Let me just start off by saying how ecstatic we were to find out that he was a boy! Drew wanted and was convinced it was another girl. I just remember being on cloud 9 after we had his ultrasound... every day felt like Christmas!
Since I had a partial abruption with Sadie, I had to be extra cautious this time around... no running, no heavy lifting, minimal physical activity... my doctor didn't want to take any chances. As I got closer to the end of my pregnancy, I started getting a little uncomfortable but nothing out of the ordinary. I was blessed to have felt as good as I did towards the end.
However, the last few weeks I was convinced that she would check me and say I was dilated because I thought I could tell that things were progressing or he was dropping or something! But nope. Every week, she'd say, "well... nothing! You're not dilated at all! Not even a little bit!" I'd leave so discouraged, but thankful everything was fine.
She set me up for an induction at 39 weeks because she wanted to be in control of my labor and didn't want me having him when I couldn't get to the hospital in time. We went in super early Friday, January 23, 2020 at 5:30. We got checked in, signed papers, changed into my hospital gown, and settled in for the long haul.
Around 7:30 Dr. Watson came in to break my water and they started me on Pitocin. The nurses brought a big ball in for me to sit on in hopes of getting Duke to drop and help me dilate. Drew and I sat around talking, joking, laughing, and making guesses of what Duke would be like. I could feel some contractions, but they were very manageable. Nothing painful yet.
Drew left mid morning to go grab some breakfast. He was nervous about leaving me but I assured him I'd be fine. I was nowhere near close to having the baby. When he left, I turned on the Lindsay McCaul station on Pandora and sat there on my ball, humming to my baby boy. It was such a calm and peaceful morning.
A little before 11 Dr. Watson came by again. I had started to dilate but Duke was still sitting high. She suggested I go ahead and get my epidural because she knew how fast I labor once I get going, and she wanted to make sure I had time to get it. I sort of felt like I was cheating the system. I hadn't even gotten to the painful contractions yet?! But she assured me the epidural would not wear off and it would be fine. I agreed, and I got the epidural about 11 that morning.
The nurses brought in a peanut ball and I held in between my knees while I laid on my left side for about 30 minutes. The nurse checked me again, but there was no progress so she told me to flip over to my right side. After laying there for a bit, I started making some progress. She checked me again and I was 6cm. She said she felt something over his head but wasn't sure what it was. It was either the umbilical cord or his hand above his head.
She waited until my next contraction and checked me again and he dropped right then! She told me to call for her if I started feeling pressure. She came back about 20 minutes later and I was 8cm. I was feeling pressure at this point and told her I almost had the urge to push.
About 20 more minutes went by and she checked me one more time. She said I was almost fully dilated, and they helped me get on my back. Dr. Watson and the nurses came in. Everyone was getting dressed, scurrying around getting ready for a baby! That's one of my favorite moments. There's such excitement in the air and it's almost baby time!
I pushed through 2 contractions and he was born! He came out sideways "like a linebacker." Since he took so long to drop, he didn't spend much time in the birth canal so he had a perfectly shaped melon, according to Dr. Watson.
They immediately laid him on my chest and he just laid there melting into me. I couldn't even see him because he was so close to my face but I didn't care. It didn't matter what he looked like in that moment, because my son was here. He was alive and healthy and all was right in our world. The nurse offered to take him to get his measurements and I remember saying, "Not yet... just let me hold him a little bit longer!"
Also, we think it must've been his little hand that the nurse felt over his head because when he was born, he had a tiny scratch on the top of his head.
Funny story... while Duke was laying on my chest, I couldn't see well because he was blocking my view but I could feel something on my stomach. I grabbed it and asked Drew, "Aww, is this his foot?" Drew had the most disgusted look on his face and said, "Ugh! NO. DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Turns out, it was the umbilical cord. Lol!
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