Adrian's Birth Story

I am so thankful for the Lord’s timing and for how he orchestrated every detail of my labor and delivery of Adrian.

I was scheduled to go to Labor and Delivery Thursday night to be induced if everybody in Jacksonville wasn’t going into labor. I called at 5pm to make sure I could come in, and I was so excited when they told me to head in right away! My sister in law was staying with me and she helped me pack everything in the car and away we went to begin the most amazing night of my life!

Nick was still out of town, but made it to the hospital before they started the cervadil. This was a God thing because the cervadil ended up being worse than the pitocin-induced contractions the following day. Nick was great in providing support through the cramps that offered no relief. My nurse was extremely encouraging that night. Around 11 I was given Ambien (which is supposed to make you sleep through the contractions), but after two hours, it hadn’t touched me. I felt silly begging for relief, but the nurse finally gave me a shot of something in the hip that knocked me out for an hour. I was scared that I would be unable to handle my plan of an epidural-free labor with only an hour of sleep to go off of, but God was good!

My nurse took out the cervadil around 6 am. She told me I was the only one on the floor on which the cervadil had been effective. Yay, it was worth it! It took me from being dilated from 2cm to 4cm.

My midwife broke my water at 9am. I have read and been encouraged to not have my water manually broken, but I knew it would speed up my labor and I would much rather be in pain for a short amount of time than a long amount of time. I was given pitocin immediately and contractions began immediately.

Contractions were 1-3 minutes apart for about 2 hours. I was surprised at the intensity, but also surprised at the relief I felt between them. I was relaxed enough to doze off before being hit with the next one. I was exhausted, but learned that counting through the contraction helped. My nurse encouraged me by reminding me that the beginning and end of a contraction are like bad cramps, it’s just 40 seconds in the middle I had to get through. Breathe in through the nose, slowly let it out. 1. Breathe in through the nose, slowly let it out, 2. I’d count until it was over, and remind myself I was that much closer to seeing my baby boy.

Around 1pm, I was having a hard time wrapping my mind around the pain. I kept trying to justify an epidural in my mind, knowing it could possibly slow down the labor, and oh how disappointed I’d be in myself once Adrian was born. But around 1pm, I felt that I literally couldn’t handle it. I couldn’t stop screaming through the contraction and I begged Nick to let me have an epidural. My nurse stayed very calm and assured me that this was not what I wanted and she knew I could totally handle it. She checked me, and told me I was 7cm dilated and 90% effaced. “7 centimeters!!!” I screamed, “there’s no WAY I can go another 3 centimeters!” I felt so exhausted I couldn’t logically explain to myself why I should wait. But, I did. Once he heard I was to 7cm, something clicked inside of Nick and he went into full-force coach mode. I couldn’t have done it without him! He let me squeeze his fingers nearly off through the last contractions that were about 30 seconds apart.

Suddenly, I felt like I could.not.hold.him.any.longer. I really felt that the child was going to fly out of me! The urge to push was overwhelming. Nick was SO excited when I panicked, screaming about how I really, really needed to push RIGHT NOW. In the back of my mind I was scared the nurse would come running in only to tell me that I was in fact NOT ready to push. But, she checked me, and said, “he’s right there honey!” And she ran for the midwife. I had gone from 7 to 10 cm in less than ten minutes. Thank you, Lord!

Several nurses rushed in to prepare my bed for pushing. The midwife was no where to be found and I thought I would have to catch him myself! Nick encouraged me every second. Finally the midwife was found and I was given the go-ahead to start pushing. This part was a little more difficult than I had imagined since I felt so ready to push. I pushed as hard as I could and was getting hardly anywhere for 30 minutes. Finally, my midwife suggested an episiotomy, or otherwise I would tear. I agreed, and Adrian was born seconds later. This was the ONLY part of my birth plan that did not go as planned, and in this situation, I’m glad it didn’t.

My son was placed flailing on my chest at 2:01 PM and I couldn’t stop crying. Nick couldn’t stop crying. I just hugged him and kissed him. I couldn’t believe his little arms and legs and perfect hands. He looked just like Nick. We both were exhausted, but more in love with each other in that moment than we’ve ever been. I’ve NEVER seen Nick so proud and excited. The nurse cleaned Adrian quickly and laid him back on my chest for skin to skin. I couldn’t believe the love I felt for him and I couldn’t believe he was finally here! It was so worth it.

My mom and sister arrived about 8 minutes later. They had tried hard to make it in time for the birth, but Adrian just couldn’t wait! Nick, Andrea, Mom, Kayla and I all got to celebrate Adrian’s arrival in peace for a full hour soon after he was born. I was able to nurse him immediately, and he was not whisked away as I had feared. I couldn’t stop thanking and praising the Lord for how He had moved in SO many ways to bring Adrian healthy with so very few complications.

My son weighed 7lbs 5oz and was 21 inches long. He has brown hair, and most likely brown eyes and the most perfect face in the world. He has been nursing well (something I was afraid wouldn’t happen) and actually sleeps well through the night. It has been precious to watch Nick embrace his role of Daddy. It is truly impossible to describe the love you have for your child from the first second. I can’t believe it.

We are sooo grateful for our "little big gift" God has blessed us with. The Lord has been so good to us and has proven Himself in ALL the details. Thank you, sweet friends and family for your constant encouragement and motivation, advice and listening ears through the journey.

I’m a Mama! Let the adventure begin!