Baby Gino’s Birth Story

It’s been 5 weeks since our baby made his way into the world.  I’m so excited to be back to blogging and to share the details of his first few moments of life.

Full disclosure it’s taken me almost 3 weeks to write this post. While newborns sure do sleep a lot, I have quickly found out that I need to choose between eating, showering, OR napping while he sleeps.  However, I really wanted to take the time to write this post while it’s all still very fresh in my mind.  I feel like God gives mothers a bit of amnesia, because would anyone really have another baby if we so vividly remembered ALL the details?!

Gino Ernesto Karl was born on Friday, April 13th at 10:12 AM weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 20 inches long.

Here is my birth story….

Gino’s Birth Story

I went into labor with Gino on the evening of Friday, April 13th, just one day before my due date.  I had the easiest, most textbook pregnancy but the entire week leading up to D-Day, I was SO ill.  I had all the symptoms of the flu: horrible body aches, extreme exhaustion, cramps…everything BUT a fever. In hindsight, I truly believe this was my body forcing me to stay in bed and rest up for the big event.  Otherwise you might have found me at a workout class, feverishly cleaning our apartment or sneaking in coffee dates with friends.

Around 6 PM on that Friday, I started to have regular contractions that were 3-5 minutes apart for over an hour.  I was still unsure if these were the real deal because the contractions were occurring in a location different from the Braxton Hicks contractions I had experienced in the late stages of pregnancy. After placing a call to my doctor, we decided we had better be safe and head to the hospital!

We quickly grabbed our bags, said goodbye to our pup Santino and made our way.  Although just a quick ten minutes away from us, the drive to the hospital felt like it took forever since we found ourselves in workday traffic.

Once we were settled in labor and delivery, the nurse checked my cervix and noted I was only at two centimeters.  She suggested my husband and I walk the halls of the hospital for an hour and then come back to see if I had progressed any, otherwise I might be sent home.  I was SUPER anxious about the thought of having to go back home, especially with the timing of my contractions.

Roaming the halls in a hospital gown and gripper socks, while having contractions amidst all sorts of unknowns, was maybe one of the worst things about the whole process however it WORKED.  After the hour was up, the nurse said I had progressed to three centimeters and told us we’d be staying and having a baby!

Around 9 PM they broke my water and let me know my contractions should intensify.  Up until that point the contractions I had were uncomfortable but nothing I couldn’t handle.  How bad could it be I thought?!

OH MY GOD…these contractions were the worst part of the whole process. I had previously made the goal of reaching 5 centimeters before requesting an epidural because I had heard getting the epidural too early can delay labor.  So there I was bouncing on a ball, eating a popsicle, doing anything I could to relieve some of the pressure and distract myself.  My husband said I was saying the funniest things…something to the effect of:  “dear god, up above, lord jesus, help me” with a few cuss words mixed in. I lasted one hour before I was begging for the epidural, but thankfully made it to my goal of 5 CM!

I was SO nervous about the epidural in the months leading up to giving birth that I almost feel silly now.  It was quick, I experienced no pain at all and after the meds took effect I felt like a dang unicorn!  For the next few hours I rested and *tried* to nap before it came time to start pushing.

Around 7 AM (just 12 hours after we first arrived to the hospital) the nurse let me know I had reached 10 centimeters and it was time! The nurses called the doctor and got everything all set up, only to realize I had actually regressed to 8 centimeters.

Umm…how is that even a thing?! Talk about a major moral buster. I was honestly not in a good place after that and just SO ready to meet our little man.

FINALLY around 9 AM it was GO time for real! I pushed for just one hour and fifteen minutes before we first heard our little boy cry.

Those first seconds were so overwhelmingly emotional.  There is nothing quite like seeing your baby for the first time and I will never forget the first hour together, skin to skin, getting to know one another.  I remember looking over to my husband and saying I’d do it all over again, right then, if I had to.

A few hours later our families were able to meet baby Gino! We were showered in love, hugs and special gifts.  The new, proud grandparents even snuck in a few bottles of champagne for a toast!  I later learned we were known by the nurses as the “party room”! The “after party” was one I’ll never forget that is for sure..

It’s safe to say, baby Gino has completely stolen ALL of our hearts!