Andrew Karl's Birth Day

Here is Andrew's birth timeline. I will actually start a few days before.

Saturday, July 2: My mom gets into town!

Monday, July 4: Mom and I go for a two-mile walk around the neighborhood, in the hopes that I am far enough along to get an induction date at my appointment on Tuesday.

Tuesday, July 5: Doctor's appointment. I am barely 3 cm and only slightly effaced, but my doctor agrees to schedule an induction anyway. She calls the hospital and the earliest available is the following Tuesday (July 12th). I am annoyed.

Wednesday, July 6, morning: Mom and I take the girls to the Heard Natural Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary in McKinney. I joke that maybe our short hike (1/2 mile) will put me into labor.

Wednesday, July 6, evening--Thursday July 7, early morning: I start feeling contractions in the evening, though they aren't painful--just pressure. After waking up around 1 am, I am up for several hours with contractions coming every 15 minutes or so. I pack my bathroom stuff in my suitcase in the wee hours of the morning.

Thursday, July 7, 8 am: Contractions stop. I unpack my bathroom stuff, bring Emma to preschool, go to Kroger.

July 7, 1 pm: I email Dave to tell him the earlier contractions were a false alarm. I take a nap, go pick Emma up.

3 pm: Contractions start up again with a vengeance. I can't lie down or sit. They are coming every 10-15 minutes.

4 pm: Painful contractions continue, sometimes coming every 5 minutes. I call Dave and leave a voicemail that he should come home.

4:30 pm: I call the doctor and she agrees I should head for the hospital. Finally get ahold of Dave, who leaves work.

4:45 pm: Contractions are coming fast and hard. I start to panic. I call Dave, who is stuck in traffic. I decided to meet him at the hospital.

5 pm: We leave for the hospital.

5:45 pm: We arrive at the hospital. Dave is already there. I get into triage and start begging for drugs. After all of those painful contractions, I am only at 4.

6:05 pm: My begging for drugs gets me a room. The nurse keeps telling me how strong my contractions are on the monitor. No kidding!

6:30 pm: Process paperwork, blood tests, and I get some pain meds through an IV. Contractions are still strong, but not quite an painful.

7:20 pm: Epidural time! Suddenly I am much happier.


7:35 pm: The nurse administers pitocin. Might as well get this show on the road!

8:10 pm: The doctor's resident comes in to break my water and check my progress. We are all surprised to hear that I am almost complete and go for launch! The nurses try to frantically find the doctor.

8:25 pm: Begin to push. Doctor is convinced this baby will come right out. But he's wrong. I can't feel a thing because my legs are completely dead.

8:35 pm: My contractions seem to stop. We wait a little bit.

8:40 pm: My IV, with the pitocin drip, has fallen out. I get a shot of pitocin to get things going again.

8:57 pm: Andrew Karl is born. He is 7 lbs, 7 oz and 20 3/4 inches long.




He looks a lot like Madeline, with my ears and freakishly long, skinny feet and toes.

9:20 pm: First feeding. Andrew eats like a champ for 15 minutes.

10 pm: The nurse tells us there is no room at the inn! All of the recovery rooms are full, so we settle in to stay in labor and delivery for the night.