Carter's Birth Story

So we arrive at the hospital last Monday night at about 10pm. At about 3am they give me the medicine that will cause me to dilate and efface. When Dr. Maddox came in the next morning to break my water I was at 2cm and 90%. I had already been started on the medicine to make me contract, so as soon as my water was broken I wanted my epidural. As we were watching all the monitors we were noticing Carter's heartrate was dropping, so they put me on oxygen. Also, my blood pressure readings were high, so Dr. Maddox ordered me to be put on some medicine during labor and 24 hours after labor. By about 2:00, I still had not made any kind of progress and my uterus was in a constant state of contraction plus the baby had his first bowel movement inside of me, and this was a sign of distress. Dr. Maddox then came in and talked to me and said it didn't look like I was going to progress anymore and the baby needed to come out immediately. Of course I agree to this and within about 15 minutes I am on the operating table having a c-section. Carter's head was so far down into the birth canal that they had to tug really hard to get him out...so hard they were putting so much pressure on my ribs that it made me nauseous and I had to throw up right there on the operating table :(

Carter comes out finally, and I see the sweet little thing I have been carrying for 9 months and he is beautiful and looks exactly like his Daddy.

The next few days were pretty rough, I was on the morphine pump and the blood pressure medicine for 24 hours which made me completely out of it and I don't even remember holding Carter for the first time. I was also in a lot of pain because of the surgery and because they had to tug so hard to get him out.

Once we were able to get moved into a normal room a day later, one of the doctors who assisted in the c-section came in to let me know what had happened and why the labor didn't go as planned. Since my blood pressure was so high during labor, it caused me to have a little bit of preclampsia, and when they opened my uterus there was blood inside because my placenta had started separating itself from my uterine wall.

I have prayed so hard about this birth and Carter's safety and my own and God was totally in control of the whole situation. He provided me with nurses and doctors that knew what they were doing and knew when Carter needed to come out. He got him here healthy and safe and for that I praise Him and I am forever grateful. I come even fuller to the realization that the Lord hears His children's prayers. Although the birth was nothing that I expected it to be, God knew all along and was there from the beginning of it all. When I first found out I was pregnant, I was extremely nervous and anxious about everything...when I cried out to God and I just asked Him "What do I do?!" The words "Trust Me" radiated through my whole being. That is one of the only times the Lord has talked to me like that, and I will remember it forever. My trust in Him brought me through the whole pregnancy and birth and I relied on those words the whole 9 months.

Now we are just adjusting to this whole new life!