Reflecting on: One month ago

First family photo

Me (totally HYPER!), the midwife, and the nurse (who happened to be a Christian)

Some of you have already seen these pictures but I thought I'd take some time tonight and get the details down of Micah's entry into this world. I told God that He'd get all the glory and He certainly deserves it. He was with us all the way, right down to the smallest detail.

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Thank you all for the prayers and messages, for checking in on us and being there for us. We're adjusting pretty well, though I'm certainly not going to win any awards for schedule juggling. But the kids seem good and we get lots of time together with the weather getting cooler and having such a tiny one. We haven't ventured out too much and actually kept on going with our schoolwork to help with some "normalcy" for everyone. The kids were sick when we first came home (yes, all of them including Chad) and so they didn't get to hold Micah right away and that was heartbreaking. But we're all on the mend now and he's getting good and smoothered! Chad gets a great deal of credit for holding everything together - he's amazing!

***

So here it has been an entire month, unbelievable. And here's the recap:

On the 7th of November, the very wee hours, I began having contractions. It happened just like it had with the other boys, started at midnight and they were every seven minutes. It was so exciting, however Chad was in the process of recovering from a brutal headache and so I was trying to figure out if it was worth waking him. After 2am, they were every 4 minutes, after 3am, they were every three and that's when I woke Chad up. But there was something different, they weren't increasing in intensity really. As I sat visiting with Chad, trying to decide if we should make the 40 minute trek and wake up our dear friends to come be with the children, a crazy thing happened. Our lamp light went out - twice. We wondered if it was a "sign." HA. By 4am, Chad called the dear Kruciak family here in town to be ready to come over and I called the midwife who told me to come in but also mentioned that I could be a bit dehydrated. Sure enough after two huge mason jars of water, they fizzle. So much for being "in the know" with a fourth pregnancy. However, the bags were packed - which is a total God thing...as you will read about all that happened on the 8th. And the Kruciak family got to go back to sleep, poor friends. They were true angels though and even brought us the most delicious meal the next day, and offered to take the children to church with them. So sweet.

***

On Monday, the 8th of November, I had my weekly checkup at 10:40am and though we had discussed Drew being the only one to join me (as it was his baptism day and we celebrate that every year), Chad decided that he'd like to be near me due to the *action* of the previous day. So we all traveled to Hastings.

The first thing they always do is check blood pressure and my midwife noticed that it was high and she decided that we'd check it after my visit. She measured my belly and noticed that it measured at 32cm, and that it had measured at 34 the last three visits. This would be a concern since I was supposed to be measuring at 38! ( I was 38 weeks and 4 days). She had also guessed the baby to be as big as a 6 1/2 lbs. and then noticed that she had put that same thing in her notes, almost a month ago. So with all these things adding up, the b/p, measurements, and sizing, she decided to consult one of the obgyn's on duty. He suggested that I check into the hospital on an outpatient basis to have a nonstress test, blood work, and to monitor my b/p. So I called Chad to pick me up and drive me to the hospital a few miles from the clinic.

I laid in the hospital bed and called Chad and my friend Sara (who I knew would be able to talk things out with me). At about 1:30pm my midwife came to check on me and saw that the blood work was fine (they were checking my liver to see if there were signs of preclampsia) and that the nonstress test showed that the baby was doing great. So imagine my surprise when she said that she had consulted another obgyn and due to the high b/p, inducing might be best. She told me that she didn't like what the first ob said anyway, she was very concerned with the numbers. She also mentioned that because I had six children at home, she didn't think that I could go home and have an environment that would keep my b/p low (if you know me, you already have guessed how that made me mad- I thought to myself, "please don't induce me because of my family size!).

How did I handle that news? Maturely I tell you -by breaking down and crying. I just needed to wrap my head around it. The midwife assured me that she could induce keeping in mind my desires to keep everything as natural as possible. I called Chad and cried some more and he helped me to feel more at peace and he headed back to Red Cloud to get the kids back home. In the meantime, at around 2:30, the induction began. After two attempts to run an IV, there was success (I have horror stories about IVs) and I got a dose of penicillin that I needed for being Group B +. Chad shared with me that on the ride home the kids didn't know how to pray, they didn't want my b/p to be high but they certainly were excited to meet their baby brother.

At around 3:30pm, my friend Kristina showed up to encourage me for an hour. I contracted the entire time, but was still able to laugh with her. She understood how it was tough for me to submit to this "new plan" and she listened how I explained how tough it was to surrender to the idea of being induced. But I knew that I needed to do what was best for both the baby and my health. I must say that being new to this area, and being 40 minutes away from home, it was pretty special to have a new friend stop by like that. Chad arrived almost right after she left. I was so happy to see that man! He arrived at 4:30pm and the contractions were 1 1/2 -3 minutes apart.

At 7pm, the midwife showed up to check me and see that I was dialated to 4cm. I was hoping for like a 7 or 8 (ha) but I knew that I wasn't experiencing any pain so 4cm didn't surprise me. She ruptured my bag of water and Chad and I hit the halls to walk. The contractions did get a bit more intense and then at 8pm, I had a second dose of penicillin. It takes some time for the penicillin to drain so I had to stay in bed for about an hour. After that dose, I sat on a big yoga ball (that needed air) and breathed through some more contractions. I was getting a little more serious and more tired by this point, and maybe a little frustrated because I just didn't feel the intensity increasing like I knew it should. But what do you do when you've prayed for the pain to be minimal or non existent? You should expect it right?

A bit after 9pm, my friend Troi stopped by with her son David. She prayed over me, asked for the Lord to move the baby into position and for my body to move and adjust. After she left I laid on my right side and things went CRAZY! The baby shifted and the pain went to an all time high. The midwife said, "I think that your contractions are changing now, aren't they Becky?" She checked me and said, "You're at an 8 or a 9, let's get everything ready!" I repeated, like a zombie in extreme pain, " We're really almost there?" Then two more nurses came in and held me tight as I pushed and screamed (I did try to stay in control, I TRIED!). They were saying things like, "Focus." "Open your eyes." "Little pushes." "Little blows." "You're amazing." "You're doing great." It was intense, the pain was overwhelming but there were a few moments while pushing him out that I felt NO PAIN...just a few moments. I felt him slither out and then I became a crying, hyper mama! Seven minutes of pushing, no stitches needed and he arrived a minute before 10pm ( I selfishly asked that he be born before 10pm). And later Chad showed me the scratch marks on his back and side, that I somehow managed to inflict through the two layers that he was wearing. Sorry Babe.

Micah Aaron (his middle name was going to be Dayre or Dare, long story) arrived healthy and beautiful, at 6lbs. 1oz. Another praise was that the other midwife was away at a conference, so my favorite one was the one to deliver. She also noticed that my placenta did not look good at all, there was a tear with some scar tissue and some calcium deposits on it. She explained to me that these are sign that it had matured to the point that it was not doing all that it was supposed to do and that the baby might not have been getting the nourishment needed. So though it wasn't how I had planned it, it worked exactly as it was supposed to. All glory to God.