I suppose there are a number of days that have changed my live irrevocably; however, maybe none so dramatically as a few weeks ago when my son was born. So as to not be too graphic for public viewing, I'll just give you a few of the highlights of my labor:
Thursday - I went in on a Thursday night to get the whole induction process started. I was only dilated to 1 cm (as I had been for several weeks). After all night on cervidil, I was still only dilated to 1cm, though I did begin having contractions during the night. These contractions were different than the others I had felt. They were, for the first time, time-able. Though they didn't hurt much, they had a very distinct beginning and were about 3.5 to 5 minutes apart. I called the nurse in sometime in the early morning to ask if we'd still need to begin the pitocin at 6am. We did.
Friday - The nurse got me up around 5 am to shower and get ready for the induction. They began me on pitocin around 6am. My OB came in around 8 or 8:30 to break my water. (I was STILL at 1cm.) She said it was probably a good thing we were inducing, because there seemed to be a bit of miconium in the amniotic fluid, which can signal the baby is distressed. My contracts really strengthened after that. I finally asked for the epidural and some IV medication. I couldn't tell that the IV meds did much, but I'm A HUGE fan of the epidural!!! I could finally relax a bit. I think maybe I had dilated to a "2+" around that time. After the epidural is when things seemed to begin progressing. We were all excited when my OB checked me at 1:30pm and announced that I had progressed to 5cm. I knew it was common to progress 0.5 to 1cm an hour from there, so my family began taking bets on what time the baby would arrive - most guessed that night sometime.
Friday afternoon - Somewhere around 2:30pm I announced to the nurse that I was beginning to feel some pressure. She said I was due to be checked again at 3pm, so we'd just wait for that. At 3pm, the nurse checked me and announced that I was complete (fully dilated to 10cm, fully effaced and ready to push)!! At that point, we were just waiting on the doctor. The nurses had me do a short "test push" and determined that they didn't think it would take long for the baby to arrive once I started pushing. Somewhere approaching 4pm the doctor was scrubbed up and ready for me. We pushed through three contractions (nine pushes or so), ten minutes or less, and were able to meet our baby boy face-to-face at 4:06pm.
What a rush! The room felt like a party atmosphere. My son was on my chest, and I could see him for the first time. What a miracle! What a perfect, perfect gift from God!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Monday, July 08, 2013
Time flies...
It so disappoints me to realize I haven't blogged in over a year. Ridiculous! It's not that I haven't had anything to say... maybe I just haven't had the time to say it. John and I found out last October that we were pregnant and due July 3, 2013. Though we were thrilled by the news, we were also faced with some stark realities. John had been aware of an impending layoff from his job, and we still owned two houses. Although we were renting one of those (at the time), we were still taking a loss on it each month. So, in the last nine months we've 1) worked to finish up a house to sell, 2) "lost" a renter, 3) moved houses, 4) listed a house for sale, 5) had one contract fall through, 6) been laid off and 7) temporarily lost a key staff member in my department right before my maternity leave. Needless to say, it's been a little crazy.
Amidst the craziness we began leading a small group in January. It's been such a blessing! John and I debated the timing of the group, given our currently circumstances; however, small groups ("connect" groups) are all about community... which involves being real and transparent with each other. We decided there was no better time to start a group, and we've prayed that we could set an example of walking with God through some of these challenging circumstances.
Furthermore, John and I realized we would need to be much more reliant on God this year, which translates into a much more consistent and vibrant prayer life. We've seen God answer our prayers and provide in the following ways this year:
1) I experienced some bleeding during my second trimester. A high risk specialist advised me to have a polyp, that could be causing the bleeding, removed. Though the procedure would be fairly simple, it's still something they don't like to do during a pregnancy. After our Friday appointment with the specialist, I went in to have the procedure performed the following Tuesday and was told that the polyp was gone! (This is a polyp that had been there the previous Friday and at least a year and a half before that!)
2) I was concerned about my maternity leave, given John's layoff and my limited vacation time. I was given a "time bonus" to help offset what would have otherwise been unpaid leave!
3) John received a bonus within a month of his layoff. His severance pay has also been pretty incredible given the 10+ years he'd been with the company.
4) Though a layoff wasn't preferable, John hadn't been happy at his job for a long time. We really do believe this is God's way of redirecting John to something that he will find more enjoyable and fulfilling. (His initial plans are to take classes toward an accounting degree!)
5) We had an offer within three weeks of listing our house! Though the first contract fell through, we now have a second contract on the house. In the interim, we had the roof replaced and were only out our insurance deductible (on a $17k roof)!
6) I'll use a separate post to write more about the greatest gift and answered prayer: our son!
Amidst the craziness we began leading a small group in January. It's been such a blessing! John and I debated the timing of the group, given our currently circumstances; however, small groups ("connect" groups) are all about community... which involves being real and transparent with each other. We decided there was no better time to start a group, and we've prayed that we could set an example of walking with God through some of these challenging circumstances.
Furthermore, John and I realized we would need to be much more reliant on God this year, which translates into a much more consistent and vibrant prayer life. We've seen God answer our prayers and provide in the following ways this year:
1) I experienced some bleeding during my second trimester. A high risk specialist advised me to have a polyp, that could be causing the bleeding, removed. Though the procedure would be fairly simple, it's still something they don't like to do during a pregnancy. After our Friday appointment with the specialist, I went in to have the procedure performed the following Tuesday and was told that the polyp was gone! (This is a polyp that had been there the previous Friday and at least a year and a half before that!)
2) I was concerned about my maternity leave, given John's layoff and my limited vacation time. I was given a "time bonus" to help offset what would have otherwise been unpaid leave!
3) John received a bonus within a month of his layoff. His severance pay has also been pretty incredible given the 10+ years he'd been with the company.
4) Though a layoff wasn't preferable, John hadn't been happy at his job for a long time. We really do believe this is God's way of redirecting John to something that he will find more enjoyable and fulfilling. (His initial plans are to take classes toward an accounting degree!)
5) We had an offer within three weeks of listing our house! Though the first contract fell through, we now have a second contract on the house. In the interim, we had the roof replaced and were only out our insurance deductible (on a $17k roof)!
6) I'll use a separate post to write more about the greatest gift and answered prayer: our son!
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