Caleb's birth!

Saturday, Jan. 26, 2008

My labor started around 9pm after a day of shopping. We waited at home until the contractions were 4-6 minutes apart. I was able to shower and eat a sandwich before the midwife advised us to make our way to the hospital. The car ride was awful! I was having back labor and not being able to walk or sway made it worse. By the time I was brought back to be triaged, the contractions were every 3 minutes and I was glad to hear I was 4 cm. I got an IV, bloodwork drawn, and we walked the halls to my room. Around 5:30 am, I decided to ask the nurse for the epidural. The contractions were on top of each other and swaying was no longer helping. By 6:15, I was resting from the pain relief. The numb feeling was weird and I couldn't really relax enough to fall asleep. By 7am, I was 6-7 cm and we watched the sunrise through our big window. It was a surreal feeling to know in a few hours we would meet our son! We had phoned all of our family several times and were waiting for them to arrive. Around 8 am, I was 8 cm and the nurse brought in the delivery cart. The midwife was on her way. Our family finally arrived and my mom and Judy took their positions in the room! The midwife came and checked me/ broke my water around 9 or 10. I was then completely dilated. My sisters came in and everyone was anxiously waiting at this point. I started pushing around 10:30 and finally at 11:44 am, Caleb Nathaniel Cripe made is debut! He was wide awake and looking around. They placed him on my chest right away and I just started crying with relief and joy. He weighed in at 6 lb 12 oz and was 20 inches long. He had a beautiful head of dark brown hair and pink cheeks! We were instantly in love with the tiny boy that we had just met.