Labor and Delivery

Today is my due date. Today I have an 8 day old, 8+lb baby sleeping soundly on my chest. As we adjust to a "new normal" in our house with Sir Isaac, I am still overwhelmed by God's gift. It feels so surreal still to have him finally here after waiting so long for him and after the hills and valleys of this pregnancy.

Before I forget, I wanted to write about God's abundant grace surrounding the labor and delivery of this child. I am still in awe with how smoothly and well it went! I was so fearful for labor this time around. I am not sure if it is because I felt as though I had been in labor since Dec 17th when we thought we were meeting Isaac at only 29 weeks. For each week after that we held our breath and prayed God would get us through just one more week. Little did we know that he would give us almost 10 more weeks and allow this little man to arrive at 38 6/7 weeks instead!

Tuesday night (Feb 23) I spent the evening cramping and contracting. They started to get a little more bothersome at midnight on Wednesday, but I was able to sleep most of the night. I was woken up by the contractions, but would be able to go back to sleep after breathing through them. They weren't consistent at all and at best were every 10 minutes. At 6am the intensity increased quite a bit and I mostly felt uncomfortable from the cramps. When Richard got up for work I went to the bathroom and was passing my mucous plug (this hadn't happened to me before) so I knew at least my cervix was changing.

At this point I decided to get ready to go to the clinic and at least get checked out. Looking back now I can see the early signs of labor, but at the time I was so afraid they would turn me away and I would continue being uncomfortable until Friday when I was scheduled to be induced. The contractions weren't much worse than the ones I had felt the past 10 weeks. I knew I wasn't contracting frequently enough to be admitted, and I was still able to talk and do things around the house while I had them. However, with both the older boys I didn't feel the intense pain of labor until the very end and knew I would feel better just getting checked out.

I called my sister Laura, who happened to be home from college for a break, and she came right over to watch the boys. I called the clinic and they said my Dr was in the OR, but one of the Nurse Practitioners could squeeze me in whenever I could get there. I packed a bag for the hospital, finished a few things around the house, and my sister dropped me off at the clinic.

At 9:30 am I saw a nurse practitioner, who happened to be Richard's aunt. It was so comforting to know that I was seeing her. I had some pretty decent contractions while I was there and she listened to Isaac's heartbeat while I was contracting and he tolerated it beautifully! She went to check me and I told her I better at least be past 2cm and 50% effaced (what I was a week ago at my appointment). She surprised me when she said I was 5cm, complete and going to have a baby today! I prayed for strength and told God that only he knew what was coming and I needed His help to get through it!

After that I began frantically calling Richard and my family to let them know what was going on as a nursing assistant wheeled me over to labor and delivery to be admitted. No one was answering their phones! I finally got a hold of Richard and told him the great news. I told him to go home, get my bag, and get here quickly without dilly dallying! I wanted my mom to be there too so I let her know what was going on and that we would call her with more updates later so she knew when to come.

The next few hours are a bit of a blur. I needed an IV to get my antibiotics going since I was group B strep + and the nurses were having a hard time with my veins. This isn't the first time my veins have been uncooperative! They had to call someone from IV resource to come do it.

Richard showed up in 40 minutes (a record for him getting to the hospital while I am in labor) and had a Caribou coffee in his hands! I did playfully scold him for dilly dallying, but was relieved he was there.

Things quickly progressed after that and before I knew it I was almost 7cm, so we called my mom to come. During this time my dad told me my grandfather (his dad) probably wouldn't make it through the day! It was also my mom's 49th birthday! My Dr. came in and told me she had mandatory computer training at 1:30pm and would stay as close to the time as she could. There was another physician on call who would deliver Isaac if she couldn't. I was heartbroken thinking of her not being there! She had done such an excellent job during our pregnancy and we felt so comfortable with her after all we had been through it only seemed fitting she would deliver him.

Needless to say things moved fast enough that she was able to deliver Isaac and make it to her training! I couldn't believe it when they checked me again around noon and I was almost 9cm! I warned them that Elijah (our second son) came very fast and was out 1 minute after I was 10cm. The OB techs set up the room, I had a few more contractions and called the Dr in when I felt some more pressure.

I was able to talk with Richard and my mom and realized how fortunate I was that I did go in and get checked because at 9cm I was uncomfortable but would have still be at home waiting for the intensity to increase before going in!

Finally it was time to meet this little one! The Dr broke my water, I waited for one more contraction, and pushed him out in just a few pushes. He had the cord around his neck, just like the boys, but our Dr. was able to slip it off quickly and he never showed any signs of stress during labor like Jonah and Elijah did.

My mom and Richard said that as soon as his head was out and they saw his face, they knew he was a boy because he looked just like his big brothers! It was pretty exciting to hear the Dr announce "It's a boy!" and finally meet this little man.

I was so thankful to have Richard there and my mom! I was also so grateful that I was able to deliver him naturally. I was so afraid and God gave me the strength I needed! My dad was waiting patiently down the hall and was able to meet Isaac shortly after he was born.

I know that it was only by the Grace of God that he arrived safely and did so as a healthy little man. I have been enjoying every moment we have together and am thankful for the new perspective I have after waiting so long for this precious life. As hard as the past 2 1/2 years have been waiting and wondering, I know God's plan is the best and I am thankful for that!

Richard and I are both overwhelmed with joy and our hearts are still bursting with love for these 3 boys. Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement during this pregnancy. My grandfather passed away 6 hours after Isaac entered the world. We witnessed the circle of life all in one day!

After 10 weeks of labor, 6 weeks of bedrest, 3 hours of labor, and 2 pushes we have been blessed with 8lbs and 10.6 oz of sweetness. I have been enjoying every moment, even the ones at 3am, and look forward to many more.