I am a sucker for birth stories. I loved watching them on TLC. I love hearing them from my girlfriends. And, I love reading them.
So, for all of you that love a good birth story too...here's mine.
On Thursday, December 14th, I arrived for my scheduled induction at 7:30pm. I was admitted to my delivery room where I would stay until Baby Woodley made his or her appearance. I was told the induction process could take hours to days and that it rarely ever worked quickly. I mentally began planning for a long weekend.
It was a busy night in labor and delivery. In the first hour I was there, two babies had been born. Things were popping (no pun intended :) )! The doctor arrived in my room around 8:45pm and placed the Cervadil- medication to help thin my cervix. She said things were "looser" but that this process would probably take 12 hours and then we would see where we were at in the morning.
So, I sent Dave home, asked for some blankets and turned on the TV. It was now just a waiting game...or so I thought.
Baby Andrew just minutes old
At 10:30pm, I began feeling pretty uncomfortable. Up to this point the only contractions I knew were Braxton Hicks and these were nothing like those. They felt like they were one minute apart. I tried to reposition to get comfortable but nothing worked. Finally, at 11pm, I called my nurse. I was shaking uncontrollably and the pain was a nice 8/10. The nurse said, "Looks like you are in active labor." And on the inside I was thinking, "There is definitely something active going on!" She asked if I wanted to be checked to see how far I had progressed from my measly 1/2cm when I came in. I said, "Yes, please see if anything is happening." And sure enough, there was! I was 3cm dilated and my water had broken!
My nurse said, "Well, the Cervadil is out and you are doing this all on your own. Would you like an epidural for pain?" I immediately said yes and was thankful that relief was coming. My sweet nurse then said, "And you need to call your husband. This baby is coming sooner than we thought."
Daddy and his little man
I called Dave at mindnight and said, "It's time to come...baby is on his or her way." Dave, though groggy from just falling asleep, said, "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." As Dave was driving to the hospital, I was getting my epidural and he arrived just as they were finishing up. Poor guy never even got to see me in true labor! :) At this point, it was 1am and I was 5cm. My mom was quickly behind Dave and the three of us hunkered down for the next couple of hours.
It was now 6am and I began to feel "pressure" down there and the slightest urge to push. I was 8cm. I was told to hold off on pushing as long as possible so that the baby could do the majority of the work and prevent me from pushing for too long. So, wait...and breathe...I did. My epidural was great, but I still felt everything I needed to in order to push effectively.
At 7:30am, I called my nurse and said, "I can't wait anymore. I need to push." She checked me and said, "Whoa! The baby is right there and your doctor is doing a C-section. Hold on!" So, waiting...and breathing some more. Finally, at 8am, everyone was there that needed to be there and pushing began...29 minutes later, Andrew David Woodley entered the world.
Andrew David Woodley
Snuggles with mommy
Andrew had a loose nuchal cord around his neck when he was born which, with the quick delivery, caused him to poop right before he was born and he swallowed some of it. Thankfully, the nurses were amazing and with a little suctioning and CPAP in the delivery room, Andrew was good to go.
We hung out in Labor and Delivery for a few hours and then we were moved to our own room on Mother Baby. Our stay was very uneventful. Our biggest hurdle was, and at times still is, learning how to breastfeed. Andrew LOVES to eat and was ravenous from the get go! At 8lbs 3oz and 22 inches long, this little man isn't going to be little for long!
Baby Andrew just hours old
Holding onto Daddy
Abigail and Andrew- our miracle babies
We are all so in love with this little man and so thankful God blessed our family with him. Baby Andrew is truly the best Christmas present ever!
