My "theme" for preparing for Owen's arrival during my pregnancy was the desire to bring more "peace" into our home. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I was honestly starting to wonder if nearly everything was going to end up being opposite of that.
Instead, God proved Himself Sovereign again and every tiny detail of our prayers were answered (no, not in the way we asked), but in amazing ways.
I was due with Owen on the 18th, and for so many reasons was VERY ready for him to be here by the time that date rolled around. I had already been to Labor and Delivery twice at this point and was feeling relieved and grateful to be experiencing so many signs of labor that I hadn't had with Adrian. On the morning of the 19th, I started having pretty severe contractions where I was counting and slowly breathing through them for hours. Finally, after about 5 hours, once they were 2-3 minutes apart, I woke Nick and told him he should probably get a shower because I was sure this was "it". I called my mom, she agreed, and we all hit the road within the next hour.
By the time I got to Labor and Delivery, contractions were 3 minutes, then 4, then 8 minutes apart. I was released to go home. We were VERY sad. I called mom, who was already on the road and told her the news. She said that she and my sister had decided to come anyways because they were sure it was soon! I was so relieved and grateful.
All weekend, nothing happened. Consistent Braxton Hicks contractions and increased discomfort, but no more "this is it" feeling. The doctor decided to give me an induction date of Christmas Eve. We all prayed and prayed that our sweet son would come a little earlier so that he could have his very own special day, but God's timing is perfect even in this! Wonder of wonders, my mom worked it out to be able to stay for Owen's birth, and Kayla's sweet husband drove all the way to pick her up so she could be home with her family for Christmas.
I slowly released my desire to NOT be in the hospital on Christmas day, and have been getting very excited about the sweet new traditions our family will be able to have around this time of year. By Monday morning, Nick and I were completely peaceful. We called in to make sure I could come in for the induction and were given an hour to be there, so we went out to breakfast at Waffle House - what a fun little memory!
To back track a little bit, I was SO SO thankful for Adrian's natural birth. It was fast, pretty easy, and I felt a true sense of accomplishment to be able to labor and deliver "naturally" without an epidural even though I was induced with him. I knew this time that I would probably have back labor because of Owen's position, but I assumed if I could do it once, I could do it twice naturally. Nick and I went through every effort to attempt to have a water birth at home, but once we found out our insurance wouldn't cover it, we trusted the Lord with another hospital birth that was as natural as possible.
We were admitted at 6:00am and I was immediately given pitocin. I was 3cm and 60% effaced when I got to the hospital so we all braced ourselves for a very fast labor and delivery (Adrian's was 4 hours from water breaking to pushing). By 3pm, I was only maybe 4cm and still very thick. By this time, the contractions were truly unbelievable. Our labor and delivery nurse was *very* concerned about having Owen constantly on the monitors and wouldn't let me out of bed or move at all through the contractions because I was "on pitocin" and she needed to hear the heartbeat constantly. This was a major blow to my plans for pain management, as I had been given permission to rock, walk, sway and move around the bed the entire time through Adrian's pitocin-induced contractions and fully expected to have the same freedom this time. I found a little comfort in shaking Nick's fingers back and forth and letting my head rock slowly, but I wasn't allowed to lean forward to ease the pressure off my back. Needless to say, when I was offered the epidural, I very reluctantly decided I had reached my limit and agreed to it. I felt defeated as this was NEVER in my plans, but I feel like things would have gone very differently if I hadn't given in.
At 4pm, I was checked again and was still 4cm and only 80% effaced. The doctor suggested that because he was "sunny side up" and probably pretty big, I would need a c section if I did not progress to 8 cm by 8pm. This was discouraging to be given so little time when I had had so little progression all day so far. Of all the reasons for the decisions we made for our birth, avoiding a c-section was the biggest one. I was really overwhelmed that this could be a possibility for me. My nurse asked how I felt about it and I explained I was trying to come to terms with it, and she said "Oh I'm so glad...it's so great that you're so flexible".
Nick and Mom started texting friends and family and updating facebook, pleading for your prayers. Very shortly, a complete peace covered me completely and I felt a peace that whatever the outcome, we would figure it out and be just fine. Nick and I accepted the fact that I would have to have the surgery more likely than not. At 7:30, there was a shift change and a new nurse visited our room. She was witty and encouraging and as our previous nurse left, she said "work your mojo!" - apparently, the nurse we had all day had a reputation for having patients that ended up with c-sections, and our new nurse had a reputation of having patients who ended up with very fast natural deliveries. We were all encouraged by her optimism.
At 8pm, the nurse checked me and we all expected to be told that we were going to have to have the section. Instead, she said, "you're about a 7-8"! We all broke down in tears of thankfulness and relief. I couldn't believe something so big had happened so fast! I decided to rest a bit in case it was still a while until he was ready to be born, but as I lay there it was only about 5 or 10 minutes before I started feeling a lot of pressure. After complaining about it a few times, Mom went and got the nurse, and everything started happening fast. The nurse exclaimed that he was right there, ready to be born, and the doctor came in and everything was set up. I asked for a mirror, and it was truly amazing to actually see my son be born - it also really helped me figure out how to push with the epidural.
Owen Judah was born at 8:57pm. He weighed 9lbs 3oz and was 20.5 inches long. He has a head full of really beautiful dark hair and is SO SO calm and relaxed. We are all loving him, and Adrian is adjusting really well.
Thank you to those who carried us to the throne in prayer and literally kept us from a very scary situation for us. Thank you for your sweet words and kindness during our waiting time, and for loving on our little family. God is so good and I love how He uses our friends and family to show it!
