Despite everyone's kind words saying that there was no way I would make it to Micah's due date (based on my very large belly), I almost made it! Since Micah was due on February 29th, we decided to go ahead and induce on February 28th. I so hoped he would come on his own before then, but apparently he was really comfortable in my belly. Jeremy and I got up super early (after a not very restful night's sleep) on Tuesday, February 28th, to get ready for our induction. We arrived at Erlanger hospital in downtown Chattanooga at 4am to get things started. After I got checked in, they took me to my labor and delivery room. I noticed there was a sign on the door that said "It's a boy!" and it had a monkey on it that looked a lot like the monkey from Micah's nursery decor. When I went in, the room was decorated with streamers and stars and a sign with Micah's name on it. There was also a stuffed monkey, flowers, and card waiting on the table next to the hospital bed. As soon as I saw everything, I knew who was responsible - my best friend Brooke! Brooke works as a nurse in labor and delivery. She was supposed to be working that night, but she was called off. She decided to come in, without pay, in the middle of the night just to decorate my room! It was such a surprise and instantly made me feel a little less anxious about the whole childbirth thing. :) Brooke had hung out after she finished decorating to welcome us and tell us about the people that would be taking care of me. She was awesome - nice to get the VIP treatment!!
After Brooke left, we got things started. Around 5am, they started the pitocin. Contractions immediately got to be more regular and a little stronger, but not too uncomfortable. When Dr. Barker came in to see me that morning, I had only dilated to 3 cm, so he went ahead and broke my water. Just minutes after he broke my water, I was calling the nurse asking for pain meds. By the time she made it to my room with the pain medicine, I was asking for my epidural. I felt stupid asking for it only being 3 cm dilated (I was 5 with Cora), but I was in some pain. They had to give me fluids before getting the epidural to prevent my blood pressure from bottoming out. By the time my epidural finally arrived, my pain was off the charts. (The anesthesiologist came to my room the next day to see how I was doing, and I had no idea who she was if that tells you anything.) It was very challenging to try and breathe through the contractions and hold still while they did my epidural. It didn't help that my spine is apparently curved, so they had a little bit of a hard time getting it in the right place. It was not fun. BUT, I am SO thankful for that epidural. By the time it was in, I started feeling pressure. The nurse checked me and was shocked to find that I was 9.5 cm dilated. She called in a second opinion, and sure enough, I was. They let me continue to labor so Micah could drop a little lower.
I started the pushing process right around noon. I had dreamed that it only took 2 pushes and Micah was there, but that proved to be only a dream (I also had dreamed that my brother and sister-in-law had their baby the same day and name HER Mohammad). Everything was going well with pushing until Micah got to my pelvis. I always assumed that having wide hips meant that I would also have a wide pelvis. Apparently this is not the case. I pushed, and I pushed, and I pushed... At some point, Micah's heart rate began dropping with every contraction. The nurse called Dr. Barker, and he quickly came in to assess the situation. He decided that we needed to get Micah out as quickly as possible. Because I was struggling getting him past my pelvis, he suggested using the forcepts or vacuum. He wasn't comfortable with the hold he was getting with the forcepts, so we used the vacuum. During this time, Micah's heart rate kept dropping, but he would always recover. Then I felt a gush that was apparently blood, and Dr. Barker said something about an abruption. He had the nurse call the OR and tell them to begin prepping the for an emergency C-section. It certainly wasn't my first choice of delivery methods, especially after all my hard work, but I was okay with whatever was best for Micah. I just wanted him to be okay. I am thankful that in the next few pushes while they were prepping the OR, Micah was born at 1:49 after 2 hours of pushing, weighing 7 lbs, 8 oz, 20 inches long. He didn't cry immediately, and I was just waiting to hear that first cry. Soon, he was crying, but he was still having some problems and was "grunting." Apparently he was trying to force open his lungs. The NICU team was working with him while I was laying clueless to what was going on, praying my baby boy was okay. Thanks goodness, he was! I also missed the scary fact that the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck when he came out. I am thankful I could not see that - poor Jeremy on the other hand had too much knowledge of everything that was going on. I was an absolute wreck by the time I finally got to hold him - scared to death, relieved, and so thankful to have a healthy baby boy. Jeremy was so beside himself that he was basically speechless (If you can imagine that) when he got to the waiting room to tell our families Micah had arrived and then he broke down.
Since his rocky entrance into the world, he has done wonderfully! We left the hospital the day after he was born. When we went to the pediatrician 3 days after he was born, he had only dropped 2 oz from his birth weight! He's been quite a healthy little boy since then - more details on that in future posts. :)
For pictures, please view my facebook album: Micah's Arrival
