Our Birth Story

 As most of you know, our little man took his sweet time coming into this world. My doctor did not want me to go longer than a week past my due date so he said that we would induce on the 14th if I did not go into labor naturally before then. I was really wary of being induced because I wanted him to just come when he was ready and I didn't want to cause any problems by forcing it. I had also heard that contractions can be a lot harder and more painful when induced. We tried what we could (and what I was willing to try) to induce labor naturally (That's a no to the castor oil). I had also had some issues with high blood pressure in the week leading up to and the week after his due date, but nothing so alarming that they felt it necessary to induce early, thankfully. So since no natural way worked and my blood pressure stabilized, we went ahead and scheduled the induction for that Thursday morning, the 14th. We got to the hospital at 5 AM to get everything started. By 6 AM I was all hooked up to IV fluids and the monitors.

Once my doctor came in and broke my water a few hours later, the contractions got a lot harder and more painful. I think I held out for a couple of more hours (I don't really have any idea at this point) but eventually, I asked for the epidural. After that, I felt great. Couldn't feel a thing from the waist down, it was fantastic! So every hour or so the nurse and my husband helped move me into different positions to try and get the baby to drop into the birth canal. This went on for most of the day. Six PM came around. That's right, we'd been there 13 hours with some progress, but not as much as we'd hoped. I was dilated to 8 centimeters, which would be definite progress, except I had been at that for the past 4 hours. The baby's heart rate was going up because he had been trying to push past my pelvis for hours, with no luck. The doctor suggested (more urged) a C-section. My husband and I were both terrified of this option. I had been preparing myself for really the whole pregnancy, but especially those last few weeks, to have to do the whole labor and pushing part. I was scared to do even that but I had come to terms with it because obviously, it needed to happen to get our little boy. The possibility of a c-section really hadn't crossed my mind and clearly, it should have.

We didn't have much choice and we knew that this was the safest way to get him out and was the right choice for us so we agreed and they started prepping me for surgery. It's all a bit of a blur until I got into the operating room and even there I guess I was just so exhausted from the long day and the fluids and everything that they had me on that I could barely keep my eyes open. Aside from that, the team we had working on me and with us in the room was incredibly helpful and informative, letting us both know what was happening at all times and what was going to happen. That definitely put us both at ease, I think.

So, on December 14th, after an incredibly long day and a 20-minute procedure, at 7:14 PM our little angel was born. He was 8 pounds 13 ounces, 21 inches, and the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. The nurses cleaned him up a little and then brought him to me so we could go skin to skin. It was incredible.

It may not have gone the way we had "planned" but it went as God had planned. It may have been a long road and had a few unexpected twists and turns but our beautiful bundle of joy is here and healthy and we couldn't be happier.

"I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life, he will be given over to the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:27-28

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him." Psalm 127:3