Alexis went a little past her date, and when a few potential complications came up the decision was made to be induced.
They went into the hospital the night before to start the process. I was fairly sure I wouldn’t hear from them until later the next morning, so imagine my surprise when I woke up to my phone ringing at 4am, and heard Shawn’s voice on the other end (daddy calling = time to go) telling me maybe I should start heading up.
When I got there Alexis was just getting out of the tub. I could tell by the look on both their faces that things had moved along quickly. As she was stepping out a contraction started, I grabbed onto her and walked her through it. As we moved her into the room and got her dressed again I was caught up to speed. Last check she was at 4cm, they thought her water had broken, and she had just thrown up. All good signs.
For the next 45 minutes things were pretty intense. Mommy was working hard through the contractions and shaking off and on.
It was at this point, when she had just finished her last contraction, that she looked up at me and said, “I want an epidural NOW.” There was no question in her voice, and we had talked about this in advance- she was very indifferent to getting an epidural. She looked at daddy and said, “Shawn, now.” As is usual they wanted to check her before they brought the epidural paraphernalia in… “Complete.” Was the only thing the nurse said. Alexis had gone from 4cm to fully dilated in 45 minutes!! Pretty intense to say the least!
They started trucking in all the baby stuff, the hustle and bustle began. They wanted mommy to push a little and see how she did…
After two hours of pushing with little progress, and Herculean effort by mommy it was clear some decisions needed to be made. First they tried giving her an epidural. Which in itself is no easy thing to do while you’re fully dilated and pushing. It wasn’t the smoothest epidural, and many punctures later- it was in… but not working the way everyone had hoped. Doctor suggested that because of mommy’s quick progression- if this baby was going to come naturally it would be coming. Forceps and C-section were talked about and finally it was decided that they would go back into the O.R. and would attempt forceps delivery there, but would also be in place in case a Cesarean was necessary.
As they wheeled Alexis out, she and Shawn had a ton of family in the hallway, all worried, eager & smiling to encourage the soon-to-be parents..
We waited very anxiously for any news. It was so hard not to be there! Finally, we saw the doctor come out! She let everyone know mommy & baby were great, and that they had delivered via C-Section.
Soon daddy came out with a big smile and tired eyes. Miles was here J !
What I found out later was that as they had tried the forceps, baby’s heart stopped beating for a short while. Somewhat of an emergency c-section, and baby was safely out.
These parents were amazing. Shawn’s love and concern for Alexis and Miles was so overwhelming. Watching what she was going through- through his eyes- made me realize for the first time just how hard it must be to be a husband during the labor process. Alexis was a rock star. It can be hard to go through a quick labor. Your body is changing so quickly but your mind and emotions take a bit to catch up. Alexis is a strong woman- you have to be to have her job. But, the flexibility, resilience and steadiness she showed during birth was… well, she should teach classes for this stuff!
Miles, you had a dramatic entrance to this world. I’m sure in the future you’ll love to hear the stories. Your mama was incredible, and your daddy wore his heart on his sleeve, and you had an entire waiting room full of family eager to meet you and loving you already. What a perfect combination of people to guide you through this life!
Thanks to Courtney Pegram of Small Beginnings Photography for being there for the birth and taking these amazing pictures!!
No comments:
Post a Comment
give it to me straight :)