Our baby was born still on September 18, 2007 at 6:15 AM at Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk, NY. He weighed 3.5 ounces and was 7 inches long. I was 22 weeks and 4 days pregnant.
We named him Caleb Gerold.
Caleb means "tenacious and aggressive." The Biblical Caleb was noted for his fearlessness in the face of overwhelming odds.
Gerold is Ian's maternal grandfather's name. I hear he was a wonderful man as I'm sure our Caleb would have been.
I was in labor for 4 hours. It started at midnight on the 18th when my water broke. I was given Nubain for pain a bit prior to this. I had thought that I'd be given what ever I wanted because the baby was dead and it couldn't possibly effect him, but all I got was Nubain! It made me sleepy.
Labor was very intense from 2-4. I cried a lot. I'm thankful my body worked this time!
I felt pressure around 4 AM but was so tired and afraid I didn't move. I fell asleep.
When I woke up at 6 he was born.
My nurse, Dottie, was wonderful. Everyone was wonderful to us. And to Caleb.
Dottie wrapped him in a blanket and put him in a wicker basket. We spent some time with him. I took a picture of him. I wish I had taken more but it just seemed wrong at the time... like I was invading his privacy.
My doctor came in around quarter to 7 to see how I was. All cramping had stopped and the placenta was still in there. After some pulling and pushing he got it out. It was intensely painful.
Dottie prayed with us and baptised Caleb. And she made a molding of his feet.
Caleb is safe and will be forever perfect in heaven.