The Longest Post Ever (AKA The Day James was Born)

This is very long- I actually left a lot out- but it was a LONG day so I guess that explains the length of the post. As I was rereading this after writing it I realized I have also created my own form of punctuation- please forgive me- this post is one run-on sentence with misplaced commas and such- but I do not feel like editing...so read at your own risk.

Ok- so I have really debated whether or not to write this, but I decided to go ahead...mostly because I want to document it for myself so I won't forget, but also, because for some reason, I really enjoyed reading other people's birth stories. So here goes- please feel free to skip if reading about labor is not your cup of tea. I guess I will start at the very beginning...

I had my 40 week doctors appointment on December 3rd (my due date was December 6th). I went to the appointment hoping that I had progressed- but not expecting to since there had been no progress at my previous visits. So Zack and I arrived at our "last visit" and when I asked Dr. Phillips if I was effaced, or dilated, or if the baby had dropped- his reply to all of the above was "do you want me to lie to you?". Needless to say I thought I would be preggo forever!! Before we left he scheduled me for an induction on December 11th and said he would check me on the 10th and we would evaluate from there. I just knew I wouldn't be having a baby for weeks!!

Well, fast forward to the 8th. I felt different on the 8th- my back was hurting- a symptom I had thankfully avoided until that day. I had previously decided for the 8th to be my last day at work- so I waddled around all day with my back killing.me. When I got home I took a bath and powered up the ole heating pad- but no relief. Zack and I went to bed early and at 11:45 I woke up with a pretty painful contraction. At midnight I woke up and went to go to the bathroom and bam- my water broke. I woke Zack up, and he jumped higher that I have ever seen him jump in my life (note: it was hilarious- I wish I had a picture) While he was running around I called the doctor and he told me to head on to the hospital. We called our parents and I decided to take a shower before we left for the hospital (a decision I was thankful for)

We got to the hospital at 1 am( after my parents, because I failed to tell them I was going to take the aforementioned shower) and headed up to the birthing suite. The nurse checked me and I was dilated a whopping 1cm. So they cranked up the pitocin. I was then asked if I wanted an epidural- I said yes- but for some unknown reason I wanted to wait to receive it (a decision I would later deeply regret). Slowly they kept cranking up the pitocin and quickly my contractions got stronger and more frequent. Note: when your water breaks... your contractions are more intense- a fact I was unaware of when I went to the hospital, but one I was becoming very familiar with. Well fast forward again- its 3am- and I can't breath and I am shaking uncontrollably- either from the pitocin or labor itself- who knows. I call the nurse to tell her I would like the epidural- the sweet nurse said she would call anesthesia, but that I would have to wait because girl next door was further along and would need to receive her epidural 1st. Well fast forward again to sometime after 4am- the nurse anesthetist arrived and tears of joy welled up in my eyes. Let me tell you, the epidural was wonderful; however, it is a very disturbing sensation not to be able to move your legs ( a fact that would later become more troublesome as the nurses flipped me from side to side)...but it was oh so much better.

Immediately following my epidural the baby's heart rate dropped (something the nurse said can happen with an epidural). So Zack and the 2 nurses start rolling me from side to side, they gave me a shot of epi , and put me on oxygen and his heart rate went back up. Sweet Dr. Phillips comes by and prays for the baby and the delivery and at this point all things look great. Well, as my contractions continued to get stronger the baby's heart rate would decrease. At one point about 6 nurses ran in the room, put me back on oxygen, rolled me from side to side, and did countless other things. They decided to call the Dr. He came and decided to take me off the pitocin. At this point they also decided to put me on an internal monitor ( a monitor they placed on the babies head to more accurately monitor his heart rate) and to hook me up to another IV to in essence refill my womb. At this point they concluded that the umbilical cord was probably wrapped around the baby's neck and this was most likely causing the baby's heart rate to decrease during my contractions.

Well by 3pm I was dilated 9 cm. The next few hours included the following: getting sick, developing hot spots where my epidural would no longer work, and being examined and flipped by countless nurses, & even some student nurses (note: I truly feel that the 15th hour of labor when your having complications is NOT the time to let your student nurse examine an expectant mother to see what it like to be dilated X cm-anyway, I digress) .

At 7pm I was finally 10cm. Dr. Phillips decided he will let me try to push, but due to the baby's heart rate decreasing and the position of his head if he did not come VERY QUICKLY we would do a C-section . Well after about 10-15 minutes of pushing, no progress, and the baby's heart rate continuing to decrease with every contraction- they put away the glorious stirrups and prepped me for a C-section. I then went in and they preformed their magic (none of which I could see because of the big blue sheet in front of my head). The next thing I know they tell my sweet, precious husband (who I failed to mention was so kind and supportive the entire day- the perfect partner) he can look over the sheet and watch them pull out the baby (James had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and his shoulder). I cannot describe how wonderful it was to hear his beautiful cry. I was so amazed I could finally hear the child I had carried for the past 9 months. Then sweet Zack brought James all swaddled and precious over for me to see.. It was a very surreal moment.

It was a long, but wonderful day. Every second of it was worth hearing James' beautiful cry, seeing his precious face, and enjoying it all with my wonderful husband!! God has blessed us so much. My cup overflows!!