The Birth Story...Finally!

It probably wasn't a good idea to wait 3 weeks to record Tomasi's birth story. My memory before his birth was questionable at best, and now with the sleep loss and whirlwind of activity around me every day, I'm not sure I can trust it at all. However, there are some experiences which seem to etch themselves into our minds quite permanently and birthing a baby is one of them!
So here goes...

Many of you know the prelude to the birth story, which included a lot of doctor appointments, NST visits at the hospital and Frustration on my part. As the fourth child, Tomasi felt he definitely couldn't break the mold and be early or even on time, for what would the others say? So, true to form, one week late (and possibly, but not probably, 2 weeks late) he arrived. Not of his own accord though.

I was able to convince my doctor to request an induction for Saturday the 4th of September. I was pretty sure I would go into labor myself on the Thursday or Friday beforehand, but that didn't happen. So Saturday morning came, and Nu and I went in bright and early to meet the doctor. After 2.5 hours of waiting, which we passed by playing Quiddler, sipping Starbucks and complaining about the late-ness of doctors, we were told that he would be arriving in a few moments...he was just down the hall chatting with another doctor (who happens to be a friend of ours). The NERVE!

The induction was quick but I started to feel a bit anxious as the doctor told me all of the possible comlications of induction...crazy intense, hard contractions which could cause the uterus to rupture was the one I was particularly interested in avoiding. Yikes! My labors usually go fast enough...I really can't imagine making it more intense!

We went home, and I tried walking around...several circles of the backyard...but was just too uncomfortable. After about 10 minutes I decided all I could do was lay down and have a nap in my house that was empty, peaceful and quiet (possibly for the last time EVER). I slept an hour and woke up at 1:00 in the afternoon with regular contractions every 3-4 minutes. Nothing too difficult to manage, just enough to know "this is it!"

I told Nu I wanted to go into the hospital right away so that the nurses could decide when to end the induction. I was concerned that it would be left too long and I would suffer the effects of that. We got into the hospital just after 1:30. I spent about 1.5 hours in triage on the monitor, checking up on baby and waiting for the decision about the induction. They finally decided to end it, and the contractions were increasing in intensity so they admitted me just after 3:00. I had to stop to breathe through contractions on the way to my beautiful room. Ahhh...new hospital, your mat ward is truly AWESOME! We had our own big room, for labor, delivery and recovery, our own bathroom, and a gorgeous view..ok, it was of the freeway, but who's looking out the window when you've just had a new baby anyway?

Directly upon arrival in my room I demanded to go into the shower. The pain was starting to become quite intense and I was remembering how helpful the shower was for my labor with Matalena. This time I had a lot of back pain, but the shower helped again. After about 45 minutes in the shower, the nurse wanted to check on the baby's heartbeat, but she couldn't find it with me in the shower, so I was forced to come out. I was tempted to refuse, but knew that was not in baby's best interest. The full force of the contractions hit when I was away from the wonderful hot water, and I felt like my body remembered being in this situation before. I knew that I was progressing, and felt similar to about 30 minutes before Matalena was born in my previous labor. I (very uncomfortably) sat on the edge of the bed while the nurse checked the heart beat, and then I told her that I thought I was progressing and I would like to be checked. She told me no! Only if I wanted pain medication. Well, yes, I do, come to think of it (I was pretty sure it was too late for that!) By 4:25 I had been checked, and the doctor had been called to come in to the hospital from the far reaches of Mission, because I was 9.5 cm! I remember thinking that the doctor better drive like the wind because I would NOT be able to wait for him if he chose to take his time! And I didn't really want a repeat of Matalena's birth where the doctor arrived...20 minutes after the fact.

From 4:30-5:15 was the most difficult part of my labor. The contractions were nearly unbearable, but Nu held my hand and I focused very hard on relaxing. Ha! Actually, in the most intense, "I feel I will perish any second" moments of the contractions, I did feel at peace as I desperately leaned on God and he caught me! He was truly walking with me through the whole experience of labor and delivery, and I am so thankful. An all-powerful God could really just say, "It's part of the curse..you're on your own!" But he doesn't do that.

I was surprised that during this intense time before the doctor arrived, I was actually getting a bit of a break in between contractions and was able to rest a bit. I also remember feeling quite lucid and aware of everything going on. I think I was even smiling and joking with my nurse a bit. When the doctor finally arrived at 5:00, he asked if he could take a minute to change. Ummm, no! But he did anyways! After he broke my water, it was just a few minutes until I started to feel the baby coming. I also started to feel all of my extremities going numb including my neck and parts of my face, similar to pins and needles, and my hands became totally cramped and I couldn't move them at all. So in between contractions and pushes I am frantically asking everyone in the room...look at my hand! is this normal?! To which they replied...just try to slow down your breathing. To which I thought to myself...I need to get this baby out NOW! Apparently I was getting too much oxygen due to hyperventilation, and the buildup of calcium causes the numbness. Not a pleasant feeling.

Thankfully it was just 4 pushes and about 15 minutes until little Tomasi Justice made his grand entrance. It felt like more pushing than that, but the doctor assured me, only 4. As soon as he was born, all the feeling returned to my arms and legs. My first thought when they placed Tomasi on me was how incredibly long and heavy he was! Then I got to hold him close and see his sweet, sweet face. He was upset with the world (understandably) and screamed for about 5 minutes, then calmed down enough to nurse. Nu and I took turns holding and admiring him. He was perfect, such a precious gift. We were filled with gratitude and awe, for his safe arrival, for the faithfulness of God in our lives and in walking with me through labor. God is good! He gives good gifts! Even unexpectedly! And I have to give credit where it is due. If not for Him, there is no way I (Wimpy Sarah, the child who cried when her mother cut her toenails, the teenager who swore she would never have children for fear of pain) would have been able to deliver 4 beautiful children, 2 of them without any pain medication at all. No chance at all. He is faithful and meets us in our need!