I’ve had this post on my list for so many weeks now and for some reason have been avoiding it. I think it’s because I know it will make me an emotional mess. Something about recalling every detail about my baby boy being born makes me instantly want to cry.
Benji is just shy of 18 months and it absolutely blows my mind that he’s been on Earth for that long! I know it sounds so cliche, but it’s hard for me to even remember what it felt like to only have Peter Joseph. Having Benjamin made our little family feel so much more complete!
We were actually trying when we got pregnant for Benji, unlike with Peter. If you want to read his birth story, click here. It’s drastically different from Benji’s in so many ways!
I stopped taking my birth control sometime around April/May, and didn’t find out I was pregnant until the end of December. It was a frustrating six months, especially because I never even got my period back after I stopped taking the pill.
I took so many pregnancy tests, hoping that’s why I wasn’t getting my period, but they were all negative. Finally, I went to the doctor and she recommended I get a full ultrasound done to make sure something weird wasn’t going on, hindering me from getting pregnant.
I was scheduled to get an ultrasound on a Monday afternoon. The Friday before, I figured I’d take one more test just in case I was pregnant. It was negative… again.
I got the ultrasound done, and felt so nervous and sick to my stomach for the next two days waiting for the results. I felt like there had to be something wrong.
A couple of days later, I got a phone call from the nurse. She asked when the last pregnancy test I’d taken had been, and I told her it was just a few days ago. She said that the ultrasound actually showed a fluid-filled sac, which they typically read as either a pregnancy, or something that shouldn’t be there. She told me to go take another pregnancy test, and to call her right afterward and let her know the result.
I was SO anxious that I literally could not wait to take the test. I was in our local Bed Bath & Beyond store when she had called, and I had an unopened test in my purse…so I went straight to the bathroom. Yes, I took a pregnancy test there. Judge me.
I got back in the car and waited for the results and as I was driving through the parking lot the little screen showed “pregnant.” I instantly burst into tears of joy.
My pregnancy with Benji was pretty easy. I think the reason it was so much easier than Peter’s overall was just because I was so much more mentally prepared for it. I was extremely sick for the first trimester, but after that I felt pretty good! Other than being exhausted at all times of course.
Fast forward nine months later, our little Benjabug made his appearance on his exact due date of August 17, 2017! He was a punctual little guy which he gets from his mama. Always on time 😉
The night before his due date, I thought for sure I was in labor. We ended up going to the hospital earlier than I needed to, mainly because my doctor terrified me when she told me usually the second baby comes a lot faster than the first. So once I started having even semi-consistent contractions, we packed up and headed to the hospital.
They took us into the triage area, hooked me up to the monitors and checked my progress. I can’t remember exactly but I think I was only 1-2 cm dilated at that point. She had us walk around the floor for about an hour and then come back to get checked again.
At this point it was sometime around midnight, and I hadn’t progressed any more. The nurse called my doctor and she said to send me home with a sleeping pill and to come back once the pain was unbearable. Isn’t that hilarious that they sent me home with a sleeping pill?!
I was like wait… what if it knocks me out so hard that I wake up and the baby is coming out?!! And she said not to worry, that I will 100% wake up if it’s true labor pain.
And it WORKED. We went home and I passed out so hard. I think that may have been God giving me one last amazing restful night’s sleep before this stubborn ass nugget came into the world 🙂
The second I opened my eyes in the morning I was in excruciating pain, but I wasn’t about to go back to the hospital to be sent home again. I paid close attention to the duration/timing of my contractions and waited until they were about 45-60 seconds long, 3-4 minutes apart. I was dying at that point.
I called my doctor around noon and told her we were on our way (her office is actually in the hospital, but not in the labor and delivery ward). She told me to come to her office first and she would check me out, that way I didn’t have to waste my time with labor and delivery again if I wasn’t far enough along.
We got up to her office and had to sit in the waiting room for much longer than I preferred. I was seriously in so much pain, but trying not to be that woman you see in the movies screaming and moaning and terrifying everyone around her. That’s how I felt inside though!
Finally she took me back and checked me. She looked at me with wide eyes and said, “Oh yeah, you’re definitely in active labor. You’re more than SIX CENTIMETERS! How are you so calm right now? Do you want me to get you a wheelchair?!”
I started cracking up, relieved to know it was finally time to meet him! I assured her that I didn’t need a wheelchair, though I probably should have because the walk to labor and delivery is pretty long. I had to stop every time I had a contraction because I couldn’t even walk! Peter was so freaked out that the baby was just going to pop out, haha.
Luckily my doctor called L&D right away and told them to prep an epidural for me, and admit me immediately. Right when I got up there and told them my name they were like, “YEP! We are definitely ready for you!”
We got back to the room and met our nurse, who was an absolute angel. She made me feel so comfortable and distracted me from the pain by chit-chatting and making me feel so at ease. The anesthesiologist came in soon after (although it felt like an eternity)!
He was freaking. hilarious. I wish I remembered his name, because he was so great. He was making me laugh so hard making fun of Peter because he is terrified of needles and had to leave the room. I was crying I was laughing so hard at him.
…and he did a damn good job. My epidural with Peter Joseph didn’t work, and I was in a ton of pain once it came time to push. This time around, I legitimately felt nothing. NOTHING! It was a dream.
I think only about two more hours passed before it was time for me to push. I pushed maybe four times? And then heard his sweet little cry, and saw my husband burst into tears as the doctor placed the baby on my chest and we saw Benjamin Louis Coratola for the first time. I tear up every time I think back to that moment. It was truly one of the most special moments of my entire life.
He was 7lbs 11 ounces, 20.5 inches long, and perfect. There was something so peaceful about it just being me and Peter in the room for Benji’s birth. We spent some time just relaxing and staring at him before we introduced him to his big brother and the rest of the family.
Sometime soon I’ll write about our transition from one to two kids, and the struggles I went through postpartum. It’s important to me to be fully honest and transparent with you guys about how dreamy having babies is, but also how hard it can be.
Overall, looking back on Benjamin’s birth, I can honestly say it was picture perfect. I got to experience what REAL painful labor felt like, without any induction drugs. And I got to deliver a baby pain-free!
As always, leave any questions/comments in the box below, and thank you for being here!
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