We waited…and waited…
until I went from this…
@ 21 weeks
to this…
@ 42 weeks
I assumed my due date would come and go as it had with Isa but I didn’t realize that this child was going to hold out completely. This child had NO desire to come.
I’m an active girl and I like to “walk my babies out”. The last month or so leading up to my due dates, I walk. I walk miles each day. 3 to 4 fast paced miles…at least for a waddling mama. And as my due date approaches…running. No, not miles…maybe only a block. But with each pregnancy as I became more and more desperate, the block quickly becomes a mile. Isa gave in to this. This baby was not fazed. And though I wish I had pictures from our family run at week 41, I’m sure many in our neighborhood do as I’m sure they looked on in horror at a LARGE woman lumbering along with her husband and child in tow and had to take pictures to prove this horrific (or maybe amusing) event to their friends.
With each passing day, I was given more and more ideas of how to start labor. Everyone has their story (I understand – I have my “Isa story”). Their method that is bound to work. It has to. It worked for them. And with each passing day, I became more and more afraid of induction and tried them all. I won’t even list them…it’s too embarrassing and you know them all already (except maybe the cumin tea that you drink every hour trick). Well, all but one…CASTOR OIL. As I’m sure many of you would swear by it’s effectiveness, I was lured into trying it. We bought it, I was going to take it, and then we both decided against it…and back to the store it went. I’m glad, really glad, I didn’t take it.
What I soon came to realize and truly believe is that all of these “inducers” (even my “Isa inducers”) will not force you into labor. If your body (and baby) are ready, they may help send you into labor but if it’s not time, they will be ineffective. Note: You may all disagree with me. I’m no medical expert but I really don’t think these things can trick your body into believing it’s time to labor when your body isn’t ready to labor.
My body seemed ready. My doctor was shocked that I hadn’t had the baby when he checked me at 41 weeks. By all indications, I should have already had the baby. He told me, “I’ll see you tonight.” Well the night came and went with no baby.
Then the week came and went with no baby.
I was scheduled to be induced on Monday, August 6th. I called my doctor Sunday night to see if we could wait one more day and try one more “inducer”. Fortunately, he agreed. They still wanted to see me, so I went in to the doctor’s office on Monday morning for a non-stress test. By this point, I had progressed even more. To the point of where active labor should have already taken place, but I wasn’t even having contractions. We were shocked.
Monday came…
…and went. There was some pressure but no contractions. I was discouraged. I was weepy. Let’s be honest…I had been weepy for the past 2 weeks.
Tuesday morning arrived and we headed off to the hospital for what I dreaded most. I like to labor at home and head to the hospital at the last possible moment. It felt wrong to walk into the hospital, completely normal, without any contractions, and a smile on my face. And while many of you may disagree with our following through of being induced (due dates aren’t exact, babies don’t HAVE to come by 42 weeks, etc), we personally know too many instances where it did become dangerous and we did not want to risk this for myself or the baby.
I was checked in and the doctor broke my water at 8:40 AM. They needed to monitor baby and I for about 20 minutes.
No contractions…
Then I was allowed up and they began almost immediately. And I quickly went into “labor mode”.
I’m blessed to have an *AMAZING* husband and a great doula. The three of us work so well together as a team.
Things QUICKLY progressed and the tub that I wanted to labor in wasn’t ready. I was adamant that I WANTED that tub. Unfortunately, due to 3 births already having occurred that morning, it wasn’t ready.
My doctor was paged and though he thought he had a few minutes to see one more quick patient, he was quickly paged again as I continued to progress so rapidly. So rapidly that the nurse was actually being prepped to deliver the baby. My doctor walked in 2 minutes before…
our baby boy was born!
He came out screaming. Screaming LOUD.
Bennett Karl made us wait. But once we “jump started” our little one he came fast.
From the time this photo was taken ~
our family of 3 quickly turned into a family of 4 in three hours.
…and he was worth the wait…
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This has been posted to Raising Arrows Link Up, Better Mom Mondays, Titus 2 Tuesday at Cornerstone Confessions
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