Our New Arrival

Introducing Weston Thomas Murray. He was born on May 9th at 4:22 am. He weighed 6 lbs 6 oz and was 20 inches long.

If you want all the details, read on. If not, skip to the last paragraph.

I had been having "false labor" (nothing false about the pain) since Sunday night. Finally, by Thursday, my contractions started becoming regular and it was time to go in. My Mom was already here, so Jason and I headed to the hospital.

Now, I need to backtrack for a moment. Early on in this pregnancy, I got the idea in my head that I wanted to try to go natural with this birth. If this was going to be my last pregnancy, I didn't want to have gone through them all without ever knowing what it was like to try it unmedciated. I may of been crazy, but I decided then that's what I wanted to do. I shared my thoughts with my nurse midwife, and she arranged to have a couple of Doulas (child birthing coaches or helpers) to come to my birth. They were just starting to do this professionally, so they offered their services for free instead of the usual $400 fee.

Back to the hospital. I was dilated to a 3 when I arrived. I was hopeful that it would go fast. It took me about another 3 hours to get to a 4. With my other births, by the time I got to a 4 and had my epidural, I had the baby here in an hour. So, I fully expected to go quick at this point. The thing I hadn't considered, was that I always had my water broken after my epidural, which no doubt sped things up.

My midwife was unavailable all night due to other births, so I was very glad that I had the Doulas and Jason. They made a great team. Jason put pressure on my back during each contraction and they took turns rubbing my hands and feet and helping me to relax. There was a nice jetted tub in my room, so I took advantage of that for several hours. They put essential oils in the tub and helped me to stay calm and relaxed. They were lifesavers.

Finally, by about 4am, Laurie, my midwife, was done with all the other deliveries. I had been at a 7 for quite some time. She thought I would go really fast if she broke my water. She was right. Within minutes of her breaking it, I was pushing. Although she first took a few minutes to try to turn the baby (he was posterior). A few minutes later he was born.

I've thought a lot about the difference between my births and what I liked better. In my own opinion, I've formed a list of pros and cons.

Pros of epidural:

An almost pain free birth

Cons of epidural:

Waiting for the numb feeling to wear off

Having to have an IV and being swollen because of it

Pain for several months at the injection site

Fear of something being put into my spine.

Pros of Natural:

No IV

No numbness

More husband involvement

Feeling of accomplishment

Quicker recovery

Cons of Natural:

Unspeakable pain

I was pretty sure I was going to die (for about 5 minutes)

The pain

I felt out of control (for about 5 minutes)

The pain

The pain

The Pain

So, If I had this birth to do again, would I do it the same? Yes. If I ever give birth again, would I do it the same? I think it's a little too soon to give an objective answer to that question. At this point, I'm just glad that it's over and that we have a precious new addition to our family. The boys all think he's pretty cool, even Ben, although it will be a full time job to keep Weston safe from him.