Noah Has Arrived!! (Long, More Pics Soon)

[Tiny Trousers]

Noah 1
Noah 2
Noah 3
Noah 4
Noah 5

What an amazing journey we have had the past two days! On Friday I visited my midwives and we scheduled an induction for Monday, August 4th at 6:00 am. We did this because Wednesday marked Noah being 42 weeks and after 42 weeks there are some increased risks to the health of the baby. I did not want to be induced but more than that I did want Noah to be healthy, so we planned on Monday having our sweet boy.

Saturday night contractions began. They were manageable, but they were increasing in their discomfort. Daniel began timing and they were coming every 3 minutes or so. He got very excited and I tried to remain practical, saying that it might mean nothing. Remember, I am planning on a natural birth without an epidural.

We call the midwife at 12:30 to tell her the news and she says that my cervix has a long way to go. It would be best if I could rest and labor at home as long as possible. That lasted about 3 hours, when I finally said that we could go to the hospital.

So we checked in and I was dilated to a two. In an hour I was *almost* at a full three and so they admitted me. I was tired, hadn't eaten in almost 10 hours and labor had just begun. I had Daniel push on my back through contractions and I sat in a shower for 2 full hours. After 4 hours of trying to remain calm and relaxed I had an exam that showed I was at 3 cm. No progress with 4 hours of pain. Remember, I am planning on a natural birth without an epidural.

My midwife recommends that I start on pitocin because if we break my water then we are on a time crunch. We weighed the options, and the fact was that I could either NOT get pitocin and wait until the next morning at 6:00 to get it, or I could start on it while I had some type of working contractions. At 9:00 I began the lowest dose of pitocin. I was in lots of pain.

At 11:00 I was miserable and could find no relief. I had been having increasingly painful contractions for almost twelve hours. My nurse said, "You can tell me if you would like to consider an epidural." I went through another contraction and asked to talk to my midwife. Sue came in and asked me what I would like to do. I told her I would like to rest and dilate. She said that if I took an epidural that they would increase my pitocin which would increase my contractions which would cause some progress in dilating. I asked to set it up.

GREAT CHOICE. By noon I had an epidural, wasn't feeling the deep pain of the contractions, and started on a slightly higher dose of pitocin. My contractions were strong, and two minutes apart. By about 2:00 I was at a 4 and Sue broke my water. It had meconium in it and that means that Noah had gone to the bathroom from being under stress. Breaking my water immediately caused me to dilate one more centimeter, I was at a 5. Sue said that she would come back and that she really thought we would be pushing pretty soon.

At about 4:30 I was checked and Sue said I was at an 8. In an hour Noah's head was at a -2, maybe -3 station, and I was fully dilated. I pushed 17 minutes and out he came. Sue sucked out the meconium and amniotic fluid after I delivered the head, which was nice because I got to rest. Then in a couple of pushes out came the shoulder. Once the shoulder came the rest just slipped out. 8 pounds and 8 oz, just like Daniel was, and 20 inches in length.

I hadn't planned to get an IV or epidural, but I did say I was going to remain flexible. I am SO glad that I did get an epidural. For me, for that situation, it was the wisest thing to do. It gave me energy to do strong pushes and I could tell when to push because it wasn't high powered.

So Noah came, kind of on his own, at 5:44 pm on August 3rd. We love him so much, he is wonderful.

**Update on recovery**
In the hospital he had a little jaundice and so they put him under lights and I hardly saw him Monday. Noah hated it SO much and a nurse in there gave him formula and a pacifier. (This all mixed with that I couldn't pee, so I had to have a cath. put in and it was more painful than my labor, no lie) After they gave him formula without asking a pediatrician prescribed it bc the lights were dehydrating him. Then he wouldn't nurse so I was pumping as best I could so at least they would give him that.

Tuesday he got out from under the bililights and I had my cath taken out and we went home - woohoo!!! We are doing great at home, he is nursing so much better and my milk came in. Now to adjust to no sleep...

[sarahrichardson]

Congrats mama! I totally know what you mean about being flexible, and you made the best decisions based on you situation. Enjoy your babymoon!

[Calideedle]

Congrats!!! He is a cutie!

[diane24]

Congrats! he's too cute!

[TNEarthMama]

So cute!!

Our boys share the same birthday

[Sarahb44]

Congrats!!!

[Organicmamaof3]

Congrats Mama!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope his jaundice clears up soon! I'm glad everyone is healthy and happy! Praise God!

[Kririee]

Congrats and enjoy your babymoon

[Tiny Trousers]

for added pics and an update!!

[Sweet_Fantasy_Fox]

congrats!!