Whelp, Micah must be the third child--it's taken me 3+ weeks to get his birth story on the blog. Life is a bit busier with THREE, and with the Christmas season now upon us, blogging hasn't been on the Top 10 Things To Do list…
But this little guy's arrival was quite memorable, and I wanted to write down a few moments that we hope to always remember…and maybe a few moments that we will choose to forget! But this way it's written down...
Early Conferences--When Josh was born at the end of March, that was the only year he got me out of parent/teacher conferences. And now, dear Micah was due to arrive right at the beginning of conferences, so…we planned our 5th graders' conferences for the beginning of November. [In the coming years, though, I'm afraid Micah will have a stressed Mama--birthday parties along with conferences and Thanksgiving! Oh, what fun.] The night before my last day of work and evening of conferences (Nov 13)----I thought I would have to cancel! I was up for 3 hours with contractions every ten minutes! After I'd worked out in my head where we'd take the kids in the middle of the night and how I'd get a substitute teacher for my last day, the contractions faded...and I was pretty relieved to be at school one more time.
Parenting Leave--Jeff was able to request 3 weeks off of work to help us adjust to having a baby at home. He had a great sub lined up, he just had to predict when the baby would come so that he could have things lined up. Since I'd been having all sorts of contractions and we had one of our last doctor's appointments on Monday, Nov 18, he decided to start his leave then. I'm so glad he made that decision, because at our appointment where I'd hoped the doctor would say the word that starts with I and ends in "nduce" the baby's heartbeat was very low--110--and they sent us to be monitored at the hospital. It was so great to have Jeff there. BUT, Micah was only sleeping and gave a real show for the nurse in triage so we were sent home. He didn't come that day…or in the next 4 days…so while Jeff was antsy he tackled some home projects: installing a new microwave, rewiring the burners on the stove, considering stainless steel appliances (we opted out!), looking for bigger houses online…and making special time with both Gracie and Josh.
Appointments that Week--We had appointments Monday and Thursday of that week, and I was hoping that the Thursday appointment wouldn't be needed. But on Thursday, even though I'd had plenty of contractions, I was still at 3 cm. 50% effaced. Baby Micah's head was not engaged--floating way up high, unlike my previous two babies. He was comfy, we were antsy. :) We left our Thursday appointment disgruntled--Jeff feeling like he took work off too early, and I was feeling exhausted and frustrated. So what do we do? We picked the kids up from Kindergarten/Preschool and took them to the movies! Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 was a great distraction.
24 Hours Before His Arrival--That night, my contractions picked up. Starting about 8pm, I was having strong contractions about every 8 minutes. This lasted throughout the night and I tried to sleep in between timing contractions. At 3am I called the nurse at the hospital--unsure of when we should go in. I'd heard that the third baby would most likely come faster than the first two, and we had kids to shuffle off to family… But the nurse set my mind at ease--actually, I'm not sure that can really happen at this stage of delivery--or at least assured me that I wouldn't give birth on the way to the hospital if my contractions weren't unbearable. I wasn't at the unbearable, give-me-the-epidural! stage, so I tried to rest. 6 AM I was up to shower, and we had the kids at G'ma Colleen's by 8.
Pappy's Surgery--That same day, Harvey was at Sacred Heart getting the arteries behind his knee cap cleaned out. Jeff and I went to see Granny in the waiting room before we checked in at The Birth Place. I knew I'd be there long enough…
No Progress?!?--When we checked in, upon examination, the verdict was that even with all of these contractions, I was still at 3 cm. I was shocked, to say the least. We were asked to walk around the hospital for an hour to "get things moving" so that they could admit me. This proved to be the longest hour of my life! Ha! I was so frustrated that they may send me home with all these contractions, so I was walking, crying, and finding a chair to sit in every ten minutes. It was miserable. Upon returning we found that no progress had been made, but my doctor didn't want to send me home just yet. He suggested another hour of walking. Jeff gave the nurse a "She won't make it!" look and the nurse suggested that instead a nice jacuzzi tub might be just the ticket. At that point I was convinced that nurse was an angel. A much better way to experience contractions! Before I got in the jacuzzi I made Jeff take a picture of me, just in case this was the last time I'd be seen pregnant and not in a hospital gown!
Oh, look at that puffy-from-crying face! Someone give this mom some Pitocin! :)
No Room in Triage--When I got out of the jacuzzi to be checked, my triage room was given to someone else, so they had to check me in one of the birth suites. And then they couldn't get rid of me! :) The doctor okayed some pitocin, and things started picking up.
Epidural--Oh, yes. Got it before the doctor checked on me and I was a lot more comfortable!
Nurse Lisa--My delivery nurse was amazing! She had family in Nine Mile, so we had a few people in common that we knew. Sweet lady.
Comfy Micah--By this time it was nearing 5pm, and our doctor was not on call. Boo, hiss! But Dr. Hilton came in to check me and saw that there was still a problem that was keeping labor from progressing. Micah's head was not engaged, and he was going to have to break my water. The danger in breaking my water when his head was so high was that the umbilical cord may slip and get caught between his head and the cervix, which would lead to an emergency c-section. But he thought he could poke a small hole in the bag, allowing it to drain slowly. He did, it worked beautifully, and he said he'd check back after dinner in the cafeteria with his family.
Mom and Dad--My parents showed up about 6 pm, just in time to see me get really uncomfortable again and adjust the epidural.
The Final Moments--My nurse finally checked me around 7:15 and I remember her saying that she was glad that I had an epidural and didn't feel the urge to push, because I was at 10 cm and the doctor wasn't back yet! Dr. Hilton made it in time, though. At 7:50, after just two sets of pushing, Micah came into the world! I remember the moment they placed him on my tummy--Jeff cut the cord and I searched Micah for his "name tag." He didn't have a name yet, and I was hoping that he'd come out and tell us what his name would be. :)
They thought he was awfully sweet!
We had grandparents, Gracie and Josh, and then Julie and her mom visit that night--then they had me busy recovering and I experienced my second night in a row of little sleep… But we were so excited to have our little Micah with us that it didn't matter. What a blessing! We were filled with relief and overwhelming thanksgiving!
And did I mention that he was born on his Aunt Annie's and my Aunt Sheyanna's birthday? These two aunties were very sweet to share their day with him. I think he's a pretty cute birthday present! :)
