Birth Story of Benjiman Miles Abeyta

On my due date (April 29) I went in for a check up. We set up an appointment for me to be induced on Thursday. I asked my doctor how big she thought the baby would be (I was worried because I had been measuring a week ahead my entire pregnancy but they didn't change my due date). She said you never really know until they are born but her best guess was low 8's. My doctor then had me get an ultrasound to make sure everything was still looking okay. In the ultrasound they estimated he would be 8.3 and determined that my amniotic fluid was a little low. My doctor told me to make sure to do fetal kicks and if I wasn't feeling much movement then to get into the hospital.

I usually felt Miles a lot in the evening/nighttime but that night I wasn't feeling him very much. I was really worried so Tyler and I decided to go into the hospital. They checked the heartbeat and it was still good and strong but they noticed it was staying at a pretty steady number (they like to see peaks and dips but weren't seeing very many). They called my doctor to get her opinion and we waited for what seemed like an eternity. Ty gave me a Priesthood blessing while we were waiting that everything would turn out fine and that our baby boy would be born healthy when the time was right for him to come. The nurse came back and said my doctor wanted to go ahead and induce me that night.

I had already been having been having some contractions for a few days but the Pitocin they gave me made them a little stronger and more regular. Ty and I tried to get some sleep since we knew it was going to be a long tiring day. By this point it was about 3 am and my doctor was coming at 7 to break my water. Once my doctor came and broke my water the contractions got really painful. After about an hour I got an epidural. We tried to get more sleep while we waited for things to progress but I had a hard time sleeping. I was excited, nervous, and STARVING. They wouldn't let me eat anything but they did have these super yummy slushies I could have. Finally that afternoon they came and checked me and I was ready to start pushing. I had Tyler in there helping and my mother in law as well. It was my mother-in-law's birthday...she was so sweet to spend her birthday at the hospital with us! I was so glad they were both in there to help and support me through the next 3 hours. Yes. I pushed for 3 hours. Labor really hadn't been all that bad until I had to push. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Progress was slow even though I was pushing as hard as I could. It was frustrating. I had gotten an infection when they broke my water and started running a fever. They gave me some antibiotics and my fever broke during those 3 hours of pushing which made me hot and sweaty. My epidural started wearing off which at first helped because I could feel a little bit of what I was doing...but pretty soon it had worn off too much and I was in a lot of pain. They called in the anesthesiologist and told him I needed some quick relief. The doctor eventually asked if I wanted her to use forceps to help get the baby out. I really didn't like the idea of using them but I was running out of energy and knew I wouldn't last much longer so I agreed.  She said we would try the forceps and if that didn't work we would talk about another option (which I knew meant a c-section). Luckily with the help of forceps I was able to get him out...and we realized why I had such a hard time. He was not a tiny baby! 

They laid Miles on my chest for a little bit then took him to was and weigh him. He weighed 9 lbs 1 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. My doctor asked "Jackie where were you hiding a 9 lb baby? Because you sure didn't look like you had a 9 pounder in you!" Miles was very alert. He had his eyes wide open and was looking all around right after he was born. 

They took us to our recovery room and I was so exhausted. I was really out of it and in a lot of pain the next few days. I felt like a terrible mother because I couldn't stay awake and I was in so much pain that I couldn't really take care of my baby. Tyler was awesome and took care of him. He and Miles got lots of bonding time! Tyler stayed up with him, changed his diaper, whenever they took Miles anywhere Tyler went with him. Tyler never complained...I am so grateful he was there to take care of both of us! I honestly don't know what I would have done without him. After a couple of days in the hospital we got to take our sweet Miles home!