We are so happy to have Benjamin Clay Jensen in our family. We are truly thankful that everything worked out the way that it did and that nothing happened to him or Kara. Here is his story...
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| Kara just before giving birth to Benjamin |
On October 31st after trick-or-treating we put the kids to bed and decided that we were going to watch a couple of shows and talk and then go to bed. Since it was Halloween we decided that we would clean the next day and not worry about it that night. I had a doctor's appointment earlier that day and nothing had changed from the previous week. I was still dilated to a 4 and 100% thinned out. I was not having contractions and was not worried that we were going to have a baby.
At 1:10 in the morning I woke up to my water breaking (no contractions just water breaking). I woke up Ryan who had just fallen asleep about an hour before and was in a daze trying to wake up and get everything put together so that we could go. We called our neighbors across the street to come and sit with our kids during the night (and of course our house is a disaster--dinner was still sitting on the table) Thanks Frank and Bobbie!
We finally made it to the hospital just after 2 AM. I was admitted and the nurse came in to check to see where I was. As she was checking me she got a worried look in her face and said that she felt a hand. They brought in an ultrasound machine and sure enough Benjamin was breach with his hand and bum down and his head in my ribs. They told me that I was going to have to have an emergency c-section and they started to prep immediately. I was starting to have a panic attack, with as fast as everything was going and not having time to process anything so I asked everyone to leave the room for 2 minutes so that I could talk to Ryan. When everyone left I asked Ryan if he would give me a blessing. Immediately I felt a blanket of warmth and peace come over me and I knew that everything was going to be okay.
The nurses, doctors, and anesthetist came back in and went to work. They put in a catheter and asked if I had any allergies to which I responded that I have a latex allergy. They then had to remove the catheter they just put in and replace it with a non-latex one. Once all the prep was done they wheeled me to the operating room to administer the spinal. This was sometime after 2:30.
I started to panic a little and couldn't take deep breaths like they needed me to. So they let Ryan come in to calm me down. As soon as I couldn't feel anything they went to work. I am not sure how many professionals were in the room. Ryan sat by my head and carried on a conversation with with the anesthesiologist, who was also by my head. It was nice to focus on what they were saying and not thinking about what was happening. There was a large blue drape hung up so that I couldn't see anything.
The doctor announced Benjamin's birth at 3:05 AM weighing in at 5 lbs. 14 oz. and 19 inches long. We were in the hospital just over an hour before Benjamin was born. We were told that his umbilical cord was wrapped around him 3 times. I was still on the operating table and I was really worried because he wasn't crying. It took him a minute or two to cry and I was relieved to hear him cry. To me, it is the sound that he is okay.
After the surgery they were sewing and stapling me back together (14 staples), Ryan and the anesthesiologist kept making fun of me because I had the shakes and the hiccups. The anesthesiologist had never had a patient get the hiccups after a C-section before.
They took us over to a recovery room where I had to be monitored for 2 hours. Once we were in the recovery room I was able to finally see and hold Benjamin.
I started to panic a little and couldn't take deep breaths like they needed me to. So they let Ryan come in to calm me down. As soon as I couldn't feel anything they went to work. I am not sure how many professionals were in the room. Ryan sat by my head and carried on a conversation with with the anesthesiologist, who was also by my head. It was nice to focus on what they were saying and not thinking about what was happening. There was a large blue drape hung up so that I couldn't see anything.
The doctor announced Benjamin's birth at 3:05 AM weighing in at 5 lbs. 14 oz. and 19 inches long. We were in the hospital just over an hour before Benjamin was born. We were told that his umbilical cord was wrapped around him 3 times. I was still on the operating table and I was really worried because he wasn't crying. It took him a minute or two to cry and I was relieved to hear him cry. To me, it is the sound that he is okay.
After the surgery they were sewing and stapling me back together (14 staples), Ryan and the anesthesiologist kept making fun of me because I had the shakes and the hiccups. The anesthesiologist had never had a patient get the hiccups after a C-section before.
They took us over to a recovery room where I had to be monitored for 2 hours. Once we were in the recovery room I was able to finally see and hold Benjamin.
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| Benjamin Clay Jensen, November 1st @ 3:05 am, 5 lbs. 14 oz |
Once everything looked normal after 2 hours they wheeled me across the hospital to our room where we would stay for the next few days. Once we were settled it was just after 6 in the morning. Ryan laid down for a quick nap before he headed home to get the boys off to school for the day.
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| One of the nights that I was in the hospital Benjamin was wide awake with his big eyes |
Later that day, when the boys were in school, our neighbor offered to watch Emily so that Ryan could come to the hospital and spend a few hours with me.
After school Ryan picked up the boys and brought them to the hospital to meet Benjamin. It is funny how being away from the other kids even just for a day makes me miss them. I was really sad that I couldn't lift them and hug them. I don't think that they understood why so we showed them my big "owwie". Emily and Nathanial were not too excited to meet Benjamin, they were more interested in the TV. Christopher on the other hand was thrilled and asked to hold him multiple times. Christopher really wanted a little brother.
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| Christopher and Benjamin, 11/1/2013 |
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| Nathanial and Benjamin (Nathanial had a little cold so we made him wear a mask) |
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| Emily wasn't jealous of Benjamin--I don't think she knew what to think of him. |
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| Christopher holding Benjamin again |
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| Nathanial read Benjamin a book while Christopher held him. |
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| Ryan holding Benjamin |
I ended up staying in the hospital until Monday. Ryan would come back and forth with the kids.
As with tradition he also gave me a necklace with Benjamin's birthday stone, orange topaz...
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| Kara holding Benjamin while we wait for the doctor to give us the OK to go home |
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| Emily giving Benjamin kisses before we came home |
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| Ryan getting Benjamin in his "coming home" outfit |
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| Ready to come home |
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| So CUTE! |
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| All bundled up and ready to leave the hospital |
I can't help but feel so blessed to have Benjamin here with us. He came 3 weeks early and is perfectly healthy; he passed all his screenings/tests. While we were waiting for the c-section the nurse told us that Benjamin may have broke my water with his hand. I started to wonder why my doctor would check to see how far dilated that I was but not check to see if the baby was head down. I never wanted a c-section but after finding out that Benjamin's umbilical cord was wrapped around him 3 times it made me very thankful to live in the age of modern medicine where a c-section can be safely performed. I can't help but feel like everything that happened during the last few weeks of my pregnancy and the delivery are what needed to happen to allow Benjamin to come safely into this world, which was an answer to our prayers.
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HOME SWEET HOME
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It has been a joy to have Benjamin home for the last week. He is such a good baby, per Christopher's words, "all he does is eats and sleeps". He rarely cries and when he does it is more like a whimper than a cry. Emily and Christopher ooh and ahh over him. When Christopher comes home from school he comes searching for Benjamin to give him his daily report.
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| 4 of the cutest kids! |
I have to admit that this pregnancy was the hardest one of the four. I was sick and stuck in bed for days at a time. Ryan had to take care of the other kids and do a lot of cooking and cleaning. After the first trimester things got a little better to a point that I could function through the nausea. This delivery was the easiest of the four but the recovery has been the hardest most painful thing that I have ever experienced in my life!
