Caleb's Birth Story

The first time I met you
Visiting you in the NICU
Getting ready to bring you home

On our way home!

John Caleb Bennett was born on Saturday, March 1, 2008 at 10:49am.

6 lbs. 3 oz., 20 inches long

Dear Caleb,

The day you were born was the best day of my life. It was Saturday, March 1, 2008. It was 6:15am and I was still in bed. All of a sudden I felt my water break. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom. Water was pouring out of me so I stepped into the shower and yelled out to your daddy to come quick. He came in and said, "Well, it looks like today's the day! What do we do?". We laughed and got ready to leave for the hospital.

When we arrived in the labor & delivery ward we were greeted by the nurses that had taken care of us over the last several months. They were all very excited that you were making your entry into the world. They had been waiting to meet you for a long time! We were admitted and placed in labor room #1. It was the same room I was in when we thought you were going to arrive in December at 26 weeks gestation.

The midwife came in to check on us and said that I was already 5cm dilated. I wasn't feeling any painful contractions at first but it didn't take much time for them to start getting really strong. After a couple of hours I was checked again and the doctor ordered an epidural for me to get some pain relief. However, you had other plans and couldn't wait for the anesthesiologist. Within minutes, I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurse grabbed my right leg and your daddy grabbed my left and they coached me to PUSH!! I pushed and pushed and all of a sudden your heart rate started to drop. The nurses had me roll over on my side but that didn't help. They had me get on my hands and knees but that didn't help either. Your heart rate had been down to 60 beats per minute for 5 minutes. I was so scared. I was screaming out for them to help you. The doctor came in and said they could try using forceps or a vaccuum to get you out but they might have to do an emergency c-section. Your daddy yelled out, "Just do whatever you have to do to make sure the baby is ok!". The doctor decided on the crash c-section and the room turned to chaos. Your daddy was pushed into the corner and even hit his head on the delivery lights hanging from the ceiling. Within 1 1/2 minutes, I was unhooked from the monitors, my bed was wheeled into the operating room and I was under general anesthesia. Your head was stuck in my birth canal so you had to be pushed out of it and then pulled through the incision. It took 8 minutes from the time the doctor ordered the crash c-section to the time when you made your entry into the world. It was the best day of my life.

It took me a couple of hours to wake up from the anesthesia. The first thing I said was, "Is the baby ok?" and your daddy told me that you were perfect. He told me that you weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz. and were 20" long. He said that you were beautiful. I was in a lot of pain but the nurses knew that I needed to see you so they wheeled my bed from the recovery room to the NICU so I could see you. Your daddy was right, you were absolutely beautiful. I was in love with you from that very first moment and I couldn't wait to be your mommy.

I didn't get to see you again until the next day. It was so hard being away from you, knowing that you were just down the hall in NICU but I couldn't get up to see you. Your daddy visited you a lot that first night and he kept giving me updates on how you were doing. When I finally got to see you again I held you in my arms and cried and cried. I couldn't believe that you were mine, that God had blessed me with such a gift. I love you so much.

You spent 4 days in NICU and on March 5th, we got to take you home. I love being your mommy. I promise that I will be the best mommy I can be and that I will give you the best life I possibly can. I love you, Caleb. Thank you for making my life complete.

Love,
Mommy