Considering It All Joy: Anthony's Birth Story

Well, it only took me 7 weeks to finally post Anthony's birth story - having 2 kiddos under 2 years is keeping me busy! ;)

The pic above is one last belly pic taken before my induction at 8:00 am on Monday, June 4th.

So for anyone interested in reading and for my own records, here's how it all happened...

· I was so thankful that I slept really well Sunday night and woke up feeling good on Monday morning. My mom came over to watch Hannah Beth, we finished getting our bags packed and I grabbed my oatmeal to eat in the car on the way to the Medical Center (just about 7 minutes away).

· When we got there to the 3^rd floor where the birth center is, they took us to our room and we got settled in a little bit and met our nurse, Kristine. She was a really sweet girl who asked lots of questions throughout the morning and was really interested in listening about our lives as well as our loss of Alethia Joy. I really couldn’t have asked for a better nurse.

· The room was really nice and big, with a pull-out couch and large bathroom. They gave me a hospital gown to change into and we took a couple last pregnancy pictures. They first put the 2 monitors on to keep tabs on the little guy – his heart rate seemed slower to me than Hannah Beth’s but it was steady, though the monitor kept falling down and getting my rate instead of his. The nurse put an IV in so they could give me fluids and get the Group B Strep antibiotic started. After she put the IV in, I felt sweaty and yucky and dizzy – she said something about it bubbling up and I think that made me queasy. After a little while I thankfully started to feel cooler and much better.

· The nurse checked me and I was at 3-4 cm. I was disappointed to not be further dilated than that – and she said his head was still kind of floating and not fully engaged. I was thinking, “this is gonna be a long day…” knowing that inductions often take quite a while.

· After they got a good “strip” of monitoring his heart-rate, they started with the smallest dose of pitocin around 9:30-9:45 and I started having some irregular contractions but none that I could really feel. The nurse reassured me a couple of times that baby was looking really good. Each half hour they upped the dosage a little more.

· I was still feeling pretty comfortable and did some bouncing on a yellow peanut-shaped rubber ball for a while. We watched a little TV and I ate a red popsicle. We watched Food Network a little bit but it was kinda making me hungry! Haha.

· Contractions started to get a little more uncomfortable but still nothing really very painful. At about 11:30-11:45 am Dr. H came in and broke my water. She said at that point I was 100% effaced and then dilated to 4-5 cm. So I was making progress – and she mentioned that this might go pretty fast. I wasn’t so sure at that point!

· I had planned on getting an epidural but didn’t really feel like I needed one yet since I wasn’t in much pain. I could see on the monitor that the contractions were now coming about every 2-3 minutes. The nurse reminded me that I could get an epi whenever I wanted but that it would take a little while for them to get it (though they weren’t very busy on that Monday morning).

· So I said I would go ahead and get the epidural. Soon after I said that the contractions began getting more uncomfortable – I could now definitely feel when they were coming and leaving – and at times I had to hold tightly onto the hand rail of the bed to get more comfortable and breathe through them. This already was the most “labor pain” I had ever really felt in my three times giving birth.

· The anesthesiologist was a funny guy who made lots of jokes with Tony about NC and various things but at that point I didn’t find much of anything funny! Contractions were getting harder but I was able to hold still enough to get the epidural – I think that was around 12:30 p.m. Tony had said earlier that maybe the baby would be born by noon! I really didn’t think it would be anytime close to that…

· I never really was able to get comfortable at all – the contractions were both in my belly and in my back – I almost felt like they would be hurting my baby but that’s probably because I’d never experienced that before. By this time I was really feeling the urge to push that baby out!! But less than an hour ago, I was only 5 cm... Little did I know things were quickly progressing.

· I continued to use the hand rail and by this time I was really moaning and groaning through each contraction. Since even after the epidural I wasn’t getting comfortable at all, the nurse checked to see what my progress was. Sure enough, I was fully dilated to a big 1-0! She said, “You’re going to have a baby!” This was about 12:55 p.m. I wasn’t really paying much attention since I was in a lot of pain still (though I think the contractions were getting a little more bearable as the epi set in a bit more) – but Tony said the nurses worked quickly to get everything set up. Dr. R had just started her shift a little earlier and she came in and said Dr. H had forgotten to tell her I was even there so close to delivery – she said “I’m glad I’m ready” – since she was fortunately dressed in her scrubs.

· When they were set up, I started my pushing – after a couple of times the Dr. said she could see some blonde hair! I asked, “Is he doing okay?” and they said yes he was doing great. I pushed a couple more times and could definitely feel his head coming-obviously the epidural hadn't really set in yet. I said “I just wanna get him out!!” A couple more pushes and our little guy was born! 1:13 p.m. – he weighed exactly 7 lbs and was 20 ½ inches long.

· They immediately put him on my chest and Tony cut the umbilical cord. He didn’t scream immediately like Hannah Beth did and I again asked “is he okay?” – and he soon let out a big cry! He was a pretty quiet baby at the start though – I got to hold him for several minutes there on my chest and it was priceless. I was so thankful to have him out and healthy and breathing and doing well. He had strawberry-blonde hair that looked curly and he looked so much like Alethia – I couldn’t believe it – much more like her than Hannah Beth. I also could tell that he did look like the last couple of ultrasound pictures I had.

· After he was born my legs were definitely numb- ironically enough, the epidural had officially set in after the birth!

· I was able to hold him the first time longer than I remembered holding Hannah Beth, which was so nice! Then they took him away and wiped him off and did the footprints and everything else.

· When they brought him back over to me, I just cuddled him and Tony and I just looked at him in amazement – God is such an incredible creator and He knitted this precious little one together in my womb!

· I fed him right away and he was pretty wide awake and caught on quite quickly. It had only been 8 months since I nursed Hannah Beth, but in a way I had forgotten the wonderful closeness and feeling of bonding that nursing creates. I do not take this blessing for granted at all as I know that not all women are able to experience this.

· Soon after, we started making our first phone calls to our parents, grandparents, and siblings and then texting our friends with the good news!

· That afternoon around 4 or 5, Hannah Beth came with my parents to meet him for the first time. At first I think she thought that something was wrong with me when she saw me in the hospital bed, but when she saw me holding her baby brother, she seemed so happy! I teared up a little when she came in – I had missed her so much even just in the few hours of excitement. Finally our family felt more complete – although I couldn’t help but think of their big sister who we were still missing so much. Honestly no matter where we are or what we're doing, I still feel like a piece of me is missing without her.

· I held both kids on my lap and then she got a chance to hold her baby brother – such a sweet big sister already. My parents were a great help with her and of course they enjoyed meeting their 2^nd grandson as well. It was the first time they had a grandchild born near to their house.

We are praising and thanking the Lord for this wonderful & amazing blessing of new life!!

What a miracle it is!

Here are some more pictures...