Birth story

Birth story
Name: Benjamin Augustine Reitmeyer
DOB: 6/8/2014
Due date: 6/11/14
Weeks Pregnant: 39 weeks 4 days
Weight/length: 10 pounds 4 ounces

My second pregnancy was a bit more difficult than my first. Although i did not suffer from gestational diabetes or gestational hypertension i did end up suffering from a condition called symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD)  SPD causes severe pelvic, hip and back pain. It was very difficult and I wasn't able to hardly walk near the end of the pregnancy. I was also much bigger (as far as the belly goes) compared to my pregnancy with Gabe. That makes total sense considering Ben was a full 2 pounds heavier at birth than his brother.

I stopped working at 38.5 weeks because I was not able to think anymore with the fatigue and pain. I was lucky to go into labor a week later at 39.5 weeks (39 weeks 4 days to be exact)  the exact day I went into labor with Gabe! Thankfully I took that week off because I ended up being pretty sick with bronchitis and pink eye. Just what every woman about to go into labor wants to deal with! But by the time I actually went into labor I was healthy and recovered.

All week I kept showering and getting all ready to hopefully go into labor with no luck. So I went to bed unshowered hoping for a change. It worked. I woke up at 2:30 am with contractions about 3-4 minutes apart and decided to immediately shower just in case this was really labor. I had false labor 2 nights earlier that fizzled out so I was hopeful but not sure. I got out of the shower and dried my hair and Johnny woke up. I told him we were probably going to the hospital but I wasn't positive yet. Well the contractions intensified so we got Gabe ready and called the parents (in law) to watch Gabe. They were excited for baby time!  As we were driving the contractions were about every 2 minutes and very very painful. I was very cranky. We dropped Gabe off and headed to Magee where i was in severe pain and contracting every 1-2 minutes. When the staff heard I was a second time mom and contracting so frequently they rushed me into triage as quickly as they could. In triage I was in so much pain I wasn't being very cooperative with their requests and I was requesting (ok shouting for) an epidural. After what seemed like forever  (and threatening bodily harm to Johnny during a contraction) I was wheeled to a labor room.  Anesthesia came and attempted to place the epidural but it failed. They finally were able to place an epidural that worked. I was dialted to 4 centimeters and they broke my water. I had meconium in the fluid so they told me he would be monitored more closely.  We got one hour of blissful rest and the doctor came to check me and I was at 10 centimeters dialted so it was time to push. I was shocked it all happened so quick. I pushed for quite awhile because Ben was stuck under my pelvic bone. Then his shoulder ended up being stuck as well. There were a scary few moments with him being stuck and everyone shouting at me to push harder. He finally came out and had the cord wrapped tightly around his neck and also all the way around his body. We are so lucky he was ok. The doctors took him immediately and checked him out for what seemed like forever. Finally I got him back and confirmed he was actually a boy because in all the drama nobody had announced what he was. His poor little face was so bruised that he looked black. He also had a smashed nose and his face was swollen. He was born on June 8 at 8:28 am.  But he was adorable! We didn't know what we would name him yet so we tested out a couple names on him that were the contenders. (Benajmin, Isaac, and Sebastian). The next day we kept calling him Benjamin and it definitely fit. We love our little Benny!