In honor of his one year birthday, I thought it would be fun to write about how exactly he made his way into this world. Because those kinds of stories are fun to tell and fun to read (I enjoy them anyway :)
Last year, November 30 fell on a Tuesday. I was officially 39 1/2 weeks pregnant, swollen to the peak of skin expansion, and miserable with back aches and a general......heaviness. We had an appointment with our OB/GYN, and I was praying for progress. Any progress.
Unfortunately, no progress was reported - I was still dilated to about a 1.5 and was 70% effaced. No change from the week before. I remember calling my sister and moaning about how much I just wanted Finn to come. She gave me wonderful advice to just enjoy every moment....enjoy feeling him in my belly, enjoy the moments of just me and Matt. I took a deep breath and tried to follow her words of wisdom; I knew she was right.
That night was pretty normal for us. I fell asleep on the loveseat about 9 p.m. as had become my comfortable habit. About 20 minutes later, I was woken from my slumber by a distinct popping sensation. I ever so "gracefully" rolled off the couch and was down on all fours on our living room floor. I said to Matt, "I think my water just broke." Sure enough, seconds later there was evidential proof. No further details needed!
Immediately, Matt went into to Daddy Warp Speed. He ran from room to room of our house, collecting our hospital bags, starting the car, changing his clothes, getting me towels, calling everyone on his speed dial. While he got his exercise, I lazed around on the floor waiting for the water to stop. When it slowed a bit, I decided to take a shower. Matt thought I was crazy, but I really just felt an inner calmness. I was SO pleased that Finn was on his way and I didn't feel like there was too much of a rush.
After a few minutes, I started to feel a light contraction or two. We hopped in the car, Matt growing increasingly agitated with each red light we hit. By the time we got to the ER, I was having stronger contractions, spaced about 7 minutes apart. The Labor and Delivery nurse came to get us, and I got wheeled upstairs while Matt talked a mile a minute, entertaining us.
Here is where the story took an unexpected turn. A week before - at my 38 week appointment - my OB had checked to make sure that Finn's head was "down", that he was in proper position. She said it was. However, upon arriving at the Labor and Delivery triage, they did an ultrasound and verified that his head was actually up underneath my ribs. I had wondered why I never felt any of those notorious kicks up under my ribs and I now knew why.
Unfortunately, because my water had already broken, they couldn't attempt to turn him due to the risk of infection. Therefore, our only option was an emergency C-section. Immediately, the on-call doctor gave me the run down of what would happen and she also assured me that it was still likely that I would be able to have a natural delivery with our next child.
Within minutes, I was wheeled into the surgical room in some very fancy duds. This was probably the scariest part of the whole ordeal as I was by myself. Matt couldn't come in until after they had given me a spinal block and he was the only one that could be in the room with me during the procedure. At this time, I was still having contractions and they were beginning to get painful. This is also when they shoved a giant needle into my back. Hence, it being the scariest part.
Matt in his fancy duds
Once they laid me down on the table, Matt entered and held my hand and opted to go no where near the surgery side of the sheet that was placed over my belly. A few moments later, we heard the blissful first cry of our sweet boy at 12:14 a.m. on December 1.
Our first sight of him
Once I was put back together again, we were wheeled into a room for the spinal block to wear off. Here is where Finn got to meet his grandmas for the first time and where I first nursed him. The room was certainly nothing spectacular, but it will always hold sweet memories.
12 hours later, after a few more nursings and some catching up on sleep, life began to slowly edge back towards normalcy. I was able to walk around, take a shower, welcome visitors, and hold my baby boy as much as possible. Those first couple of days were nothing short of beautiful.
As I sit here, nearly 12 months out, I cannot believe that a year has passed so quickly. And as I look back at pictures and how much my boy has grown, I am reminded of how necessary it is to inhabit each moment and live grateful.
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