photo credit Mama Hen
Don't you just love those feet? I do!
So...where to begin??? How about wayyy back to 40 weeks when everyone, and yes everyone, was giving me all kinds of advice to get Baby K9 out. Trust me, we were trying every old wives tale out there! When I went to my 40 week appointment my amazing Midwife did check me and I was dilated 1, big deal, and really not effaced at all! Okay, he obviously was not ready to come out and we were still set that it was about his timing. I felt great, wasn't swollen, still moving around good we were okay waiting on him a little longer. Sadly though, the body won't let you wait forever. At this appointment we went ahead and scheduled to be induced on April 26th. We would be closely creeping to the 42 week point by then and at that point the body, mine that is, starts to break down everything about being pregnant and the risk to baby increases. Certainly, plenty of babies have been born healthy past 42 weeks but after prayer Officer K9 and I agreed to not let it go past that. I continued in my 40th week feeling great, my mom came to be here for his birth and we had a great week! By my 41st appointment I had made a tiny bit of progress, 1.5 cm and maybe a little more effaced. That day was the day that we had something very special planned for an amazing couple we know. Officer K9's Sgt. was getting married in Mexico and we were unable to make it. They had asked us to be their witnesses here in front of the judge. This was the day they were going and we were blessed to be a part of it. I squeezed myself into a dress, which didn't go down far enough so I threw some leggings on and flip flops (dress shoes were not going on at this point!) and down to the courthouse we went!
Now, the next day, so 41.1, we woke up early and Officer K9's new toy arrived, his John Deere! I was suppose to ride around on it and get things moving but he wasn't having it! He was like a kid at Christmas! So I cleaned my kitchen and my mom and I made pizza for lunch. At lunch I said to Officer K9 that I didn't feel right and maybe he should call in sick. He said "Are you serious?" I replied, "Well, it probably is just a false alarm." I mean, at this point I had given up that he was ever coming out! So Officer K9 and I laid down for a nap and about half and hour later I had this urge, I mean serious urge, to go potty. I made it to the toilet and WHOOSH! I thought, what now? And the WHOOSHING kept coming! MY WATER BROKE! I yelled to Officer K9 who jumped into cop mode and took Hunter to the neighbors, called into work and did a bunch of other stuff that I have no idea! I jumped in the shower, which was a waste! The water just kept coming! We called in the midwives and since I was Group B positive they said to go straight in!
We arrived to the hospital about 4 p.m., my water broke about 2:30 p.m. on Friday, April 23rd. They immediately started my antibiotics after confirming it was my water that broke. Because it wasn't obvious???? The midhusband was on-call and came by with his student. Let me just say they were both wonderful! Since I was GBS positive and not having contractions on my own they needed to get things going as the risk of infection to baby was now increased. So...we reluctantly agreed to pit. About 7 p.m. I was moved from triage to my room (They waited until shift change so I'd have one nurse.) I want to say right now that I had a very positive hospital experience and we appreciated all the staff! So I hung out and labored, not really feeling too much but as the pit was increased so did the intensity of the contractions. They sucked. I'll be honest. But...I didn't give in to an epidural. We still were going for the natural birth. The nurse and midhusband got me in all kinds of laboring positions, some helped, others did not! I labored all night, no sleep here! By about 6 a.m. I had dilated to a 4 but still only maybe 50% effaced. I was exhausted and knew I had a longggg way to still go! The nurse thought I might give birth about noon. Noon! UGG! That was a long way off! The midhusband said I had done alot of hard work all night. I tried, Officer K9 was amazing but at this point we knew I would never push this baby out exhausted so we asked for the epi. Let me just say here that the needle, not so painful. Holding still that long in the middle of 2 major contractions, ugg!
So then Officer K9 and I slept. A new midwife came on and Mama Hen showed up for support. We were totally blessed by her presence. She was able to break Officer K9 and knew exactly what to do for me! Thanks for stealing me a popsicle! Thankfully, the Dr. didn't give me a strong epi, the midwife was able to still get me up in bed and in different positions to try and get things moving along. I was so relieved as I knew just laying there was not going to progress anything! By about 2, I was still only at a 4 and not effaced. The midwife was honests and said she'd give me another hour but then we would need to discuss a csection option. I cried. I was heartbroken. This wasn't what I wanted. I was scared. I felt guilty. Did I get myself into a csec by choosing the epi? Well, that was a stupid thought and soon left me as God answered, "NO!" We spent the next hour and half rocking my hips and rolling and working on baby. By 3:30 I had made zero progress since 7 a.m. My amniotic fluid was all gone and the MW really thought that Baby K9 was huge and stuck. She was able to feel him more at this point. she told us we could keep going, she might be able to get me to a 10 but that at some point my body had to kick in and work. She also warned us that while baby was doing great now, he could go in distress. That is not what we wanted. As much as we had our hearts set on a Vaginal birth, we always said that we would never put myself or baby at risk. Officer K9 walked in with flowers for me just as the MW said it's time to consider a csec. I cried again! Everyone left to give Officer K9 and I some time alone. We prayed and although I was heartbroken, I felt a peace that I know the Lord gave me. A peace that this was the right decision and we had tried, we really had tried and His hands were in all of this and He would see us through it. Mamma Hen came back in and prayed with us. Thank you Mamma, it meant so much to me at the time even if I didn't show it.
Within minutes of deciding the team arrived. It was a bit overwhelming! Everyone introduced themselves to us and explained their role. The surgeon explained how he did things. Soon after that I was being whisked off to the OR. I loved the anest (no idea how to spell that!) that we had. He sat with me and explained what was going on the whole time. They finally brought Officer K9 in, I was feeling a bit anxious and needed my husband. Baby K9 still put up a fight and the Dr. and MW (yes, she assisted) had difficulty getting him out! Little Bugger! They ended up needing to vacuum him out and finally at 4:52 p.m. on April 24th he arrived! He came out with eyes wide open and crying! The best cry I have ever heard! As thought, he was huge! 9 lbs. 9 oz. for those who don't know me, I am 5'3" and fairly petite. He was folded up in half in me and was pushed up, stuck on my pelvic bone. He came out with a huge red mark on his forehead and very swollen and bruised eye. Poor guy! The OB told me later that there was absolutely no way he was coming out of me but by csec. He almost had to make the incision bigger!
Officer K9 went right with baby and all I remember is hearing the nurse say let's get a kiss from mom, I kissed him then passed out form the exhaustion! They wheeled him and I to recovery and my awesome nurse from Friday was waiting for us. She called in and when she heard what happened came in early to be in recovery with me. God totally took care of us! All I heard from the staff at the hospital was how we got hte best surgeon! He really pays attention to detail and takes his time. My incision looks amazing and I really have recovered well! They prescribe percocit for the pain, I only took a half of one my first night home. Once the heavy meds wore off in the hospital I stuck to motrin. Not saying it didn't hurt, but it wasn't that bad and I didn't want the percocit passing to baby in my milk. That was enough motivation for me! I have since followed Dr's orders and saw him today for our 2 week check. He said everything looks good and to continue taking it easy, no housework!
The first few nights at home were rough. It's very difficult to be dependent on others, even a wonderful husband, to help you take care of your baby. I was moving so slow I needed Officer K9 to get him when he cried and bring him to me. It was difficult. At one point I just kinda broke down. This wasn't how it was suppose to be...Officer K9 said to me, "What if God said to you I am going to give you a beautiful child that you have been asking for but it will not come without pain and work, would you turn him down?" Of course not! I absolutely love this baby more than I ever could have imagined! I would never not want him, even how things turned out. I believe God's best for us is this story. I love our story and would not change any part of it, even the laboring all night! It was worth every minute of the past 40 something weeks!
Absolutely, completely worth this face! I can't get enough of it! God is good! His plans are always wayyyy better than anything we could think up! His story for our lives are 100x better than any story I could write!
Our story is far from finished. This was just a tiny chapter in the rest of our lives as mommy, daddy and Baby K9's!!!!
