Our Birth Story: Part One

Well, he's here!! Matthew William Hess II was born on May 5th at 6:18 pm, weighing 8lbs 10oz! And this is the story of his birth, starting a few days before and ending a few days after he was born.

April 30th was my due date. It was also my last day of work. I was kinda hoping Will would be born no later than his due date as I was incredibly uncomfortable and was so ready to finally meet him! However, that was not to be. We went to the Dr. on Tuesday May 1st for a full-term appointment. They did a sonogram to make sure he was breathing normally, and that I had enough fluids for him to stay in there a few more days. Then they did a non-stress test, so I was on a monitor that recorded his heartbeat and any contractions I may have been having. It was awesome to hear his heartbeat for so long, and see it too! He was pretty active at the appointment and kept kicking that the monitors on my belly ha ha! The monitor picked up some uterine contraction which I could not feel at all. But at least we knew something was starting, even though they weren't real contractions. Then the midwife checked my cervix, and it was still completely closed with no sign of thinning. We were a bit disappointed, but knew that God would have Will come whenever he was ready.

The midwife talked with us about a possible induction if he was not born a week after my due date. We were very hesitant to agree to being induced, and I told her I would want to wait longer to see what happened. So we left the appointment just kinda waiting to see what would happen. That next day I started experiencing the Braxston Hicks Contractions. They were not painful at all, and sometimes I would miss them. The only thing I felt was a tightening of my uterus, and at first I had to actually feel my belly and see if it was hard to know that they were happening. On Friday, May 4th, I went back for another appointment. William was incredibly active that day, and during the non-stress test they could not get a baseline heartbeat (meaning what his heart beat would normally be without the times that it speeds up). The midwife was a bit concerned about his heart rate being so high and going up and down without a regular reading for 2 minutes. She checked my cervix and it was still completely closed, she thought maybe slightly thinner, but really nothing had changed that would indicate labor any time soon. Due to her concern about his heart beat, she sent me to the hospital for longer monitoring, so Matt came to the office after work, picked me up, and we drove to the hospital. Poor Matthew, I didn't explain well on the phone that Will was okay, they just wanted more monitoring. So he was thinking that something was wrong, that our baby didn't have a heartbeat, and he was so worried. He said that must be a part of being a parent; being terrified of something happening to your child, and not being able to do anything about it! I felt so bad, but reassured him that things were okay. Honestly, I think he was so hyper because I had eaten a Peppermint Patty before the appointment, and he was just reacting to all the sugar ha ha!

Well, at the hospital I was back on the monitor, and by this time his heartbeat was regular and they could have a baseline for him, however, he must have worn himself out, because now he wasn't have the variables (increases in heart rate) that should be there. So the nurse wanted to start me on an IV and give him more fluids to get moving. I gave her a look that indicated my disgust at that ha ha. So she asked me if I would try drinking fruit punch to see if that would get him moving. I very enthusiastically agreed, and that did the trick!!  We were in the hospital for about 2 hours on the monitor. They did a sonogram and everything looked great! So we went home that night not expecting anything to happen. I was convinced that the following week I would have to be induced, so I was prepared not to have a baby for several more days. I think Matt was thinking the same thing. But, we had people praying, and we were praying that labor would start naturally and we wouldn't have to go through an induction and all that goes along with one. We went to bed that night, never thinking that we would be parents that next day! We were in for a shock for sure! To be continued....