I didn't consider having an induction until I was about 38 weeks pregnant. My parents were leaving town in a week and would be gone almost until my due date. We were planning on leaving Ellie with them when I went into labor (they're the only people who we've ever left her with and I had never spent a night apart from her!) and I was getting nervous that the baby would decide to come while they were gone. I talked to my doctor about it at my appointment that week and she actually strongly recommended an induction. Ellie was a week late and was over 9 lbs, which caused me to tear really badly and have a pretty rough recovery. She said that by having this baby closer to the 39 week mark I would have a better chance of not having such a big baby, not tearing as bad, and having an easier recovery. However, I couldn't be induced until the day I turned 39 weeks and that was the very day that my parents left town. She really didn't want me to go over 40 weeks so Ben and I started to talk and pray about what we should do. We went back and forth with an induction date (being induced honestly terrified me) and finally decided that we would give the baby until his due date to make his appearance on his own. My parents left town and I took it easy the very best that I could- praying that our little boy would wait to make his appearance when they were back! Sunday night they arrived home and I was still very pregnant :) Monday morning I woke up around 5 am with pretty strong contractions. They continued for the next few hours and we were certain that this was the day we would be meeting our son. What perfect timing of him to wait just until grandpa and grandma were home! We were so excited! I had an appointment that day at 2 and my contractions slowed and basically stopped just before. My doctor checked me and I was about dilated to a 4 so he stripped my membranes and we figured I'd be back at the hospital by that night. Baby boy had different plans, though. I think he's already a tease and was just showing us his personality ;) I went on a walk that night and my contractions were coming pretty strong at 3 minutes apart. Once again, we were convinced that this was it! Our bags were packed and ready to go. But the contractions stopped again and we realized I would probably be having an induction after all. I was still a little nervous, but felt really at peace about our decision and knew that it was the right plan for us. I was scheduled to be induced Wednesday and was told that the hospital would call me when we could come in. They usually start their calls around 6:30 am and we were the first on the list that day so we figured we'd be going in pretty early. I woke up at 5:45, amazed that I was able to get any sleep at all, and began getting ready for the day. I had my phone by my side with the volume turned all the way up and checked it about every two minutes to make sure I didn't miss anything. By 8:30 Ben and I were both going a little crazy just sitting around the house waiting for the call so we headed to Target! We walked around the store for about an hour hoping that maybe contractions would start or my water would break or something so we could just head to the hospital on our own-- no such luck. We bought Ben a new pair of church shoes and Ellie some Trolls bubbles and headed back home. I spent the rest of the morning playing with Ellie and checking my phone every couple of minutes. Finally around 11 I couldn't take it anymore and called the hospital for an update. They said that they had someone getting a C-Section and that as soon as she was done and in recovery they would be calling us. We figured that would be about an hour. 2 AND A HALF HOURS later we got a call asking if we could come in in an HOUR. This was literally the longest half day of my life!!! We finished up getting ready to go and then Ben gave me a blessing. We both received answers and comfort we didn't even know we needed and felt a blanket of peace come over us. We felt confident that everything with this labor and delivery was going to go well and excitement settled over us as we headed to the hospital.
Finally, at 2:30 pm we got to the hospital and were ready to have a baby. They took us into our room (that was next door to the room we had Ellie in), had me change into a hospital gown, and started getting me all hooked up and ready to go. It was such a different experience from Ellie's labor. With Ellie, we went to the hospital at 2 am after laboring at home for hours. I was in a ton of pain and everything was kind of a blur. This time we laughed and chatted with our nurse and just really enjoyed not being in pain at this point-- haha-- it didn't hit us for a while that we were actually in labor and delivery! Contractions started as soon as the nurse started my Pitocin. They were really consistent-- every couple of minutes-- but weren't too painful. So I decided to wait a little while to get my epidural. I knew that I definitely wanted one, but I wanted to experience a bit of my labor first. I labored for a couple of hours with steady contractions that weren't too intense until my doctor came in to break my water around 5:30. That is seriously the strangest feeling! A little pop and then a huge gush of warm liquid that basically feels like you're wetting the bed. Right after he broke my water my contractions started getting really intense. My doctor guessed that I would have the baby at 8:30 pm and Ben and I laughed because we assumed it would be later in the night since I had only been in labor for a few hours. We thought he might even come on Ben's birthday (after midnight).
Now that my contractions were really close and really intense I decided I was ready for my epidural. Our anesthesiologist came in at 6 and placed my epidural, but after waiting in the room with us for 10 or 15 minutes it wasn't kicking in. I wasn't feeling any relief or numbness. So he decided to take it out and try again. He said he'd never done that so soon but just felt like that's what we should do. I didn't mind getting a second epidural as long as it numbed some of the pain I was experiencing so I told him to go for it. While he was placing the new catheter he commented that Ben and I were the happiest, most positive couple he had ever seen in labor. When he said that I realized how grateful I was to have Ben there by my side! He's really good at staying positive and was helping me to do the same. I also realized just how excited I was to meet our baby boy! Even throughout the most painful moments, I still felt this underlying giddiness that we were going to see our baby soon. Ben and I both noticed that we were totally calm and at peace throughout this whole labor and delivery, which was a huge blessing because that had not been the case during Ellie's!
Anyway, the second epidural started taking effect (thank goodness) and the anesthesiologist left our room around 7. However, I quickly realized it was only working on my right side. I could still fully feel the contractions on my left side. My nurse had me lay on my left side to try and get the medicine to even out and she decided to put in my catheter to help relieve pressure my bladder might be putting on my uterus. She checked me right before she put it in at I was at a 6-- so Ben and I assumed we still had a few hours until the baby came. As she started placing the catheter I had this immense pain in my thighs (I know, so weird). I told her that and then I explained the pressure I was feeling as well. She checked me again and said, "You're feeling a lot of pressure because you're dilated to a TEN!"
Wait, what??? She had literally checked me two minutes before and I was at a 6! It took me a minute to process what she had even said and by the time I did she was paging our doctor telling him to get there NOW. Our room quickly filled with nurses and I was given an oxygen mask and told to keep my legs shut (haha)! The pressure I was feeling to push was unlike anything I've ever experienced. Luckily my doctor was there within a couple of contractions and the nurses quickly got me flipped over and in pushing position. I could fully feel when I needed to push this time (I couldn't at all with Ellie!) and 7 minutes later our little boy was here!! As soon as his head was out, my doctor and the nurses started commenting on his chubby cheeks. Once he was out my doctor said, "Kayla, this is a ten pound baby!" I didn't even realize he was fully out until Ben told me to open my eyes and there he was-- our beautiful, HUGE baby boy. They laid him on me and I was filled with so much happiness and love. My heart could just burst thinking about it. He looked exactly like Ellie did when she was born (which was exactly how I expected him to look) and I had the feeling that I knew him already. They took him to be weighed and my doctor's prediction was right-- 10 lbs 3 oz and just under 22 inches long. He is a big, healthy boy and I'm sure glad we decided to be induced on his due date and not a day later!! In fact, now we're wanting to be induced with every baby. It was a wonderful experience to be able to enjoy so much of the labor process and to know that Ellie was all taken care of and we couldn't have asked for it to go better (or faster!).
They brought baby boy back to me for skin to skin after they measured him and I was in complete heaven. My parents and Ellie came shortly after to meet him (luckily, he ended up being born at 7:27 pm, just before Ellie's bed time-- also less than 30 minutes after our anesthesiologist left- I got my epidural literally just in time thanks to our anesthesiologist following the prompting to replace it!). Ellie wasn't too interested in brother, but she was fascinated by our hospital room and the treats that the nurses brought her :) After my parents took Ellie home, Ben and I decided on a name: Beck Taylor Martin. We'd talked about the name Beck my whole pregnancy and I always had a feeling that that was who he was, but it wasn't until we saw him that we knew for sure that was supposed to be his name. Taylor is Ben's middle name and since they practically share a birthday we thought it was only fitting. Beck was the talk of the recovery floor and some of the newer nurses were excited to see their first ten pound baby, haha. I felt great and was able to enjoy the rest of my hospital stay, which was another huge blessing and contrast to our experience with having Ellie. We have seen so many blessings throughout this labor, delivery, and recovery!
We went home the next day and have been soaking up newborn cuddles and enjoying our time as a family of FOUR :) We're also incredibly grateful for my parents basically stepping in as Ellie's parents this week! They have been the biggest blessing in making our transition to a family of four so smooth.
We're so grateful for our Beck boy. He has the sweetest, calm little spirit and he brings so much happiness into our home. It's been fun to watch Ellie take on her new role as big sister (she's becoming more fond of "baby be" by the day :) ) and we can't wait to see their relationship grow over the years. We're so grateful to God for this family that we've been blessed with ♡
We love you, Beck! ♡
2 comments:
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This is beautiful. I can't wait to meet him in less than a month! Looking forward to the 4th of July with my amazing grandchildren!
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