Delivery

So here goes...the story of my little one's arrival to the world....this will be lengthy but I'm mostly writing for my own records!

June 30, 2008....

I woke up around 5:30 a.m. to use the bathroom (not unusual); however, after I finished peeing I felt some more stuff coming out....(very unusual). It was more than just the general discharge that goes along with being pregnant but less than a gush of amniotic fluid. Nonetheless, I was pretty sure it was amniotic fluid leaking so I woke Mike up to warn him that we were going to have a baby on this day. I told him I wasn't going to call the doctor yet, that I would go back to sleep for a few hours and call when the office was open. I didn't want to call the emergency line and have my doctor woken up for no reason since it was a little leak. Of course, I couldn't sleep so I came downstairs and got on the computer to check email, myspace, etc. Once I was up and about the leaking just became continuous so around 6:00 a.m. I called the emergency line and had my doctor paged. I was told to call back if I didn't hear from Dr. Phillips within 20 minutes. Well 20 minutes came and went and I didn't call back. I figured she would get back to me eventually. (I didn't want to have her woken up on my account..haha) Around 6:45 a.m. I figured I would get a shower and we would head to the hospital whether I heard from the doctor or not. The slow leaking had now become more than just a drippy faucet and I was starting to get really anxious. I woke Mike up and told him to pack his bag, that I was getting a shower then he could get one and then we would head to the hospital. Of course as soon as I got in the shower my cell phone rang and it was Dr. Phillips. She told me to take a shower (done!), get some breakfast and then head to the hospital. So around 7:30 a.m. Mike and I were in the car heading towards Mercy Medical Center (in rush hour traffic...go figure) We got to the hospital around 8:30 a.m. and got checked in and given a room by 9:00 a.m. The soon to be grandparents started showing up around 9:30 a.m. ready for action! Because my contractions had not started and I was Group B Strep positive, they had to induce with Pitocin. I did NOT want this to happen but I wasn't up for a fight and I surely did not want to expose my son to the GBS anymore than needed. So I was started on Pitocin and antibiotics and the waiting game began. For the next three hours, the dose of Pitocin went up and down and up and down as they tried to find the right amount that would keep me in labor but also keep the baby healthy. Finally around 12:00 p.m. my contractions started. Not so bad at first....:) My goal to have Weston was 5:00 p.m. because that's when my doctor was leaving and none of the other three doctors in the practice was on call so they had a visiting doctor on call for them. I would have rather had a doctor that I knew deliver me but 5:00 p.m. came and went and no baby. I think at 4:30 p.m. I was still about 3-4 cm dialated...sucky! Around 6:00 p.m. I was around 6 cm dialated and everything whirlwinded from there. Between 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. I went from 6 cm to 10 cm! Ouch! I had opted for no pain medication so this was pretty much the worst part of it. I thought I'd reached my max when they finally said I could push and so I did...with everything in me...I pushed! Weston was having a hard time coming out and his heart rate had been fluxuating for about 20 minutes so Dr. Jones (the visiting doctor) said they needed to start breaking my bed down to take me to the Operating Room for an emergency C-Section...my worst fear! I begged and begged for her to let me push some more, and she did. Then with a little help of Dr. Jones (she cut me) I pushed really hard and out came flying this amazing baby boy!!! He didn't even stop at the neck like they like....he just came out finally! They wisked him away to check everything out. His apgar was 7 and he was crying but apparently he was also grunting which is a sign that something is wrong. Of course, I'm still being worked on and have no idea what is going on with my baby.....I'm freaking out! Finally someone told me that he was going to be taken to the NICU to have the grunting thing worked out. They let me hold him for about 45 seconds before taking him away. At this point I had agreed to get something for the pain of the episiotomy and before I knew it I was in LaLa Land....but I'm told they worked on me for 2 hours getting everything back to "normal". I lost a lot of blood and for a while everyone was scared....not me, I was out of it! Haha. I pulled through without having to get a blood transfusion! Meanwhile, Weston was doing a lot better in the NICU. He apparently had pheumothorax (sp?) which is a air socket in the lung. It worked itself out though! He stayed in NICU for 24 hours and then was able to come spend time with mommy and daddy. We both left the hospital on Wednesday night. Weston had an appointment with his pediatrician the next day to have a few things checked out, including a heart murmur (apparently common in a lot of babies) and his jaundice. Thursday's appointment proved that God is awesome, the murmur was gone and jaundice almost non-existent! I'm just praying now for a complete healing for myself, and I know that is coming also!

I'm so greatful for everyone who was there to support me: My Dad, Stepmom, Mom, Mother-in-Law, Maria, Pastor Dave, Ms. Debbie, and of course my most amazing husband, Mike! I don't know why God had me go through so much to end up with my beautiful baby boy, but I'm not bitter or angry, just greatful that He pulled me through. Sometimes, I think we just through things to learn to depend on God. I can't tell you how much this experience has touched my spirit and made me rely on God over all. I thank God for his gift everyday and pray His angels keep watch over my little one especially in the wee hours of the night. Weston has such a calling on his life and I can't wait to watch it pan out! I'm just greatful that God has given me a place in His child's life and that I can be a facilitator to the grand destiny God has in store for Weston! It's an honor that God trusts me to bring up His child in this world and I can only pray daily that God gives me the ability to do so. It's scary thinking about the years ahead but I'm ready for the challenges knowing that God is the real parent here! Thanks Father!!! :)