Joshua

Hello everyone!

Well we did it! Baby Joshua has arrived amongst a lot of prayer and anticipation. This little boy has been such a test for pregnancy and also a beautiful blessing! We are so blessed that he has arrived safely and handsome!

The Beginning of Labor

As many of you know, we had a false alarm a little over three weeks ago. Let's just say it was a miserable experience and not one I wish to repeat. When checking in, I passed out while giving blood and getting my IV put in... And to top it all off, once awake I upchucked all the food I had eaten INCLUDING the boba tea with the tapioca balls which completely confused and actually grossed out some of the nurses. Do you know how hard it is to gross out a nurse? And I did it! Lol.

Since I was still contracting and making progress, they moved me to an actual labor and delivery room after being in the triage for about a hour. Since I was still early for any kind of induction, they hooked me up to an IV and monitors and I was stuck in bed all night. And unfortunately by about 10pm, all progress had completely stopped. In order to stay, I would have to declare myself in labor, meaning I'd have to be in full on labor at 5cm and then they could help. However, I stopped at 3cm and transitional labor never happened.

So depressed we went home to have a four hour nap (since none of us got much sleep) and get ready to possibly go into labor any second. My obgyn doctor had told me to watch out and make sure I head over if I started getting contractions about 10 minutes apart since we live about 45 minutes away from the hospital. And if my water broke come in immediately. So we waited. Had several days where intense Braxton Hicks contractions would start and then just stop. Daily I got the question "Is today the day??" After about a week, I decided to go about my normal life and stop living on edge. Luckily I had my sister Kylie at the house helping my super pregnant self and my busy, busy toddler!

One week passed, then two, and by the third week I was wondering if I'd ever have this baby... I went back to my obgyn appointments and stayed the same... On Wednesday of last week I knew we'd discuss inducement. They didn't want me going past 41 weeks for safety reasons. I was also over 41 weeks by that point according to the ultrasound dates. I was thinking they'd probably want to do Friday or Saturday... Nope, they wanted to do it that day! So I went home, called everyone, and packed up! In a few hours, JD and I were on the way to the hospital!

Inducement

My doctor inserted a Foley cervix dilater... If you want to know more about that, I suggest you look it up. Since I have a mixed audience I won't go into detail. Lol. I had to be hooked up to an IV again and this time the IV went in no problem. They started me on antibiotics since I had texted positive for Group B Strep. Something unfortunately very common for pregnant women and the reason for it could be anything as far as I know. And no it's not a sexually transmitted disease. But it could get baby very sick, hence the antibiotics for labor.

I sat in the bed for a bit but then opted to sit the rocking chair to keep things moving for several hours. The contractions started getting more intense and painful, but it wasn't bad enough to get pain meds and I wanted nothing slowing me down. My nurse stopped my IV for a bit since I didn't need it. However, when she reattached it, the rush of liquids and the way it felt on my arm started making me feel woosy. I think it was also a mixture of exhaustion, pain, and too much food in my stomach, and I started to feel like I was passing out again. Luckily JD ran to get the nurses. I was okay by the time they came back, but it was a close call. Oh yeah and I upchucked again... The poor night nurse... The day nurse got it better after they moved my IV and I had digested better. By morning I was about 5cm. They let me take a shower and started my pictocin. I vouched for a epidural at this point because I knew the contractions were about to get very intense. While doing my epidural, the anitheisologist commented that I was the most calm person she'd ever seen getting an epidural! I almost laughed at this given my problem with IVs and getting my blood taken. And what do people do when they get their epidurals? Scream bloody murder? I mean that wouldn't change anything for me. I was more worried about the intense contractions coming my way. According to the nurses, I have a very high pain tolerance... I don't know if this is true, but I've always believed the opposite.

Delivery

I was making good progress with the pictocin, however, Joshua was sunny side up still and the nurse had an idea. She had me get on my hands and knees and swing my hips back and forth with my epidural in. I know I was something to see for sure! Haha... But it did the trick and we were ready to have a baby in thirty minutes! Suddenly I had a billion nurses wanting to watch who were with nurses who were training them along with my mom, husband, and Kathleen. The doctor was there when I started pushing. It's a little disconcerting to have an audience, but at this point I didn't really care. Haha. There's not really a lot of shame at this point of labor.

I was also really feeling the pressure down under. So much so it was really starting to hurt. I think my epidural was wearing off and all I wanted was to get this baby out! It also really felt like I had to use the restroom like no one's business! I had Joshua out in about ten minutes!

By the time they laid him on my chest, I had tears running down my face with the little miracle in front of me! The little person who I had felt in my womb for months was now with me face to face! It's always a little surreal, but always amazing. I have a feeling I'm probably going to cry every time I have a child whether they be biological or adopted. Children are so precious in the eyes of the Lord, and I am so blessed to be able to take care of the ones the Lord has given me in this lifetime and will hopefully continue to give.

Joshua was a tad blue when he came out so unfortunately he couldn't stay on my chest till they checked and made sure everything was good to go and he was getting some color in him. He was crying, so I wasn't too worried, and soon he was back on my chest and getting skin to skin contact.

They wheeled him off to do their checks and clean him off, and I had already gained the ability to get up and go to the bathroom and such. They wheeled me to our post natal room and we were there for a few days to make sure baby boy checked out. We actually got a solid three hours of sleep each night thanks to the hospital nursery.

It's been a week since we got back! It's been a wonderful, tough, exhausting, fabulous week! So many emotions and so many new experiences! I love my baby boy, and we'll be facing new challenges and new experiences. Seems to be following his sister's example and getting his days and nights mixed up. However, I'm not panicking. I know this phase is just a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things, and I know it's just temporary. Trying to enjoy my sweet baby for as long as I can. We're also setting up his schedule and working on feeding. I'm also thankful for my sister's help and everyone who has brought a meal or helped with Aayla. We've been so blessed!

I hope you enjoyed the birth story! We adore our little family and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

Peace to you all,
Keri Lynn