Birth Story

I want to journal this so I remember it all, and I know some of you are curious...

We checked into Sanford hospital at 6:45 Friday morning for our scheduled induction. Dr. Rector broke my water at 7:45. I was 2.5cm dilated and 30% effaced. Greg and I walked the halls, I bounced on the birth ball for awhile, tried to speed things up.
At 11:15, the nurse called for orders to start Pitocin because I was hardly having contractions.
By mid afternoon, good contractions had started, but I was only dilated to 3cm and 60% effaced. We continued to do a lot of walking and I took a bath.
Around 5:30, contractions started getting painful and my Pitocin was up to 16 (max is 20). The nurse inserted an internal contraction measurement device to make sure my contractions were strong enough to be productive (which they were). The nurse told me I was hiding the pain well.
At 6:40pm, I was dilated to 4cm, and I got my first dose of IV pain medicine- Fentanyl. It made me feel loopy and happy and took the edge off for a little while. The doctor came to check on me and I brought up the epidural option. I've always been afraid of an epidural! We discussed the risks and benefits.
At 7:40, I was still only dilated to 5cm, and contractions were hurting bad! I was also getting stressed and anxious about the pain that was yet to come. So, I requested another dose of Fentanyl and a call to anesthesia for an epidural. After the dose of Fentanyl, I went to the bathroom while the nurses set up the epidural supplies.
When I got back from the bathroom, I knew I had progressed and even felt a little "pushy". I got ready for the epidural anyway, because I remember how bad it all hurt at the end and felt I couldn't do that again.
So, the epidural went in at about 8:30, in between painful contractions. As soon as it was taped in place, I admitted the nurse I had to push. She checked me, I was complete, and she called the doctor and nurses for delivery.
I had to wait about 15 minutes for the doctor to get there. Thankfully the epidural was working and I could control the pain and urge.
I pushed for only 2 contractions and the baby came out easy. But, he had a double nuchal cord (the cord was wrapped twice around his neck). So the doctor had to quickly cut the cord and unwrap it before the baby's body came out at 8:59pm.
Our little baby boy was not crying. They took him to the warmer, patting him and suctioning him. He still wasn't crying. His heart rate was in the 60s (not good). My nurse call the NICU team "STAT". I started shaking and crying. All Greg and I could see was a still, blue little body. There were probably 10 people in scrubs. A nurse got an oxygen mask put on the baby, I thought they were going to start CPR, I had all these visions of him in the NICU with tubes and wires, and then, he all the sudden cried some little whimpers. I could see the monitor- 100% oxygen sat and heart rate of 146. And baby was pink. Praise God!
I learned shortly thereafter that his apgar scores were 1 and 8. (1 is really bad, 8 is excellent) He didn't breath for about 3 minutes (it seemed like a LOT longer when you're just laying limp in a bed next to him!)
Greg was able to go over and touch him, most of the nurses left the room, and it was almost like nothing happened. I announced his name- Nolan Delos! He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces. He was 20.5 inches long. I got to hold him at about 9:30.
Except for those first 3 minutes, Nolan has acted perfectly normal. He eats well, moves around, and looks perfect! We might always have some concern for that lack of oxygen at first, but the doctors and nurses don't foresee any problems. And we don't know exactly why he was in distress. Maybe the last dose of Fentanyl, maybe the cord, but nobody knows. At least he's in good health now!
I feel great! I liked the epidural. I don't have any tears on my bottom and my belly feels OK too!
Kyla is a proud big sister and is acting appropriately (hopefully that keeps up when we get home!)
Greg is the best husband and daddy in the world! I'm so glad I have him. I just know that he is the best man to have in so many situations. He has taken excellent care of me and I couldn't be more thankful!

And so, we begin life as a family of four... :):)