The story of Micah...

I really enjoy hearing birth stories.  So I thought since today is my Micah's 4th birthday I would share our story.

The pregnancy was physically good.  He was always right on track and I never had any blood pressure issues or gestational diabetes.  I did experience some "morning sickness" in the first trimester.  More like 24/7 nausea!  I couldn't even stand to go into the kitchen!

Emotionally, I was a wreck.  I had a lot of anxiety in the beginning and was very emotional throughout the entire pregnancy.  By the third trimester I was so ready to be done and I was actually a little depressed.  My due date was December 15 according to the doctor so you can imagine when that date came and went I was getting pretty anxious!  Starting from about 37 weeks I would go into the doctors appointment hoping for some kind of update.  But every week it was nothing.  I never felt a contraction or anything!  I so wanted my baby to come before Christmas and I was feeling really depressed.  On December 19 I went for my check up and still no progress.  I saw the nurse practitioner that day (I think my doctor may have already been on vacation!) and told her how I was feeling.  We talked about induction which I could tell she was not for...but I pushed.  So she made it happen. 

On December 20 around 9:00 PM we headed to Carle Hospital not really knowing what to expect.  I checked in and got settled and was given cervidil around 10 PM.  The idea was that this drug would give my cervix the jump start it needed and then in the morning they would give me pitocin to jump start labor.  Since it was induction I had to be hooked up to monitors.  We settled in and tried to get some sleep.  I may have fallen asleep a little but not much.  I was mostly too excited.  Around midnight I felt really uncomfortable and needed to use the bathroom.  I attempted to call the nurse so she could unhook me but my call button wasn't working.  Then I attempted to wake Brad.  I didn't want to yell but he wasn't waking up!  I then resorted to throwing pillows at his head until he came to!  I told him I needed to use the bathroom but my call button wasn't working.  He then got the nurse and we got it all taken care of.  I told her I was feeling uncomfortable and she noticed on the monitor that I was indeed having contractions.  She told me it would probably be a while and I should still try to sleep.  She asked me if I wanted something "to take the edge off".  I agreed even though I felt uncertain.  She gave me a shot of something and then I tried to rest.  I still didn't really sleep much because I was still pretty uncomfortable and the contractions were much more noticeable!

A couple of hours later I could no longer just lay there.  I woke Brad up and made my way to the bathroom where my water broke. We buzzed the nurse and she checked me but I still hadn't made a ton of progress. I was able to get up and move around though but I couldn't seem to find a position that was working for me.  I then decided to sit in the shower.  That was a good choice.  The contractions were really painful and the shower was very relaxing.  I don't know how long I stayed in there but I was getting really tired and the contractions were really strong.

I did not have a written birth plan in place.  I knew in my head what I wanted though.  My plan was to labor as much as possible and take the epidural if I felt I needed it.  So the nurse checked me when I got out of the shower and I was around 5 or 6 cm dilated.  She told me that if I wanted an epidural it would be a good time to get one.  I was exhausted so I agreed.  They got everything set up and it felt like it took forever.  I was so tired and the contractions were right on top of each other.  I was desperate for rest!   Finally, I got the epidural and it was awesome!  I was able to sit back and relax and get some rest...for like 10 minutes!  After I got the epidural the nurse checked me again and of course...I was at 10 cm!  They told me I could rest a while before I started pushing so I did but not for long.  The nurse who had been with me all night came into check on my one last time (it was almost time for a shift change).  I told her that I thought I could push so she stayed and we started.  During that time I heard a couple of nurses talking about how the doctor was not answering her page.  I said "Dr. Fay is on vacation".  I thought it was funny that I knew that but they didn't!  So I got the doc on call.  I pushed for maybe 1/2 hour and finally my sweet baby boy was born!

Micah Bradley Heller was born December 21, 2007 at 7:49 AM weighing in at 8 lbs, 7 oz. 21 inches long!

I think the whole thing lasted about 8 hours start to finish!  I was so thankful to have such a good birth experience.  I know that many would gasp at the fact that I didn't have a written birth plan or that I took the epidural but I have no regrets.  I have never felt more accomplished in my whole life!  It was a wonderful, memorable and awesome experience! 

And now I have this beautiful 4 year old boy!  He is funny, loud and full of life!  He is also very sweet and polite.  I'm so proud of you, Micah!  The last 4 years have been a blast!  Happy Birthday!