Jameson Has Arrived

We made it.  Teri's pregnancy is officially over, and we have a healthy baby boy; Jameson Eric Starkey.  I cannot even describe our gratitude and relief for how well things went.

Last week after they determined Teri had lost 4 lbs in two weeks, they put her in the hospital, then sent her home on Monday to continue her meds at home.  From that point on, they determined that it was too risky to let Teri go beyond 37 weeks and that she would be induced on Friday 3/9.

She followed the plan and took her meds through the week until her Thursday doctors appointment.  They said she was still only dilated to 1 cm, so they decided to get things started by admitting her on Thursday night to start on Cervidil.  This is a medicine that "ripens" the cervix and softens to make labor easier/quicker once you are actually induced. It takes 12 hours to set in, so that is why they wanted to start it on Thursday night. 

So we got to the hospital around 8pm Thursday, and they started the Cervidil by 11:30pm.  Then we waited for the 12 hours.  We each got some sleep (I got a little more I am sure), and woke up anxious to see the nurse at 11:30 am.  She came in to check her, and she was dilated to... 1 cm.  Not the progress we wanted, but this was to be expected on this medicine.

The Cervidil did soften things up though, so they started another medicine called Cytotec.  This essentially softens things even more, and also makes things "irritable" to get things moving.  This one takes 4 hours before they check on you again, so they gave it to Teri and we waited until 5:00pm.... she is now dilated to 3 cm.  In the right direction!

At this point, they were able to start the Pitocin.  This drug is the last drug given to really get labor started.  Obviously at this point, we have our hopes up for things to move real quickly, saying "oh, we'll have this baby  before dark".  Soon after they started the meds, her contractions increased and got closer together.  Once they got fairly painful, they started the Epidural (an IV catheter in your spine to manage labor pains).  Basically, it numbs the labor pain, but still allows you feeling to know when to push and the ability to push where you want to.  Pretty magical.  

We continued to wait and watch on the screen as the contractions kept coming steadily.  They waited until Teri felt more constant pressure, and then checked to see what she was dilated to.  Hours passed like this, and then by around midnight and she was apparently ready to start pushing.  Again, your hopes rise, and you think "this is it! Its actually happening! Here he comes!"

Teri pushed for about an hour, and the doctor poked his head in and said to the nurse "are you ready for me?"  She said "close...but not quite".  Dammit.  Another 15-20 minutes of good pushing and the doctor pokes in again,... "how about now?".  The nurse calmly says, "yea you could probably come on in".  YES. 

He took a front row seat and waited for the next push for about 30 seconds.  As with the other ones, Teri gives the "ok, feeling pressure..."  and we all say "alright push" and cheer her on.  Before I know it, there is Jameson's fuzzy head poking out.  The doctor looked a little surprised as Jameson just kept barreling through, and he says "wow, this baby is coming now. keep going".  He has Jameson's head in one hand, as we he frantically reach for something on a table behind him (no time to even ask the nurse for it I guess).  Teri takes a deep breath (something she wouldn't have been able to do without all the anti-biotics she has been on the last couple weeks) and pushes with everything she has, which was all she needed.  In just a matter of seconds, he came out from head to toe at 1:32 a.m on March 10, 2012.

He weighed 5 lbs 12 oz. at 20 inches long.  Just a little guy, as we expected, but looks to be very healthy. 

 I can't tell you how grateful we are to have had all our prayers answered.  Teri is in great spirits and is already acting like her old self again.  Even during labor, you could see the tension lifting from her mind that he would be out and she could move on.  But once he was out and in our arms... well I can't describe the feeling of relief after all the worries and stress were gone in almost an instant.

I am sleeping at home tonight with to stay with Ari, and by tomorrow night, Teri and Jameson will be joining us.  All the hard work and stress that we (mainly Teri) went through the past 6 months was for good cause, and we both agree was totally worth it.  We can't wait to bring him home and teach Ari to change his diaper :).