Babies are funny about being forced out of your body...our induction was scheduled for 42 weeks gestation if he didn't make an entrance first. My beloved doctor told me he had to go out of town because his mother was sick at 41 weeks, 1 day....and that he wouldn't be back for 5 days (Easter Sunday), and that I should try not to have the baby without him (haha-but he was very sorry at the idea that after all we have been through, this may happen outside his watch). Well, I told him I was clamping my cervix all the way down until he got home. And I did. We went into labor the day after he got home.
Our son Andrew Jewell was born March 29 (Tuesday) at 9:38 am. He decided we weren't the boss of him, and that he was coming before we forced him out. Monday, we did all.the.things. That way if it didn't work, we could sleep all day Tuesday in anticipation of induction on Wednesday. Nonni and Grandaddy came to town the 24th for Easter thinking he would be here, so they were around and had promised to take the girls to a hotel one night to swim and hang out downtown, so we asked them to do that Monday night. Monday I did acupuncture, my doula/midwife (hired her as a doula, but she's also an awesome registered nurse midwife who delivered a couple of my friends' kids, which was nice) came and checked my cervix (3 cm, 70% effaced, which was improved over the 1 cm, 50% effaced that it had been for weeks), then we discussed the game plan, which included two 2-oz doses of castor oil (she said I was ripe for it to work--at the top of the roller coaster before it headed down the peak-just needed a good shove!). blerg. Anyway, she left and hubs and basted the tukey for those good prostaglandins, ate spicy noodles for dinner, which I chased with 2 oz of castor oil in 4 oz of OJ, we went to the grocery store to stock the kitchen since his parents were leaving Thurs morning, went home, watched a little of a movie, and by 10 pm my contractions were 5 min apart. I called the doula, and she said "take the other 2 oz of castor oil and take a bath and go to sleep--if this is real labor, the bath will let you slow down enough to rest, but nothing can stop real labor". So I did.
At 2:48 am I couldn't sleep through the contractions anymore (intense!) and at 4:09 am I called my doula and woke Sean because they seemed to progress fast. At 4:34 I texted and told her to hurry because we needed to go to the hospital. We (hubs, doula, and me) left at about 4:50, got to triage about 5:25. Finally got in my L&D room around 6:30 or so. Labored very hard, and they broke my water to help me quickly get to 10 cm. I pushed for what felt like forever. My doula had great ideas for positions (crunching into a squat on a birth bar puling up on a knotted ribozo was the most productive till the end) and when he finally came out with a nuchal arm it was clear why it took him so long to come through my pelvis--his arm was next to his head! 9 lbs, 8 oz, big headed, add a few cm for the arm. 2nd degree tears instead of 3rd like last time. No pain meds, no interventions till after the placenta was delivered (minor hemorrhage, but under control pretty quick), baby was placed on my chest immediately and had a great latch for nursing, they didn't take him to weigh until an hour and a half went by.
Looking at this sweet baby-my last-I was overcome. My last baby...my SON. This time I know this is my last time raising a baby. And he is so beautiful. He reminded me of Addie as a newborn-big blue eyes and pinky pink skin. Except Andrew has a sweet little dimple in his left cheek and Nonni dimples and Sean's deep, deep hole punch dimple in his chin. How I love that sweet one in his cheek!
My doc stitched me up, and I went home the next day after lunch. This recovery has been really easy, and I am feeling really empowered getting through a second natural VBAC! I can't help but thinking about how God is so good to us, and how this baby has come to bless us and bring us grace. My prayer every day of my pregnancy was that this child would bring joy to everyone he meets.
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| Just born-dimple!!!! |
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| My doula/widwife and wonderful Doctor! |
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| Brand new <3 td=""> |
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| Sisters meeting him for the first time... |
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| Our little family is complete |
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| Ultimate Nonni |
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Three generations...the chin is the trademark!
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Since we were only in the hospital a day and a half, Baby and I went home midway through the next day after the baby's last few labs and hearing test (we were in the hospital 35 hours total). Nonni got a very cute outfit for the trip home, and I was more than happy to get home to my own space.
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| After the hearing test, we could go home! Going home outfit |
Gillian and Addie made sure that Andrew and I felt special going home, and with Nonni's help, they made some banners and signs to welcome us home, and we had a ZERO birthday party for Andrew!
Extra snuggles on his celebration day...
So much love. Glory.
