Hi! My name is Jake, and I was born on October 24, 2006 in Boulder Community Foothills Hospital in Boulder, Colorado. I weighed 6 pounds 13 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long.
My Birth
My mommy began having contractions around 3:30 PM on Monday, October 23. She and Papa had just dropped off the car to have the winter tires put on and were walking across the street to the 29th Street Mall (a new outdoor mall). They had to wait until 5:00 PM to pick up the car. They walked through the mall and down to a Target where they bought two blankets for the living room. The contractions were about 7 minutes apart and lasted about a minute, and Mommy had to slow down a bit but was able to walk through them. They walked back and picked up the car. Then they drove to Erie to drop off the tires at their friends, Ashley's and Rob's, house. They stayed a while and played with their two little girls. Then they went to McDonald's and ate a "last meal." It wasn't a very healthy thing to eat before going to the hospital, but Papa wanted to play Monopoly and Mommy figured if she were going to get sick during labor, she would rather it be McDonald's food than food that she really likes. Then they finally drove home.
When they finally got home, Papa began packing the bags (nothing like waiting until the last minute) and Mommy called her substitute teacher to make plans for her German classes tomorrow. The contractions were now about 5-6 minutes apart. Mommy took a shower and then called the doctor to see what she should do. The doctor told her that since she was still not having to breathe hard through the contractions, she should probably wait at home until active labor began and then call back. As soon as Mommy hung up the phone, she had two strong contractions and her water broke. Papa saw her and asked how he could help, and she told him to put the things in the car because it was time to go now. After everything was packed in the car, Mommy and Papa drove across the street to the hospital. When they walked in, the receptionist saw them and immediately pointed them to the elevator.
Once they got to the room, they found out that Mommy was already dilated to 5 1/2 cm, so they wanted to know what type of anesthesia she wanted. She had hoped to have time once she got to the hospital and was waiting to get to 4 cm to decide for sure, but since she had to decide immediately, she chose to get an epidural. They gave her the epidural, and by 11:00 she was at 7 cm. At midnight they told her and Papa to try to sleep, and by 3:00 she was at 10 and ready to begin pushing. (Oh, and sometime during that time Mommy turned over and my heartrate dropped a little, and they made Mommy wear an oxygen mask--since we are a mile high.) Mommy was amazed at how easy labor had been up until this point, but I wasn't quite ready to come out yet! When she began pushing, Mommy knew that everything she had read said that the pushing stage would last between 30 minutes and 2 hours. She kept watching the clock to figure out when it would be over, but I just stayed in. The doctor came by and said that if I didn't come out by 5:30, she would use a vaccuum to help me along (AAH!), but at 5:30 she didn't come back because another patient was having even more problems. The doctor finally came back a little after 6:00 and began unpacking all of the things she would need for the vaccuum. By that time though, I was finally starting to poke my head out, and the doctor decided that with a couple more contractions, I might come out on my own, and I did--at 6:16 in the morning!
My Family
| Papa: | Georg Pingen |
| Mommy: | Betsy Pingen |
| Opa and Oma: | Gert and Maria Pingen |
| Granddaddy and Mimi: | Bruce and Reta Richardson |
| Great-Grandparents: | Porter and Wanda Richardson Jim and Gladys Davis |
| Aunts and Uncles: | Chad Richardson Andreas Pingen Dorothee Pingen Thomas Pingen |