Welcoming Isaiah

I wanted to journal about the day our precious little Isaiah was born before I started to forget any of the details. This will probably be a long post!

Wednesday morning I called the Labor Unit and was given the green light to show up for my scheduled induction. The weather was absolutely freezing and we were experiencing below zero temperatures. We made it to the hospital with no trouble and quickly got checked in.  I was only one centimeter dilated when I first got there but it didn't bother me. I figured I would have to get some Pitocin this go round and whatever it took for him to be born was okay with me.

The nurse I had on the night shift was new so I'm not sure if she gave me correct information. I asked if we could hold off on the Pitocin and just let Dr. R. break my water like last time. I was told that the baby's head was not down far enough and if she broke my water before that happened, there was a risk of cord prolapse. So they started the pitocin off on the smallest dose at around 7:00.  Not much was happening. I think around 8:00 they upped it and I started having some contractions.

I was so anxious that morning.  I was anxious about hurting. I was nervous about pushing. I was scared about having pitocin which I had never had before (and FYI totally ended up not being a big of a deal at all. My contractions were no worse than I had experienced with Olivia). I was back and forth to the bathroom for a while because I was sick.  But then Dr.R. came and everything was fine.

Dr. R. came in at 9:00, said I was 2-3 cm and that the baby's head had already been down so she wasn't sure what the night nurse meant! The contractions really picked up then and were really strong. I labored until about 11:30 before asking for an epidural! I was about 5 cm at that point and the anesthesiologist came within 10 minutes of my requesting it! Ahhh, whoever you were my anesthesia friend, you are my hero! I guess around 4-5 cm is all my body can handle in terms of the pain. I was expecting things to really pick up. They had already stopped my pitocin by that point. But after my epidural, the contractions seemed to slow down by a litle. So they put me back on pitocin at the smallest dose and that was all it took. I think I started pushing around 1:40 or so and pushed through about 4-5 contractions and he was here at 1:51!!!!

Isaiah has a hydrocele (fluid in the testicular sack) which caused his little man parts to be rather NOT little and that was the first thing I saw when he came out! I knew immediately he was a boy and Theo and I were so surprised! We were truly shocked. I don't think we really ever considered that our baby would be a boy even though Theo will tell you he really wanted another son. Carter really wanted a brother. And it truly didn't matter to me. I really believe God knew Theo's heart and the heart of a sweet four year old and gave them what they wanted!

I held him on my chest and was instantly in love!

Theo is such a proud daddy and although I know he would have been proud to have a daughter, there is such a pride for him to have another son.  All of the anxiety I had about bringing Isaiah into this world and having another baby to care for was instantly gone. I felt God's peace wash over me like I have never felt before. Maybe that's also what comes with having a third! I have been mediatating on the verse: "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" and I'm so thankful for God bringing Isaiah into this world safely. "Every good and perfect gift comes from above" and Isaiah is definitely our gift!

Due Date

My due date has come and (almost) gone. I'm thankful I did not have to get out today because the wind chill is negative 30 degrees today. But there is always tonight! :)

The plan is for me to call the hospital at 5 a.m. and make sure there is a bed. If so, we'll head up there. As of Friday, I was the only one on the schedule so we'll see. Hopefully this crazy weather won't have cause a lot of women to go into labor and I can "get in" tomorrow.  With Olivia, it was such an emotional rollercoaster of a week. I called almost everyday for five days and there was no room for me. I guess I should have been thankful not to go into labor on my own or I might have had to birth Olivia out in the hallway!

 

Very well may be the last time I ever see myself with a pregnant belly!

I am a hormonal ball of emotions right now. I feel like I have held it together pretty well for the most part. But I am excited, overwhelmed, anxious, relieved, and a whole lot of other things. I am anxious about bringing home another baby when Olivia still seems like she's a baby. I don't worry about Carter. He's such a big helper. But I worry about how to handle the demands of a newborn along with a very demanding 16 month old.  I worry about feeling trapped in my own home because it's too cold to go out. I miss the support system, both family and friends, I had when I delivered Carter. I was telling Theo earlier today that the only baby gift I've gotten this time was a blanket from my friend Evie from church. (Oh, I did get cloth diapers from my good friend Georgette today) Not that I need anything.....that is the good thing about having a boy and a girl, but it was a little sad to me. I know that's ridiculous!

We still have not decided on this baby's name, mostly because we don't know the baby's gender. Hopefully we'll decide something tomorrow but for any of you who know my husband also know that may not happen! :)

Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow. I feel mostly at peace that everything will be okay but I want to hold our precious baby and see that everything is okay and that he or she is healthy. I'll keep you posted!