Haden's Story

So our little man is already two weeks old! Time goes by way too fast. But it's been a wonderful two weeks. We sure do love him!

The story goes:

James decided to hang out with me when he put me on maternity leave. It was so nice. We spent the next few days going on walks, making me take warm baths and timing contractions. I had really hoped to have Haden on 09/09/09. That would have been so cool! I was having some pretty good contractions that day, but they weren't unbearable. So I was too scared to go in to the hospital. I shouldn't have been though. My doctor was the one on call and said he would have kept me. But my contractions slowed and eventually stopped for Thursday.

When I woke up on Friday morning I was in a lot of pain and didn't feel good. I was really scared and just in tears. We called my dad and James' dad. They came right over and gave me a blessing. After the blessing we went over to the hospital. Since it was after 9 we decided to stop at the doctor's office instead of going right up to labor and delivery. They wanted me to be checked so they fit me in. I was getting my weight and blood pressure done when Dr. Horsley walked by and said, "you don't look good, and I mean that in the nicest way!" We all laughed at that. During the appointment we found that I had progressed, which was good. The baby had finally dropped. I was dilated to 3.5 and about 80% effaced. Dr. Horsley counseled us that he could send us up to labor and delivery then but he wouldn't be able to deliver the baby. He had a prior commitment that was taking him out of town for the evening. Or we could go home and continue walking and take a nice warm bath to bring on labor more naturally. If we did this, it would take a little longer, but he would more than likely be able to deliver the baby. Then if that didn't work, he gave us the instructions for being induced on Monday morning. Of all the options, the middle one sounded best to us. So that's what we did.

After returning home, James put me in a really nice, warm bath. He fixed me some breakfast too. During the afternoon we went on a venture to Walmart and finished some laundry and things at home. We took the pup for a nice long walk that evening as well. All the while having contractions. I timed them for a while, but they weren't really being that consistent. Well they were, but kept changing. . . from 10 minutes to 5 minutes to 8. Quite random. I decided to stop timing them and not focus on it anymore. I was on Facebook with some friends who were very helpful and tried to get me to go into Labor and Delivery. I decided that I would try to go to bed and see if I could sleep through the contractions. We headed that direction at 11:30 pm. I was up again by midnight, again by 12:30 and again at 1. James was getting worried I think. He asked if I wanted to go in, and I said let me try to sleep till 2. If I can't then we'll go in. Well, by 1:20 I was still up and having some decent contractions. We both got up and decided we weren't waiting till 2. We gathered our bags and put them in the car. Gave the puppy some hugs and were on our way.

We made our way up to labor and delivery. I told them I thought I may be in labor, but wasn't really sure. They asked me about my contractions. I admitted that I had given up on timing them, but I wasn't able to sleep through them. They got me checked in and hooked up to the monitors. The nurse said she was going to get an IV ready. I had to ask, "so that means you're keeping me? I'm having this baby?" She assured me that I was. She checked me and I had dilated to 4.5 and was 90% effaced. She asked me if I wanted an epidural. I assured her that I did and the sooner the better. Thee anesthesiologist and on call dr. were doing a c-section and they would be in right afterward. We made sure that they were calling Dr. Horsley in for us as well. The on call dr. came in about 30 minuted later and asked if he could break my water. I had heard that contractions get worse after that so I told him no, not till I got my epidural. He said that he had to break my water in order to get my epidural. So I said, "sure!." My water was broke and I got my epidural. After about 30 minutes I was still feeling some intense contractions. The anesthesiologist came back in and put some additional medication in my line. Within 10 minutes, I couldn't feel a thing! They checked me again and I was dilated to a 6. I had been informed that the whole labor and delivery thing would take about 12 hours then I would be pushing for another 2-3 hours. That's a long time! An hour later they checked me again and I had progressed to a 9! I still couldn't feel a thing. In fact, I couldn't even move my legs! The extra drug that had been given me was doing the trick! James had to keep helping me reposition myself. It was quite uncomfortable. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't sleep. So I enjoyed some Popsicles and ice chips. After another hour I had dilated to a 10. After you reach that, they have you "rest and descend." Mom is supposed to rest for an hour while allowing baby to descend into the birth canal more. Then the pushing would begin. During this hour the baby's heart rate kept changing. After about 35 minutes my nurse came back in and said that his heart rate was getting really fast and we were going to begin pushing.

James was such a trooper! Since my legs were completely numb, he had to help me by holding one of my legs. What an amazing man! Anyway, we did about 3 sets of 3 pushes. Things were going so well that our nurse called Dr. Horsley shortly before 7. He arrived a few minutes later and we did about 3-4 more sets of pushing. Haden joined our family in a rush of excitement! He started to cry and at the moment I heard his voice I began to tear as well. I couldn't stop smiling and crying. It was such a miracle to hear that little cry! Dr. Horsley helped James cut Haden's the umbilical cord. Then reminded him to go take pictures while Haden was getting cleaned up and measured. Our little man came into this world on 9/12/09 at 7:23 am, just over 5 hours after checking into the hospital. He weighed 7 lbs 9 oz, and measured 20 in long. What a joy in our lives!

We had such a wonderful team of nurses. Our doctor is so wonderful! We love and respect him so much. He will forever be a lifelong friend. I am so honored that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such a miracle. I have yearned for a child for years. I just had to wait for the Lord's time. Hopefully the patience I have learned from waiting will also play a role in raising this little one. Patience is not something that I'm good at. But I'm excited for this opportunity that has been given me.

I also want to thank my wonderful husband and family for all the help and love that they've given me and our new family during this time. I love you all!