One, Two, Three, PUSH!

Ok, so I was horrible at documenting my pregnancy so I thought I better blog about my labor and delivery experience before I forget about it.

On March 22nd I went in for my routine weekly doctors appt. I was 39 weeks along and I was getting anxious for the arrival of Nolan but much to my disappointment I was no further progressed than the week before so I was expecting a delivery date past the one originally given to me.  But before I left the appointment the doctor asked how the baby's movement had been and I replied that I had noticed in the last couple of days that he didn't seem to be moving as much as he normally had and not expecting for any concern the doctor said he wanted to schedule me right away for a Non Stress Test to see how the baby was doing.  I agreed and set the appointment for the following morning.

When I woke up I worked from home for an hour or so that I didn't have to take any time off after I returned to work that day. I then called Chris to make sure he was on his way to the hospital.  When speaking to him I noticed a little nervousness in his voice and when I asked if he was ok, he replied that he was really scared because a co-worker of his went in to this same test with his wife and she had to be induced the same day.  I confidently told him there was nothing to be worried about and that it was just a routine test and we would be back to work before we know it. Boy, was I wrong!

When we finally made it into the room to have the ultrasound I still felt confident that everything was fine and it wasn't until I found out that the normal amount of amniotic fluid I was supposed to have was 8-22 cm of fluid with 8 being really low.  The ultrasound tech could barely find any in my uterus, but thankfully said he looked healthy and happy so instead of waiting for next week on my actual due date they thought it was best to get him out today. So they immediately told me I was going straight downstairs to the hospital to be induced.  Wow, did my heart race!  I was not expecting to have this baby so soon nor did I feel prepared yet, his room wasn't ready. However, luckily I had cleaned the house spotless, done all the laundry, we had gone grocery shopping and I had my bag packed at least some things were in order. :)

So we went straight downstairs as instructed, got all checked in and called our places of work to let them know we wouldn't be coming back.  I felt so bad because I was in the middle of a busy week and  I was busy working on a bunch of things for the clump of conventions we had coming up the following week.  So with me being aware unexpected it meant a lot of extra stress for my co-workers, but I realized there was nothing I could do about it and I had to focus on a safe delivery.  After calling our bosses we called our family and let them know the crazy news.

After being induced around 11:00 that morning the next 22-23 hours were the longest of my life for many reasons. One being all I could think of was FOOD!!!  And I couldn't eat anything because if I had to go into a C-section you aren't supposed to have anything in your stomach in case of you choking on it. Of course everything on tv seemed like it was a commercial for food.   I finally decided to get my epidural around 10:00 that evening only because the anesthesiologist was going into a slew of C-Sections and I was afraid if I didn't get it then I would have to deliver without it.  The epidural was fine for me but Chris later told me he almost passed out at the sight of the large needles they were putting in my spine.  After that kicked it was just a waiting game.....

The night came and went and it was morning and I still wasn't dilated to a 10.  I finally got there at 6:00 am on the 23rd and I was ready. My back was aching so bad I was ready to get this baby outta me so I could relax.  I remember starting to push, but I didn't really know what I was doing or even how to push. I remember the nurse saying: "push like you have to poo" (sorry for being crass, but that's what she said).  After 2 hours of not feeling like I was doing anything there was a shift change and I had the nurse I had; had the previous afternoon who just happened to be a girl I went to elementary-high school with (and I thought it would be weird, but I think you reach a certain mind set when you go into labor and you just don't care who "sees" you anymore).   She was a much better labor coach and I finally felt like I was making some progress, but just as I was getting into the swing of things the baby's heart rate decreased and my contractions slowed so we had to wait to make sure the baby'e heartbeat went back up before I could continue otherwise I would have to have a C-section. After and hour of monitoring I was given the go ahead to continue pushing.

As one hurdle came down another one came up. Nolan got stuck in my pelvis, and again the doctor was worried and almost scheduled me for a C-section, but me being positive person I told him I could get him unstuck and continue and I did.  To make a long story short at 9:46 Nolan Michael Sanders finally made his appearance.  And much to Chris's and my surprise he was a whopping 8 lbs and 9 oz. We and the doctor were expecting a 7 pound baby and if someone would have told me up front how big he was I probably would have elected for the C-section.

I cannot express the joy I felt as I saw and held him for the first time.  He was definitely worth the 9 months of pregnancy and the 23 hours of labor. He was an answer to our prayers and he was more special than I could have ever dreamed.  He has continued to be a blessing and we are so happy to have him in our family and call him ours.