Dallin Thomas Davenport

I have had a couple of requests to post some pictures of Dallin and so while he is sleeping right now I thought I would do that. He has a tummy ache though so he wakes up, cries, and sleeps. And there are little toots through out the crying. Anyway, Chris wound up taking more videos than pictures so I don't have many pictures of Dallin. I have to figure out how to do the videos so that everyone can share in our hospital experience! My moms camera has better pictures but she went out shopping and has her camera with her so you have to settle for the two good pictures I do have of him.




This is after Chris got back from the nursery with Dallin. I think that we had moved into our recovery room at this point. He looks so cute with that yawn! He has been a perfect little angel so far and hasn't really cried much, unless its time for him to eat or his tummy hurts. Even when he needs to be stimulated he doesn't really cry, he kinda coughs which is enough warning to move him so he can look at something else.



I thought a close up picture of his face would be nice but as most of you probably know, new borns change a lot, and quickly and so he doesn't really look like that anymore. His cheeks aren't so pudgy... Anyway, tonight or tomorrow we will get an updated picture of him and then you can compare for yourself what he looks like!

As for me, I am doing really well. I am not in pain and I am moving around almost like normal... not quite though. Chris and I went on a walk last night while Dallin was sleeping. My mom was around for him, so don't think we are negligent parents! The worst part so far is the breast feeding. I have trouble latching him properly on one side but hopefully with more practice he and I will be able to get it right.

This part is about the labor and delivery, so if you don't like details, just ignore the rest!

My water broke at 6 in the morning, Sunday, May 17th. I called the hospital to ask if I should wait or what to do and they said come in. I wasn't in a hurry because my contractions hadn't really started yet. Just a very slight discomfort. So we got ready, finished packing my hospital bag and left and were there by 7 a.m. We got there and went into triage where they determine if I really am in labor and going to have the baby and check my cervix and all that. The nurse determined that I was at 3 cm and all the other tests she did showed that I was going to have the baby that day so they admitted me and we moved into a birthing room.

Once in the birthing room, it was about 8 in the morning and I was hooked up to the monitors for contractions and his heart rate. I had to be monitored for 20 minutes out of every hour. After my 20 minutes were up we walked the halls until I had to be monitored again. During this time my contractions started to grow stronger and I was getting more than a little uncomfortable. Unfortunately from 7 to 11:30 I did not dilate at all! I was still at 3 cm and so they started me on pitocin at 11:30. At this point I wasn't allowed to get up and walk the halls, since I had to constantly be hooked up to the monitors. I could walk around the room though. It was annoying to say the least.

Time passed and we hit 4 p.m. and the nurse checked my cervix and I was only at 4 cm... Now, I had been here for 9 hours and on pitocin for 5 and a half and I was starting to hurt quite a bit so I got an epidural. So now by 5 p.m. I was feeling a bit better. I was sick and really shaky but I didn't hurt anymore and that the whole point of an epidural. The doctor finally came in at like 5:30 and checked me and I was only at 4 and a half cm and she punctured my other water sack that had not broken yet. When she did that, she noticed that the amniotic fluid was green and so they now had to take steps towards making the baby safe as soon as he came out cause he probably breathed in some meconium. So they got that all set up and the doctor left.

So now I just sat there and watched The Rookie, talked to Chris and my mom and waited for things to progress. At about 8:30 p.m. I was checked again and I was finally dilating and so now I was at a 7. I was very happy to hear this and when the doctor heard I was at a 7, she looked at the clock and figured an hour per cm, so 3 more hours and then 2 for the actual delivery would put us at 2 in the morning for when he would be born, roughly. When she said that in the back of my mind I said no way! I ain't taking that long! But she seemed very certain that it would happen that way.

40 minutes later I told the nurse that I was continually having the urge to push with every contraction. Not just once in a while but all the time! So she checked me again and I was at a 9 and a half! I had finally started to go at a good pace. About 10 minutes later she checked me again because my mom said that with a really huge contration I was probably now at a 10. So when she checked me I was at a 10 and she said okay, lets start some pushing!

So now it was 9:33 p.m. when I started to push. We took it pretty slow at first, when I felt the urge to push, let them know, push for 3 breaths and then rest. I took lots of rests and this went on for about 15 minutes or so. Then my contractions started coming much more frequently and the doctor showed up and everything got finished being set up. I kept pushing and you could finally see part of the head. I have no idea how much... I just know my mom kept saying that he was getting "close". That doesn't always mean anything but it did this time! So for probably the last 10 minutes of pushing, the doctor was there and dressed to deliver and mom and Chris and the nurse switched holding my legs (like when Chris got light headed) and we kept going! After 35 minutes total of pushing, Dallin Thomas Davenport came out!

So now I am a mommy and sometimes it seems really scarry but at the same time, I am really happy about it.