Our Story Part 13: The Final Stretch

I must admit: it's been fun and scary to relive much of our story exactly one year later.  Writing about our trials and triumphs has proved to be a rewarding yet humbling and therapeutic endeavor, far more than I could have imagined at the time when I began just a short seven months ago.  Dates come and go all the while bringing a flood of memories with them.  They have been seared on my mind, heart and soul... and likely will be forever.  Every February 3rd.  Every June 22nd.  Every October 4th.  Every October 11th.  These are days that changed my life and that's just talking about the past year.  Some days are filled with wonder and excitement and others, well, let's just say that others have drained my strength and willpower to the very last drop.  My hope and prayer is that as you read through our story you feel the depth and intensity of the love, grace and mercy God has shown to us.  Because after all, that is ultimately what our story is about and the reason I continue to write.

September 2015

At 35 weeks pregnant, our son was presenting in the breech position which meant I would likely need a c-section.  I remember looking at the ceiling during my ultrasound and asking God “goodness, can anything go right?”  A c-section opened up a new set of concerns like stricter blood thinner management leading up to the surgery, the need to schedule it, essentially selecting my son’s birth date and then the heightened potential for more blood clots in the weeks following the surgery.  I also had big plans to attempt an un-medicated hypnobirth delivery.

The thought of having my birth plan taken away without the opportunity to even try upset me a great deal.  I wasn’t married to the idea of a hypnobirth because I knew things could change in a moment when I was in the heat of labor but I so desperately wanted to try.  I wanted to experience the labor on my own.  For some reason, I actually looked forward to it!  I felt empowered to face it head on knowing that God designed my body to do all of these things naturally.  For millennia, women have endured labor and delivery un-medicated.  I wanted to join their ranks if I was medically able to do so and channel my inner “robust Hebrew woman” that Shiprah and Puah described in Exodus 1:19 knowing this was likely my one and only opportunity to ever experience it.

I prayed like a crazy woman that our boy would flip! I tried some of the Spinning Babies positions and exercises our birthing instructor recommended hoping they might coax our little one into the correct position but during each of my weekly ultrasounds leading up to my due date he showed he was quite happy with his feet in my pelvis. I saw one of the other doctors at my 37 week appointment and she advised we develop a plan in the event he didn’t flip on his own. Originally, she wanted to schedule a c-section on September 30th but that day is my mom’s birthday and I really wanted my son to have his own day. If he showed up on September 30th on his own, that was one thing but I really didn’t want to choose his birth date at all.  We settled on Thursday, October 1st as the potential c-section date if he didn’t flip. I continued to pray knowing that God had heard so many of my prayers leading up to this point. He could flip my son if he wanted to. I left the decision in his hands and mentally prepared for the surgery.

During my week 38 ultrasound, we finally got the good news that our boy was in the correct position!  It’s funny because the whole OB/Gyn office knew us after the pulmonary embolism episode and they were rooting for us!  My nurse even high-fived Dr. Fields when she saw the ultrasound report that our boy was ready to go!  Dr. Fields said that she would allow me to go for a vaginal delivery even though our son was trending on the bigger side but she would not let me wait beyond my due date.  If labor didn’t start by October 7^th, I would be getting a c-section that day.  That was all I needed to hear!  I started downing the red raspberry tea, eating spicy foods, bouncing on the exercise ball and walking in an effort to trigger labor.  And on September 29^th, those first pelvic cramps started in earnest!  Our boy was finally on his way!  I had waited a lifetime for this and I couldn’t wait to meet him!

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Stay Tuned for Part 14: The Birth
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