Every pregnancy is different. This one for me was so polar opposite of my first 2 i could have sworn i was having a girl. But when it came to the actual delivery, third times a charm I guess. I was 39 weeks pregnant, and we scheduled an induction to get this baby here before Thanksgiving! He had other plans. I checked into the hospital at 4pm on November 18th. I knew that I was 3cm and on my way to getting the baby out! Upon arrival, i found out i was group B strep positive (i think), which meant I had to be on antibiotics the entire labor all the way until the delivery. My awesome sisters planned a surprise visit and drove from Gilbert to see me in the hospital. It was the first time I was able to have family around during labor. It made me feel loved and special. We started the first round of drugs to get the labor going. I was really looking forward to having the baby! First round of drugs turned into 3, then 4, and we started to have some progress at about 2am. I was feeling strong contractions about 2 minutes apart and wanted to get some relief so I soaked in the tub with the jets on! The pain subsided and I felt it was time to have another check, i was at 4cm...very little progress. I was becoming discouraged and my emotions were getting the best of me. We continued the induction process to no avail. I spent 24 hours in the hospital with only 1 cm progression. After discussing it with the Dr. and Clifton, we decided to come home and wait. He just wasn't ready to be born yet.
The following week (Thanksgiving...my due date was Friday the 23rd) I tried my best to have a great holiday. And thanks to my mom, it was. We had a great time just enjoying a quiet, small holiday. Chris came all the way from Provo, and Amanda and her family joined us the day after. We had a great time taking "throwback" pictures. It was a great distraction to have my siblings there.
One week later, Thursday the 29th, I had a ultrasound done because I was overdue. The tech noticed an abnormal amount of fluid. She called the Dr. in and they both concluded that I should be sent over to the hospital for a fetal stress test. It took about 2 hours but the results were normal. After finding out the results, Dr. Harrison gave me the option to wait a couple more days, or get started right away. Already being 6 days overdue, we just had the feeling that we needed to get the show on the road! I went home, took a quick shower, got Curtis and Jesse with my parents, and then we got back to the hospital to get things going.
When we tried the first induction, I ended being 4 cm when we left the hospital. So there I was, two weeks later, the exact same room, going through the same process, and still a 4. By the time the nurses were ready to give me my first round of drugs it was 9pm (29th). They gave me cervadil (sp?). The same as cytotech, but a 12 hour version that works over night. That night was uneventful. I forced myself to sleep and i'm grateful for the little sleep that I did get. The only thing I could do was pray that the drugs would work this time around. I was hopeful when they checked me during the morning rounds...but i was still at 4!!! I could have cried! There was no turning back (by this time, we were 7 days overdue!) and I was just hoping that it wouldn't be a repeat of what we went through with the first induction. We continued with the cytotech, and walking, cytotech and walking. When the nurses told me I could get up and walk around, I was standing and walking the entire time. My feet were hurting, my belly was aching, but I knew since he wasn't dropping, I had to do all I could to have gravity help.
The day turned into night, and my emotional strength had diminished. I was done. My fear had come true, and I was having a repeat!!! No way was this happening! Shift change was happening, and about 7:30pm the nurse checked me and I was a 4 1/2. What more could I do? you guessed it, another round of cytotech! I walked around my room for about and hour. The nurse said she would come check me in an hour, so I had privacy...until things started to pick up!
I found myself having significant back labor. I laid in bed hoping to relieve some of the pain, but it never subsided. I held on as long as I could, but I knew stuff was going on. I just knew it! After only 35 minutes, i buzzed the nurse and asked her to check me again. To our surprise I was 7cm!!! She immediately went into prep mode! It's 8:30pm and I tried my best to wait patiently for the epidural...I didn't have to wait long. By 9:07 I was pain free! What a blessing. The shakes had started and I knew things were moving fast. The uncontrollable shakes make me laugh...only when i'm pain free!
At 11:10pm I was 10cm!!! Complete! But baby still hadn't dropped! My abnormal amount of fluid hadn't broken! There was no pressure, where I knew I should be feeling pressure! The nurse called Dr. Harrison and he said to put me on pitocin (sp?) to get the baby down. The Dr. was on his way to get the delivery done. After only 2 minuets on pitocin, i'll never forget the sound it made when my water burst. Imagine a giant piece of bubble gum popping followed by a 2 year old spilling a full 32 oz glass of juice on the floor. It was a FLOOD! What a mess. Anyway, the pressure was immediate! It was familiar. The nurse asked me to give a practice push, just to see if my epidural needed to be turned down. After half a push she told me to stop...she would prefer if the dr. was there for the delivery! HA!
I was ready. SOOOOO ready! The only question was would he be born in November? or December? The Dr. arrived ready to work. I waited for a contraction and gave an awesome push. I wanted to push more but the contraction was over...there would be no point. Another push and his head was halfway out! This was all happening so fast! Apparently I was excited about that. I'm not sure what I was saying or doing, but Clifton was laughing his head off! What a great memory! Well, another contraction came and his head was completely out with that push...and then I got yelled at to stop pushing! I looked at Clifton's face and saw a small glimpse of fear. The Dr. said a couple bleepedy bleep words and was working furiously fast. I had no idea it was possible, but the umbilical chord was wrapped 3 times around his neck. With that one half a push, I was cinching the chord tighter around his neck. When I stopped the push, within 20 seconds the chord was cut, I finished that half a push and Sterling Christopher was born! 11:33 November 30th and I could not have been happier! 8lbs 7oz 19 1/2 inches. And lets not forget the fluid that came after him. The Dr. had to wash his shoes!!! And his poor pants... i'll never forget that. Too funny.
We named him Sterling mostly because we loved the name! I went to college with a couple of great guys named Sterling, and it's not a name you hear everyday. His middle name, Christopher, is after my little brother. He is such a great example of what an awesome man is and I hope all my boys grow up to be as great as he is.
Looking back on the entire experience, the first induction and nothing happening for 24 hours, the second induction and nothing happening for 24 hours, i'm pleased with how everything went. Once he decided to come, he came fast! Sterling is a beautiful baby and has been so easy. It was strange how great my recovery was. I bounced back in record time. I feel very blessed to be the mother of 3 wonderful boys!
All 3 of my deliveries have had many similarities. I've had to be induced every time, the chord was wrapped twice with both Curtis and Jesse, three times with Sterling, and i've learned that I enjoy pushing! It's a rush. Can't explain it! I love my family and i'm so blessed, it's ridiculous.
Enjoy the pics (in random order) that my very talented sister Leah took for us while we were still in the hospital. I will cherish these forever!
