Logan's Birth Story

Here is Logan's birth story! I typed it up to him earlier, and so rather than re-writing it to the masses, you're getting the cut-and-paste version to him. :) Giving birth was such a positive experience, and I love how both the highs and lows have led us to the incredible gift of being parents. Here's our story!

May 12, 2011 at 8:44 p.m. our lives changed forever! You were 8 lbs 4 oz and 20 inches long, and came to us after 41 weeks and 1 day of pregnancy. Dad and I have completely fallen in love with you and can't begin to explain our gratitude for having you in our lives.

At one in the morning we came in to the hospital to be induced. The pill did it's job perfectly, and mild contractions started. At 7:30 a.m. my midwife Laurie Hansen came in and broke my waters. Boy, did the contractions get going then! After an hour and a half of positively horrific contractions at 9:00 the anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural - hurrah! I had no clue the epidural would work that well. Throughout the day as I waited to dilate completely, I was even able to sleep through contractions!

At 6:30 p.m. I was dilated to a 10 so it was time to start pushin'! Laurie decided to have my epidural cut way back so that I could feel when to push and how hard. I'm glad she did that, 'cause otherwise I would have had to have a C section. I could move my own legs and do positions, like a squat bar, that you generally never do with an epidural.

You, Logan, were really under stress during the pushing part. Not only were you posterior but also whenever I'd have a contraction your heart rate would drop down. We found out soon why.

Throughout this whole time your dad was being absolutely heroic. He was right there by my side every second, counting for me through contractions. Sounds little, but I couldn't have done it without him. There were so many ways the whole time that he made a world of difference where no one else could have.

Anyways, so at this point I hadn't progressed at all, so Laurie called in Dr. Newman to try using 'the vacuum' on your head. If the vacuum pops off twice you automatically get taken in for a C section. I watched it pop off once. So they gave me an episiotomy and in no time at all you were crowning! A few more hard pushes and suddenly - out popped your head!Yay!

Turns out one of the reasons you were under stress was because the cord was around your neck really tight. Your face was all white. And your head was huge! When your head came out Laurie said, "You're gonna have a baby!" and Dr. Newman said, "You're not having a baby, you're having a toddler!"

Then they cut the your off your neck, I pushed, and the most angelic, sweet, loved baby in the world was born! You were delivered to my chest for a few seconds before being whisked off for help. Because we had decided to be surprised on your gender, we now found out you are a boy! We named you Logan Jay Beenfield. Logan was my home growing up and the temple we were married in. And Jay is Grandpa Beenfield's middle name, and your dad's nick name. So you are named after two of the best men I know.

When you were delivered to my chest the fist thing I said was, "I just had a baby!!" Ha ha- no kidding! We've been preparing for this for 9 months, yet it was never quite real until you were actually here.

It was very scary thought because when you were born you weren't crying and had no color, and you weren't moving at all. In the room was an area they could meet your immediate needs, so first you were taken there. Everyone jumped into action, doing what needed to be done to help you. Because so many people were around I couldn't see you. I think I was just stunned, and because I couldn't see you the scariness of the situation didn't really hit me. Dad could see you though, and it really shook him up. He watched as they tried pumping air into you, and saw them pick your little arms up and see them fall to the table. You looked lifeless. It was one of the few times I've seen your dad cry.

Since the cord had been around your neck and they had to cut it off before the cord blood pumped into you, you were low on blood volume. Which meant your little heart had to work extra hard, and you had a slow capillary refill.

Also, since you were overdue you got meconium in your lungs and stomach, so that played a roll in your health. It caused some respiratory problems for you.

They took you to the nursery, and Dad stayed with you the whole time. Back in the delivery room I made a dumb mistake. I knew my episiotomy needed to be stitched up and I didn't want to feel that, so I asked for my epidural back. After I got it I was told that I couldn't see you in the nursery until the epidural wore off and they could transport me there safely. So from 8:44 to about 11:00 I just sat and waited to be allowed to see my precious baby. Dad took pictures that he sent back with Grandma Judd for me to see. So my first good look at you was on a digital camera. When I saw you I gushed, "He's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen!"

At 11:00ish my nurse got me a wheelchair and finally took me to see you!! Yay!!! You were so alert, wide-eyed and the most angelic thing I'd ever laid eyes on. And just like that I feel in love, and life as we know it changed forever for Dad and I. And as great as life was before we'd never go back. We love you so much Logan.