Micaiah James

We tried and prayed that we would have a boy. Every time I thought about it I would pray for a boy. Paul and I also changed our diet and other things we had researched to help conceive a boy. (I hope this is not too much information.) When our ultrasound came up and we could find out the gender, we were very excited and nerves to find out what we would have. The Dr. looked the baby over and said with uncertainty that he thinks its a boy but isn't for sure. So he left and got the tech to come in and verify. In the mean time, baby adjusted so when she put the doppler back on my tummy he was willing to show us who he is.
"Oh, yup, it a boy! Congratulations, you having a boy!" She said with great confidence. Paul and I were over joyed. We kept staring at the ultra sound pic, the proof that it's a boy. Although we love having our girls and would have been in love with another girl, we were very much hoping and praying for a boy. On my side of the family boys are rear. My grandmother, my mom's mom, has not had a boy born to her. She has two beautiful daughters who have had all beautiful daughters and up until now, the grandchildren had had all beautiful girls.
To spread the news to the grandparents we ordered four blue flowers to be sent to each of the grandparents at work with a note that said "its a boy." Oh what fun it was to receive their phone calls.
This brought a whole new level of excitement to me in being pregnant with a boy. I was on cloud 9 most of my pregnancy. I felt bad in the fact that I didn't enjoy Eden's pregnancy as much as I was enjoying this one, it felt like the first time when I was pregnant with Haddie. Poor Eden, I was not wanting to be pregnant yet, and so I didn't handle that pregnancy very well at all. But, like my other two pregnancies, everything went very smoothly. I didn't get as sick as I did with the other two, but I did have a greater amount of fatigue. I had no complications or really any complaints. Even up to my due date, when I was wanting Micaiah to come and I was complaining over the little things just because I was still pregnant, I still didn't have any real complaints. I wasn't really hurting or anything, just tired of being pregnant. Which I am sure every mother gets to that point. I believe its God's gift in order to face the impending doom of labor. We get so exhausted from being pregnant that we are willing to face the horrors of labor just to not be pregnant anymore.
I was originally due the 5th of October, but somewhere along the pregnancy the Dr changed it to the 4th. So in my last two months of my pregnancy I kept hearing that the 4th was my due date. Seeing as I was on time with Haddie and a few days early with Eden, I was for sure I would be early with Micaiah.  We even scheduled Paul's parents to arrive the 6th of October, because we were so sure that the baby would be at least born by then. Well, my due date came and went, my other due date came and left, and my in-laws came and I was afraid they would have to leave without seeing Micaiah. Oh, I was getting so impatient.

Here is my Labor story:

I had been having false labor for several weeks leading up to the point of final labor. It was getting rather annoying with how often I was getting these "false labors." I never went into the hospital for them, because I would wait them out and glad I did. The contractions would only get to a certain strength and then not get any stronger. They would also only get as close as 5 min apart and then stayed 5 min apart for several hrs before tapering off.
Well, on Monday the 8th, I wake up in the middle of the night to contractions. I got excited, they were coming about every 20 min. But then I had one at 7:30 and not again until 9:20. This was getting discouraging. We went to a Dr. appointment to get a stress test done and talk about the possibility of getting induced. I was not wanting to be induced, I do believe that it is best for the baby to wait until natural labor starts, but I was feeling the pressure from my husband and myself to have this baby while his parents were in town and they were to leave on Wednesday. Everything Checked out great, and I did have a contraction here and there, but nothing strong. Finally a little before 2 pm I have my first Strong contraction. I had a few more while Paul was getting ready to head back to the office. I ask him to please not go in as I think this is it. He decides to go get his computer so to work from home and left to be back soon. While he was gone I didn't have any and while talking to Haley I got discouraged. When just as Paul walks back in I had another strong contraction. They continue to get stronger and closer together. I labored at home on the exercise ball and by 3 pm Paul asks if I want to go in. I refuse wanting to labor as much as I can at home. But by 3:30, they are coming so strongly that I am ready to go to the hospital and am wanting an EPI. We leave to go to the hospital at 3:45. On the way to the car I have two more, making it difficult to get into the car. On our 5 min ride to the hospital I didn't have a single contraction. Frustrated, I want to wait in the car until I have one. Not a minute later I have a VERY strong contraction. We started heading in and I have one as we are walking in. We get to the Labor and Delivery and I am struggling to get the gown on because of how frequent and strong the contractions are. I finally get the gown on and the IV in. They check me and I am at a 5-6 which is two cm more then I was at my apt earlier that morning. The contractions get stronger and I have a feeling of needing to urinate with every contraction. Suddenly they were extremely strong. Like nothing I ever felt before. I could no longer handle them while on the ball. I couldn't handle them hardly at all. I was making Paul hold me up because I couldn't stand or sit through them, but I had to move. They were coming so frequently I felt like I didn't even have a break between them. Paul looked up at the nurse and asked, "When will the anesthesiologist be in?" The nurse answered while looking at my bag of fluids.
"He is in the next room and will be in soon."
With the next contraction I felt the weirdest feeling, my body began to push. When my body did it again with the next contraction I told the nurse, "feel pushy!" she quickly checked me and said I was at a 8-9 cm. Then the next contraction I felt that feeling even stronger. "I feel like I should push!" I screamed. She quickly called the Dr. in. They got me on the bed, which was not fun to contract on the bed. He checked me and said, "Oh, she still has time to get an EPI, she is at an 8. Do you want an EPI?"
"No." I said while squirming on the bed. "I can't sit still for one." I thought. Then the next contraction, I said I needed to push again. They told me to go ahead not believing I would do much. He checked me again and said, "Wow, okay, she moved him about a mile with that push, lets take this bed down, its time to get this baby out." After three pushes, which was the most intense pain I have EVER felt, at 4:53 pm Micaiah was born! Oh the joy to have him born! They laid him on my chest and I marveled at him. They then took him and placed him beside me to clean him up and check him over.
This is the part, I feel, that everyone, who delivered naturally, lies. They say once the baby is born you are overcome with such great joy your pain is gone. They LIE! I was in such pain, and I didn't even rip, yet it hurt sooo bad. I couldn't even enjoy them weighing, measuring, and checking Micaiah. I begged for help and until they finally got me Advil did I finally get relief. The nurse told me it was the pitocin they were pumping into me to get my uterus to shrink back down. I hate pitocin!
Once I was feeling better and nursing Micaiah, the nurse came in and said, "I have to tell you this. We do three different measurements of time. One from when we check and you are 5 cm until you are 10 cm, then from when you are 10 cm until you deliver the baby, and then from the delivery of the baby until you deliver the placenta. You went so quickly we had to measure them all together. From when we checked you at a 5 cm and until you delivered the placenta was only 37 min."
So, if it only last a total of 3 hrs and the most intense is only a few minutes, I can obviously deliver naturally. We were only at the hospital for one hour before I delivered Micaiah. It was a good thing we left when we did or I could have delivered the baby at home.
Although I don't want to ever have to go through that again. Thankfully he is our last to have biologically. It was quite the experience, and I an experience I am thankful to have had. If it were just for the respect I gained in Paul's eyes it was worth it! I also felt so close to Paul in those moments, he was such a huge support and encouragement. He gained 1050 points that day in my book. That made it worth it to me!