To say Conner made his way into this world with speed and fury would be and understatement. I went from believing I would be being induced, to having a bouncing baby boy in may arms in two hours flat.
It all began at my 40 week appointment, on the Wednesday just two days before my due date. I was 3+ centimeters dilated, and so my doctor asked me how long I'd like to wait before inducing. All I knew was that I wanted to avoid pitocin at all costs, if possible. "Ummm... maybe a week?" I answered, completely unsure. To that he responded with surprise, "Are you sure?!" Then he proceeded to list all the reasons why waiting too long does no good, and may actually eventually be more risky than beneficial. He suggested that because I was already making good progress, we schedule me to be induced on my due date, that coming Friday.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I jumped right to the point. "What will be the induction process?" I wanted to know. He explained that because I was already so far dilated, simply breaking my water should get the show on the road pretty quickly. Pitocin would likely be unnecessary, assuming my body cooperated. Sign me up - that sounds great. It's high time this nugget evacuated.
And then, for the next two evenings, I was kept wide awake between the hours of 2am and 5am with consistent -but not painful- contractions. Each time, I assumed we would just head to the hospital in the morning, if things progressed. Both times, my excitement faded as the contractions ceased in the early morning hours. Both days, I went on with life as normal.
When we arrived to the hospital Friday morning as scheduled, we found that I was indeed in active labor, and those stretches of contractions had in fact, been doing work. I was now nearing 5 cm, and likely would have had Conner that day, anyway.
Around 8:30am, my doctor arrived, and broke my water. Contractions quickly intensified, and within an hour, I was 8 cm, and had requested the epidural. This was happening FAST. The anesthesiologist was in the room next door, so I would have to wait. Nearly 40 excruciating minutes later, the anesthesiologist finally made her way. She then proceeded to explain that it might be too late for the epidural. I was 9 cm, and demanded she place it. Within 20 minutes of the epidural being placed, it was time to push.
Tyler actually timed how long I pushed - 5 minutes and 20 seconds. The doctor happily announced that we had a baby boy, and sweet Conner was placed in my arms. In that moment, our hearts could have exploded. Two little boys - oh my heart.
The rest is history. We cannot imagine a world without him, and we're so blessed to call him ours. The weeks since we brought him home have certainly had their fair share of challenges, but we're all learning and adjusting.
Stay tuned for more (late) updates!
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