Birth Story of Randall John

Randall John
June 2, 1984 at 10:16 pm
8 pounds, 13 ounces
21 1/2 inches

The baby was due to be born on May 27, 1984 and that date came and went. On Friday, June 1, 1984, i got up in the morning to use the bathroom and lost my mucus plug...my husband and i had attended Lamaze classes, so when i lost it, i knew exactly what it was! Well, that sure was an exciting moment!

But the day went on and nothing really happened...no more indications, so my husband went to work, an hour away, on the swing shift, which started at 4 pm. I had promised to help a neighbor get some groceries that evening for a party he was planning. The neighbor and i went to the store and then i realized i was starting to have labor pains...that made me laugh because here i was helping him with his party supplies while i was beginning labor! Needless to say, i was quite large!

We finished at the store about 6 pm; i went home and sat down and started to time my contractions. It was Friday evening. About 9:30 pm, i called my husband to tell him that he should probably come home because the contractions seemed to be about 12-15 minutes apart. He had the hour drive to get back home and i thought i was telling him in plenty of time. Turned out he did have plenty of time...because i continued to be in labor all night...but the contractions were still about 8 minutes apart. I had learned in our Lamaze class that they should be 5 minutes or less before you call the hospital. As you can imagine, the contractions were uncomfortable enough that i barely slept a wink all night. First thing Saturday morning, I called the doctor, told him my story and he told me go right in. We did so, they measured my cervix and said during all that time, i had only dilated to 1 centimeter! I was a bit disappointed to say the least. They told me to go home and continue to monitor my contractions and assured me that the baby would be born that day!

I stayed home with my husband and around 5 pm, the contraction were becoming quite strong, in my opinion. I was quite uncomfortable and we decided to go back to the hospital;. This time they said that i had dilated to 5 centimeters and they started to prepare me for the birth of my baby. I don't know how much procedures have changed since this was almost 16 years ago, but they did shave me and check and re-check me. I had no drugs at all during the labor....it think i was in too much pain to remember to ask for something! :-) I did not like the idea of effleurage either. Just wanted to get it over with. Lamaze classes had talked about "discomfort" but it really was more than that! I did do the breathing and concentrating and i do believe it really helped me focus.

Finally, about 10 pm they took me from the labor room to the birth room. I was in hard labor and my legs were shaking. Still had no drugs at all. I did have an episiotomy. It seemed to me that once my new son's head emerged, the labor became a snap! The shoulders and the rest of his body just slipped out effortlessly! My son was finally born at 10:16 pm, weighing in at 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 21-1/2 inches long. He also achieved a 10 on the Apgar score. He was a beautiful baby!

Today my "baby" is a sophomore in high school and is a handsome 6'1" feet tall and 200 pounds! I couldn't be more proud of him. He is a wonderful young man. Thank you for letting me share!