John Michael- A Birth Story

If you've known me for any length of time, you'll know that there is always a story.  So, why would John Michael's arrival be any different?  I held onto the hopes that the labor and delivery would be smooth- but I think that in the back of my mind, I knew that wouldn't be the case.  And so it begins...

Wednesday, December 8th, was my due date.  I had been to the doctor on Tuesday, only to find out that there was no progression, and that I would have to wait another week.  But on Wednesday, I thought things were taking a different turn.  I woke up with contractions that were 3-5 minutes apart.  I called Michael and told him that he needed to come home, and that I was going to call the doctor's office.  They wanted me to come into the office first so that they could check me- so I did.  And guess what?  No dilation.  The doctor told me I was in pre-labor and sent me back home.  He said that we could walk around the mall and try to "walk him out."  My parents were already on the way to Birmingham, so I just told them to meet us at Brookwood mall.  We had lunch and proceeded to walk around the mall- all the while I'm having contractions and stopping every so often to deal with the pain.  After about an hour of walking, nothing had changed, so I decided to give up and go home.

Once we got back home, the contractions were getting stronger and more unbearable, so we called the doctor back.  He told us to meet him at labor and delivery, so off we went.  I was admitted, even though there was still no dilation.  They said they would give me something for pain so that I could sleep peacefully through the night and be "fresh and ready" for labor the following day.  So, I got a shot of morphine around 7pm, and tried to settle in for the night.  The nurse told my parents to go on home, as she was sure that labor wouldn't really begin until the following morning... "after dawn" she said.  So, they went home.  Around 11pm, the contractions were getting pretty bad so I asked Michael to go find the nurse.  My original nurse had gone down the hall to help deliver another baby, so I had another nurse come in.  She asked if I wanted a pill, and I told her that I would take whatever she would give me.  Well, it was an ambien.  At the time, I really didn't think about it- I mean, ambien is supposed to help you sleep, so maybe I could then sleep through the pain.  Not so.

Around midnight, I was making so much noise in our room that I told Michael the people next to us were going to think I was having a natural delivery.  My original nurse finally came in and asked if anyone had checked me since her last check on me at 6pm.  I told her no, she checked me, and informed me that I was 5cm dilated.  As she rushed out to get the materials for an epidural, my water broke.  When the anesthesiologist showed up, I finally got my epidural.  That was the least amount of pain the whole night.  At this point in the evening, Michael had now called my parents (who had just gotten into bed) to tell them that I was 5cm, water broken, getting an epidural.  They got dressed and got back in the car for yet another drive.

It seemed like the next thing I knew, my nurse was saying something about me passing 9cm- and that it was time to push.  I have no idea how long that lasted, but I do remember getting an oxygen mask at some point because they were concerned about John Michael's heart rate.  In between pushing, they told me to breathe deeply in the oxygen mask and rest.  Problem was... I kept falling asleep because of the ambien.  Michael kept waking me up, but I couldn't stop.  The morphine and ambien were just too much for me.

Finally, I realized that John Michael was not moving past a certain point, because everyone seemed concerned.  My doctor told me that we had a couple of options... he could use the forceps and if John Michael didn't come with the next push, that we were going to have to get a c-section.  I told him to do whatever he needed to do, so out came the forceps.  Luckily, the next push did the trick, but as John Michael made his debut, the doctor realized that he was wrapped three times in the umbilical cord.  Once around the neck, once around the waist, and once around the leg.  However, because of the Lord's amazing grace, he was fine.  He was born on Thursday, December 9th at 4:20am- and he was 7lbs, 6oz, and 22 inches long.

So here we are a little over a week later, and we have a beautiful baby boy who is an absolute joy!  Michael and I are beyond blessed, and can't believe that the Lord would bless us with such an amazing gift.  So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to John Michael Sanford.