finished. I even got my hair done, had a pedicure and made it to my last baby shower. We ran into a friend at Target on Saturday afternoon and when they asked me if I was ready for him to come, I said, “He can come any time he wants now, but I’m fine if he waits.” I had the things out of the way that would have caused me stress if he’d come before they were done, but I had plenty to keep me busy if he decided to stay in past his due date.
Saturday afternoon after I got home from my baby shower and grocery shopping, I put stuff away and cleaned a few things around the house. When I finally sat down, I noticed that my contractions were more frequent and intense than normal, so I sent Joe a text to warn him that we were most likely having a baby before the end of the night. His response was, “Nah, you probably just need to poop.” When he got home from work, I was packing the stuff that we use on a daily basis into my bag and Joe was in major denial. He kept telling me that I wasn’t complaining enough for it to be real.
When we got to the hospital, I was still dilated to a 4 and completely thinned out, but they thought my water might be leaking. As they were checking some other things and recording vitals, Bensen kicked the side of my stomach, we heard it on the heart monitor and when she went to check me again because I told her it felt like more than a leak, she moved his head to the side and my water broke. Because of how quickly I was progressing, they told me that if I wanted an epidural, I should get one then. I was in enough pain at that point that I was all for that and I felt so much better once I got it. When they checked me after I had my epidural, I was dilated to a 5 and they told me that I should plan on pushing in about three hours or so.
Joe and I watched an episode of a show on Netflix and then we decided to take a nap. A few minutes into my nap, the contractions started getting harder and more uncomfortable so I decided to give myself more medicine with my epidural push button. The doctor told me that when I did that, I should let the nurses know because usually more discomfort meant that I was progressing. When my nurse came in to check me she told me that I was fully dilated and it was time to push. No nap for me. I started pushing around 12:30 am and Bensen was born at 1:32 am, we had no complications at all. It was over before I even felt like I’d settled into the hospital.
I know a lot of people opt for natural birth these days or try to last as long as possible before they get an epidural, and I thought that maybe I would try to see how far I could go without one, which I guess I kind of did because I was at the point where I wouldn’t have been able to get one if I waited much longer. After my experience, I am a big fan of epidurals! I had just enough medication to numb the pain, but I could still move my legs and feel the pressure that I needed to feel. I was able to focus on pushing and getting that baby out of there without being distracted by the pain and breathing through each contraction like I had been right after my water broke. By the time they moved me to my room after delivery, I was able to stand just fine and I could feel my entire body, but I wasn’t in too much pain either. I was able to enjoy my skin to skin time with Bensen and let the doctors do their post postpartum job without it causing me any discomfort. I was very grateful for my epidural and it was because of my epidural that I was able to tell Joe, “that was easy” after giving birth.
We’ve both been really tired (Bensen just sleeps and sleeps and sleeps) because we didn’t get to sleep until about 5:30 Sunday morning and were up before 8, with only a couple of short naps throughout the day, but we’re a happy little family! Bensen is the best little boy and I love watching Joe interact with him. He really loves his alien baby. I was so proud of him for changing his first diaper yesterday, especially when he just thought it was wet and it turned out to be messy as well and then Bensen started throwing up in the middle of his changing. Joe had a minor stressful moment, but by the time the nurse came in to help him out, he had it under control. He’s a natural at this daddy thing!
I love my little family and can’t wait to take Bensen home to meet Howie and start living our lives with this tiny human in them!