Reid's Birth Story

On Thursday, September 25th, 2014 at 3:30 am we checked in to the Birthplace at the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Christiansburg, VA.  The nurse hooked me up to the monitors and IV.  I almost passed out when they stuck the IV into my right arm.  I was already having contractions on my own.  I used the restroom.  I was dilated to 3 centimeters.  They used gel to speed things up at 4:30 am.  I started to feel the contractions harder, I tried to rest.  They gave me pitocin in my IV.  Dr. Weston came in to check on me at 5:30 am.  I received an epidural at 5:46 am.  I almost passed out, and I got nauseous.  When they gave me my IV and epidural, my blood pressure dropped so the nurse kept an eye on me.  I requested ice chips at 6:00 am.  Dr. Weston came in and I was dilated to 4.5 centimeters. He decided to break my water.  By 8:20 am I was dilated to 10 centimeters.  My nurse then was Melissa Dalton.  She contacted the doctor to tell him I was ready.  She helped me start pushing.  My husband was there the whole time and helped me.  Dr. Weston told me that the baby's heartbeat was dropping and we needed to get baby out.  Melissa hooked me up to oxygen.  The doctor said that there was a band that he needed to cut in order for my baby to come out.  There were a few nurses in my room by now.  On my fourth push, the doctor grabbed my hand and I felt baby's head.  On the fifth try, baby Reid was here.  He was laid on my chest.  He was born at 8:49 am weighing 8 pounds and 3 ounces.  He was 21 and 1/4 inches long.  He nursed from 9:25-10:10 am.  He latched on perfectly, a real barracuda.  Melissa gave Reid his first bath.  Family came to visit after Reid came and was cleaned up.  My husband and I ordered breakfast.  I was starving.  I had french toast, bacon, banana and tea.  He kept nursing like a champ. We sent him to the nursery at night, so we could try and get some rest. He was circumcised on Friday  September 26th morning by Dr. Weston.  I received a back and foot massage from Rose.  It was awesome.  Late at night, the nurse said his weight had went down so at 3 am I supplemented a couple ounces of formula.  Saturday morning, the lactation consultant Rhonda, came in to check on my milk, and see if she could figure out when it would come in.  She was very helpful in fitting me for nursing bras, and advice on nursing.  My vitals and baby's vitals were good.  We were sent home around 12 pm.  On the ride home, I rode in the back seat with Reid while my husband drove us home.  We introduced our dogs to baby one at a time.  My Bella fell in love with him.  She's very protective of "her" baby.