Happy Birthday Graham!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my fun-loving, handsome, kissable baby boy!

It’s hard to believe that one year ago today I delivered Graham at 8:58 AM.  That was the best week of my life.  Yes, I was in the hospital close to a week.  During the latter part of my pregnancy I was experiencing high blood pressure. As a result, as soon as I passed my due date my induction was scheduled.  I wasn’t opposed to being induced however I hadn’t dilated so I knew it might take longer than expected. 

I was admitted on Monday night around 9:00 and they started with the Cervadil since I wasn’t dilated.  Honestly one of the worst parts of the whole experience for me was getting my IV.  I hate to even think about it so let’s leave it at that.  My contractions started in the middle of the night but they weren’t strong enough to wake me up.  By the morning I could definitely feel them and they were consistent.  I just knew that the nurses would have good news for me.  I was wrong.  They checked

me and I hadn’t progressed.  I hoped for at least a centimeter and I was barely a fingertip (buzzkill). 

The next morning I woke up and was checked again and again I hadn’t progressed.  My doctor (whose patience I am so thankful for) discussed why she didn’t want to start me on Pitocin or break my water.  With my contractions already 2 minutes apart she didn’t want to send my body into overdrive and risk causing stress on Graham.  He will let us know when he’s ready.

By Wednesday I just knew that something was going to happen.  I was checked in the morning and progressed some but not much – barely 2 cm.  That’s when my doctor (who was fairly new at St. Vincent’s) decided she wanted to try something on me.  Something they hadn’t tried on any other patient (oh no this can’t be good) – the Foley Bulb.  I’m not going to get into details here but you can google it.  Well that didn’t work

either. Apparently my cervix is made of steel – who knew?  

I was really starting to get frustrated.  I felt like I was on display, a specimen in a petri dish.  Eating nothing but ice cubes.  At one point I had to ask everyone but Josh to leave.  I needed a break.  I didn’t understand why my body wasn’t doing what it was supposed to be doing.  That was when God spoke to me.  It was almost like a light bulb went off (He’s done this a few times before so I knew it was Him).  He reminded me that things are not going to go my way but they’re going to go

His way.  He knows what He’s doing. 

That’s when I started talking to my Aunt Beth about a caesarean.  I was blessed to have my Aunt with me through the whole labor & delivery process (she works for my OB).  I trusted her knowledge and guidance and needed some of my fears to be relieved.  After talking to her and Josh I was at peace with my decision, which was God’s plan all along.  He has a way of humbling me when I need it.  I was scheduled to have my c-section first thing the next morning.

You know what that meant?  I got to have a full dinner, real food!  And a shower!  Thank you, Lord!

Thursday came and I woke up nervous but excited.  I was about to have major abdominal surgery but I was about to meet my baby.  Nothing else mattered. 

I was prepped and so was Josh.  For those of you who don’t know Josh he is not comfortable in the hospital setting.  I was actually more nervous for Josh throughout the whole labor process than myself or Graham. The c-section was actually a perfect situation for him.  Everything was hidden behind the sheet!  Plus, my aunt was right there with us the whole time – mostly looking after Josh.

You know who else was there?  Who was going to be the first person taking care of my baby?  My sister, Graham’s Aunt KK.  She was scheduled to work on Thursday.  Thank you, God, you were right.  You knew what you were doing.

The whole c-section went much faster than I expected.  After my spinal things progressed quickly.  The next thing I knew I could hear Graham, he was finally here!  (The boy has some lungs!)  I couldn’t wait to see him.  My sister took him to get him cleaned up while the doctors continued to work on me.  That’s when they said something that made everything make sense.  What they said next reaffirmed my decision, God’s decision, for a c-section.  The umbilical cord was wrapped around Graham’s neck – tight.  So tight it popped as soon as they got to him.  They said I had the shortest cord they had ever seen.  If we would have continued down the path we were on there’s no telling what could have happened to my baby.  I probably would have still ended up with a c-section but it would have been an emergency situation.  My doctors told me we made a good decision.

Thank you, Lord.

Thank you for protecting my baby, thank you for protecting me.

Thank you for the amazing first year we’ve had with him and thank you for however many more you give us.

Happy birthday Graham, Mommy loves you more than you know!