This week’s blogging hiatus can be attributed to the arrival of our little man, Owen Michael. He arrived last Friday at 8:12 a.m. and weighed 6lbs. 7oz. And is perfect!
So how did this little miracle come about? Well, Thursday morning I woke up and felt like things just weren’t quite right. But I had my 40 week appointment later that morning, so I figured I’d just wait until that appointment. I explained my symptoms to the nurse and then my doctor. It wasn’t an obvious “oh, of course I’m in labor!” situation. So they ran some tests, hooked me up to some monitors, and we waited. An hour or so later, we got a sort of verdict. I was leaking amniotic fluid. Which led to some concern that eventually, there wouldn’t be enough fluid in there for the little man.
So, induction of labor was in my near future. I called Jon at work and we met for lunch, then headed home to pack some bags, take the dogs out, get them to the dog sitters, and go back into the hospital. So before labor even started, my ideas of a “drug-free” labor and delivery were out the window. This is why it’s good to be open minded about the process, I guess. So Jon and my mom and I checked into our birthing room at 4:30 or so, met with the doctor, discussed our various options, made a decision on the induction method of choice, and the. Waited for things to get really painful. We watched the contractions and Owen’s heart rate on the monitor and played some scrabble. It seemed like some time around 10:00 things started getting quite unpleasant. I remembered all of my techniques, did some squats, blah blah blah. But seriously, nothing prepares you for that pain. So some time around 2:00 a.m. it was decision time again. I was tired, miserable, and after quite a bit of discussion with my mom, Jon, and the awesome labor and delivery nurse, decided that I was an epidural person after all. By this point I’d been in labor for like eight or nine hours and was worried that I may not have enough left in the morning to push. And good lord! Labor sucks. I was also only like five or six cm dilated, so I knew I had a ways to go. I also realized that my end goal was a healthy baby, not a drug free labor and if I couldn’t push him out, that was going to be tough. So by 2:30 the anesthesiologist had placed the epidural and by 3:00 I was feeling significantly better about things.
My doctor was in early that morning, and checked my progress. Good news, kiddo was doing fine. Bad news, by 730 am or so, I was still only at eight cm. And then things took a quick turn. Owen’s heart rate started going down. Not horribly, but enough to be a little concerned. My doctor gave us our options. Living in a place where we’re a helicopter ride from any neonatal care unit and that only has two operating rooms, I was about as unwilling as my doctor to take unnecessary chances in favor of a natural birth. All those things that I had read and plans I had went out the window when I saw that little monitor reading 75 beats per minute. Too low for an infant. So we prepped for a c-section. Seriously, 20 minutes later, we had a beautiful, healthy little baby boy. Jon was with me for the surgery, and he held the little man as soon as they pulled him out.
It was far from a fairy tale labor and delivery, but the end result could not have been better. He is strong, healthy, and beautiful. And throughout my whole pregnancy, that was always the goal. So, mission accomplished. I’m recovering well and, as usual, having a hard time being patient about the process, but trying to take it easy. Owen is an extremely happy baby. Having my mom here has been a life saver, and we’ve just recently gotten Owen to successfully sleep in his pack n play. Win! We’ve all survived week one and I’m starting to think we’ll be able to do this.
The FinnWin Family Adventures 