Judah's Birth Story

We headed into the hospital for our scheduled induction at about 4 am on August 9th.  When we arrived at the hospital, we learned that they had just (understandably) given our room away.  A lady rolled in at 4:02 and had her babe at 4:05.  She needed our room much more than we did!  We finally got our induction underway about 8 am.  Everything progressed nicely...well, as nicely as painful labor can, for most of the day.  Judah was doing great, and we really enjoyed the day, especially once I got an epidural.  By 5 pm we were ready...or at least we thought... to have a baby!  I have never seen Andy so excited about anything in all of our marriage.  The doctor headed over and we began the pushing.  An hour later and I was exhausted and he was making no progress.  At some point they realized that Judah was sunny side up-the biggest part of his head leading the way.  After an hour of pushing, we took a break and the nurses flipped and turned and rolled me for several hours trying to get our little guy to turn.  We gave it another hour plus of pushing, with very little change and then Judah began to show signs of being stressed.  He wasn't able to move down any and the intensity of contractions was starting to stress his little body.  So at about 10 pm the doctor decided it was time for a c-section. At this point I just felt incredibly grateful to have this option.  Not my plan to have a c-section but how wonderful that we live in a time and place where babies in the wrong position can be born safely and their mommas survive too!  He was stable enough that we didn't need an emergency c-section so we waited a few hours for our turn in the c-section line! And my good friend, Brooke, who is also a nurse, came and sat with us while we waited and prayed for us.  The moment she walked in the door I burst into tears.  I think seeing a friend on top of all the emotion of the day and the exhaustion we were feeling just brought all the emotions of the day gushing out.  We had a great visit with her and that really helped pass the several hours we had to wait.   The c-section itself was a tad scary for me, having been up for almost 24 hours, being exhausted from labor and having everything be totally numb, I felt really out of control.  But my nurse, Rose, and hubby were great.  So great.  And I just kept reciting some scripture that has been a source of much joy and strength for me during this pregnancy.   I didn't feel anything and Andy got to stand up and watch little Judah make his way into the world.  My happy tears started to roll when I heard that first cry and Andy told me he looked healthy!

Andy and Judah headed out while they finished my surgery.  Later the nurse told me that a c-section actually gave me a lower risk for postpartum hemorrhage, because they were able to really get in there and clean out everything and even cauterize some problem areas.  So who knows, maybe a c-section was best for Judah and me for multiple reasons! 

One of the highlights of these last couple days has been watching Andy's heart melt over this little guy.  I can't do much more than lay in the bed right now, so Andy's been changing all the diapers, walking Judah around, and rocking him.  Andy is in love, which is so fun to see.  And he's been a champ caring for both me and Judah!

Seems like the c-section recovery road will be longer than with my other two...but worth it...oh so worth it!