He is here!!!

The midwives at my OB practice had been wanting to induce me because of my age starting at 39 weeks which for me was Tuesday November 20th. They would let me keep going as long as I would come in twice a week for a biophysical profile ultrasound and check up so that's what I did since I really wanted this baby to be able to come on his own. 

I went to my doctor's appointment on Tuesday November 27th (my due date) and was only 1 cm dilated. This didn't surprise me too much as generally I don't dilate much before labor. I had another appointment set up for Friday November 30th and would have to schedule an induction at that point as I wouldn't be allowed to go past 41 weeks. I tried to keep busy as much as possible for the next few days so that I wouldn't focus on going over my due date. I was able to get quite a few things done on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The last big thing I wanted to be able to do before the baby came was go to Landon's All County chorus concert on Thursday, November 29th. It was a great concert and I was so glad that I was able to be there. 

We got home around 8 p.m. and got all the kids settled in bed. Around 9:30 p.m. I started feeling some mild contractions. They didn't come very frequently  but they kept on coming throughout the course of the night ranging anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes apart. I got up around 4:30 a.m. to use the bathroom and as soon as I stood up my contractions started coming more frequently. I decided to go ahead and wake up Jason to tell him it was time to head to the hospital. With my other fast labors I just didn't want to risk giving birth in the car! 

We got everything ready to go and made it to the hospital around 5:30 a.m. I was checked upon arrival and was dilated to 5 cm  and 50% effaced with pretty intense contractions but they were still only coming about 5 to 8 minutes apart. This lasted for a few hours and when I was rechecked at 9 a.m. I was dilated to 7 cm and 100% effaced. Things were going slower than I had anticipated but I was able to stay on top of the contractions since they still weren't coming that frequently. I was tempted to get an epidural at this point, but decided to hold out as I was hoping for another natural birth experience. Some of the contractions were really intense but with enough of a break in between them I was managing okay. 

The midwife on call that day was Kendra and she offered to break my water at 9 a.m. but I wanted to wait a little longer to see if it would break on its own soon. I was already leaking amniotic fluid when I arrived at the hospital and could feel  pressure where the bag of water was sitting and thought it wouldn't be long before a strong contraction would break  it. I labored for another on my own, using the shower, a birth ball and a rocking chair to help me get through those tough contractions. Kendra came back in around 10:15 am and again offered to break  my water if I wanted to speed things along. By this point I was just kind of ready to be done so I accepted her offer. And boy did it really speed things along! I dilated from 7 to 10 cm and pushed our little boy into this world in just over 20 minutes! It was incredibly intense, and honestly very difficult and painful, but also an amazing experience to have my fourth (and probably last) unmedicated natural childbirth experience. Our long awaited little boy arrived into this world at 10:49 a.m. on Friday November 30th, 2018. He weighed in at 8 pounds 15.6 oz and measure 22 inches long. He was perfect in every way and it was such a relief to have him here at last!! They immediately put him on my chest as soon as he was born and I just felt so much gratitude that he was safe and healthy and that I had been able to have the birth experience I had wanted without being induced. We love you so much little one!!