Micah's Birth Day!

Well, I have had some requests for my labor and delivery story and figure this is the place to write it once, though I LOVE telling the story :)

It all started on Saturday 1/30. I started having contractions- strong ones! But they stopped...I also had something else happen which is rather gross and most women that have had babies can probably guess...

1/31 - felt great all day

2/1 - Contractions all day long at work- processed payroll despite my discomfort. They never got any closer together than 7 minutes. Thought I would go into labor that night but they stopped as soon as I hit the couch...

2/2 - Had a doctor's appt at 3:30. Bryan and I were really excited to find out that I was 3 cm. and 80% effaced. The doctor decided to stimulate labor while checking me which threw me into 4 cm and crazy strong contractions. She told us to have our bags packed and that she was let the on-call doctor know that they would probably be seeing us that night. She said, "If you don't have this baby tonight I will be very surprised. You will most likely be having him either tonight or tomorrow." So I did what any normal person would do...drove myself back to work with contractions 5 minutes apart and packed up my desk. I wrote emails preparing everyone on what I was working on and what needed to be done, etc. Around 7 pm. my boss asked if he needed to drive me to the hospital. I lied and said no even though my contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. I finished up at work, and drove home. Bryan was working his part-time job and I told him he should probably finish up and come home. By the time he got home my contractions were 7-10 minutes apart. BOO!!! We went to bed.

2/3 We couldn't sleep all night. I was uncomfortable and really hungry. The doctor told me to eat light so I did which meant I was starving. When it hit morning I decided I wanted Panera for breakfast so we went out to take our minds off of waiting. Then we thought it would be fun to join the mall-walkers to bring on contractions. The contractions started but weren't regular and rather frustrating. We came home, rested, then walked the block a few times. Still nothing regular... So we decided to take a nap. I woke up with strong contractions. We packed the car, walked the block a few times, grabbed the rest of the stuff for the hospital, and headed to labor and delivery. The doctor said not to wait too long since I was already 4 cm so we decided that they couldn't turn us away so they would make it happen and I was fine with that.

5:45 PM

I showed up and instead of putting me in the observation room they put me right into a L&D room.

6:10 PM

5 cm 85% effaced

6:30 PM

Contractions slowed to every 6 minutes. Decided to start me on pitocin which meant I elected for the epidural. I was going to try to see how far I got without it but heard that contractions are crazy strong with pitocin. Started me on it before I got the epidural. My parents came by to pray for us and see if we needed anything. Contractions started getting stronger and closer together- Bryan helped me with my breathing until I got the epidural.

7:30 PM

Epidural administered. The nurse anesthetist missed the first time. UGH! He hit a blood vessel which hit a nerve so that was pretty painful. He had to take everything out and start over. As I was "shrimping" my legs fell asleep because they were hanging off the side of the bed. This scared the crap out of me and I told him that I couldn't feel my legs. He said that wasn't possible because he hadn't given me any medication. He got very frustrated with me and told me that I was using the wrong vocabulary. If I could wiggle my toes then I could feel my legs. I couldn't actually lift my legs though so I was really nervous. I wanted that feeling to pass before he proceeded but he wasn't nice or helpful and was rather pushy. The nurse finally reassured me that my legs probably were numb because they fell asleep because of how the baby was positioned and me being in that position. I finally got the epidural and didn't like the feeling of not being able to move my legs except for side to side.

8:30 PM

Doctor came in to check me. I was 6 cm and 90% effaced and he broke my water.

9:00 PM

I wanted to watch Grey's Anatomy :) We watched about 10 minutes and then my heart rate dropped and I needed oxygen and to lay on my side. We turned off the TV and I just concentrated on relaxing. My parents happened to walk in right when that was happening to deliver dinner to Bryan. Luckily he ate a roast beef sandwich quickly.

9:20 PM

7 cm - started shaking really bad but I was ok - thought I would sleep a little so I started to rest

9:30 PM

I felt so much pressure and had the feeling of needing to push. I asked the nurse if I could have more in my epidural because they decided to give me a small dose in the beginning because of my height and probably how I reacted during the administration. She told me that it wouldn't help with the pressure but that she should probably check me again. She then told me I was ready to push. I said what?! REALLY? He is supposed to be born on the 4th! (At work we had bets going and I said the 4th- this was prior to going to the doctor and knowing that i was dilated at all, mind you.)

So the pushing started. At first it was really fun. lol. Bryan and the nurse were amazing coaches. I was able to push with every strong contraction and hold it for the full 10 seconds, breathe, then do it again 3 times. I still needed oxygen in between pushing which actually made me relax in between which was really good. The nurse would walk away to chart, change my bed stuff, etc. and during that time I would squat and push that way. (sorry if this is too much info). So I guess my epidural wasn't too strong.

10:15 PM I started getting tired. Bryan knew exactly how to motivate me and I have never felt more loved by him. He kissed me in-between every push and told me how amazing I was. He had a cool washcloth ready for me and knew what I needed to hear.

10:30 PM The doctor got called in. This was my biggest misconception. I thought that I only had a few more pushes until our little boy came out if the doctor was there- but no! About 10 minutes into Dr. E being there, I started to say that I couldn't do it. I was so tired but Bryan and the nurse really talked me through each push to make it a good one. I started to hold my pushes for longer than 10 seconds hoping that he would come down a little more with each push. Finally I heard, "Here he comes! His head is crowning!" Another misconception! I thought that at that moment he would pop right out! NO! It doesn't happen like that! lol

I asked the doctor to just pull him out. His response was, " I can't just pull him out, he doesn't have handles" I thought that was pretty clever and actually made me laugh.

10:47 PM

Micah Samuel Goad was born! 7 pounds 2 ounces 20 3/4 inches long. In that moment, I felt so very fulfilled and more in love with Bryan than ever before. The way he looked at me and his son is something I will never forget. I am tearing up thinking about it.

So the name:

Micah - "Who is like God?" We had to trust in the Lord so much during this pregnancy. We knew that only He had the power to give us a healthy baby boy.

Samuel - "God has heard" I have wrote before about me and Bryan's journey to becoming a family of three. Around 6 weeks with Micah, I started having signs of an impending miscarriage. I cried out to the Lord for a full day and he had me open my Bible to the story of Hannah and Samuel. I felt an overwhelming peace that God had heard our prayers and that I was going to have the child in my womb.

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him." 1 Samuel 1:27

My mom gave me a plaque with this verse on it at my baby shower which made me cry of course. At that point she didn't know the name of "Baby Goad" which was just another God thing.

Micah is now over a week old and I still can't get enough of him! I had some complications from delivery so the healing process was a little slower than anticipated but I am much better now. Micah is such a good baby who loves to sleep. It is pretty funny trying to wake him up to nurse. He also loves to cuddle :) That is why I have taken so many pictures of Micah with his daddy!

I look forward to blogging more about being a family of three!