Meeting Mac

The day was here! The day we had been awaiting for 9 months had arrived. Thursday, April 10, 2014 is the day that our lives changed forever...

I was up and ready to go, all before Clete's alarm went off. I tried stay quiet so he could sleep since we had a big day ahead of us. After we got around, and got the car loaded we left for the hospital. We arrived at the hospital shortly after 5:00AM. They got us checked in, showed us to our room, and told me to get changed and that my nurse would be in shortly. I got in my hospital gown, crawled into the bed, and soon after my nurse arrived. There was lots of paperwork and questions, but once that was all done she started my IV to start speeding things along. Around 7:00AM my parents arrived, and there was nurse shift change. ALL of the nurses and staff were wonderful! They made me feel so comfortable, and like we had known them for years. Clete and I couldn't have been happier with the care we received. The labor nurse that checked us in told us goodbye and that she'd see us that evening. She said she hoped to meet our baby boy when she returned, but that sometimes she does come back to help deliver. My day labor nurse was just as great! She made sure I felt comfortable, had ice chips, and would bring popsicles per my request. She also told me that when I started to get uncomfortable to let her know and she'd order my anesthesia.

Shortly before 9AM my doctor came in to check my progression, and also broke my water. My doctor and nurse said things should start to move along since she had broken my water. Around 10:45AM I started having pretty hard contractions so I requested my epidural. Once the anesthesiologist was out of surgery he came in to see me. The epidural was one thing I was really nervous about, but it wasn't bad at all. Dr. Brown was quick and made it as painless as possible. Once the epidural set it, the waiting game began. Dr. Chambers {my doc} would come down every couple of hours to check me, or would call the nurses to get my progress.

At 1:00PM she came in and I was 100% effaced and dilated to a 4. She told me to just hang tight because she knew at any time I was going to progress fast. Our visitors went to lunch, and I napped while we were waiting on our little man. When Dr. Chambers came in around 5:00PM to check, I was still at a 4. She told Clete and I that we had two options... we could do a c-section or we could wait. Normally, a woman would progress at 1cm an hour and I had been stuck at a 4 for 4 hours. She said with how my pregnancy had gone, and since both me and baby's vitals were good she had no problem with waiting. I really did NOT want a c-section. It was my biggest fear going into labor. I told her that I would like to wait and see how things looked again in two hours. She had no problem with that. Clete and I discussed after she left, that if 7:00PM rolled around and nothing had changed we would take her advice on what to do. I in no way felt like she was trying to force a c-section on me, so if she felt like that was best then we'd take that route. After all, I didn't want to get into an emergency situation and them have to rush to take him c-section. 

Shortly before 7:00PM she called and had the labor nurses come check me... I was still stuck at a 4. They told me they could feel his head and they could also feel fluid building up around it. I told the nurse to ask Dr. Chambers what she would suggest we do, and that we felt confident to go with whatever she suggested. When the nurses walked out, I knew I was going to have to have a c-section. One of my biggest fears through my pregnancy was coming reality. As soon as my parents walked back into the room, I completely lost it. I was scared to death. I'd never been hospitalized before, so going under surgery was scary to me. I still get emotional thinking about it, but I looked at my mom with tears in my eyes and said, "have dad come pray with us." It was a special moment for me... Clete, my mom, my aunt, and my dad gathered around my bed and held hands as my dad led us in prayer. After that, I felt confident I was making the best decision and I felt at peace. I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to deliver naturally, but I was okay with it.

Once Dr. Chambers arrived at the hospital she came to our room and talked to us. She told me she knew this wasn't my plan, but that everything would be fine. She also then told us she had gone through 3 c-sections herself. Again, this made me feel better about it. After she left the room, they started prepping me for surgery. Dr. Brown came back in to change out my anesthesia, my nurse got everything else ready and within minutes we were off to the OR. My mom walked with Clete and I down to the double doors. It was very obvious I was nervous and scared, but Clete and Dr. Brown kept insuring me that all would be fine. They showed Clete to a small room to get changed, and they took me on to the OR.

It felt like it was 10 degrees in the OR. They moved me over to the operating table and started prepping for surgery. Dr. Brown stayed up by my head and talked to me to calm my nerves. He also insured me that he would get Clete before they started surgery. The nurses and doctor's were talking, my nurse stated my name and information, and soon after Clete came in. They gave him a chair and he sat right beside my head, holding my hand. Dr. Brown also stayed close by and talked to us telling us what was going on. Right before they pulled Mac out, Dr. Brown told Clete to stand up because he would want to see him come into the world. Clete stood up, and a moment later I heard our sweet baby boy cry for the first time. At 7:28PM our little baby boy, Mac James was born. Clete's words were, "he's beautiful just like his momma!" Dr. Chambers said my gosh he is huge and I remember thinking what does that even mean? She couldn't get over how big he was, and how she had under estimated his size. She held him up for me to see, and then the nurses took him to get him cleaned up, weighed, etc. Clete walked over and took pictures with his phone while they finished sewing me up. Once they had him weighed, measured and a diaper on, I got to hold my sweet baby boy for the first time. It was truly love at first sight. Clete snapped a picture of us with his phone and sent to my mom so everyone waiting would know Mac had arrived and that we were all doing well. 

For me, the rest of the evening was a little bit of a blur. Once they took Mac to the nursery, Clete went with him for a while. His blood sugar got low, so the nurses kept a close eye on him by checking it and made sure it was rising by giving him formula. Mac came into this world weighing in at 9 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches long. It was love at first site for us all!

April 10, 2014 was the day that our lives changed forever. For the better, of course! It's the date I earned the title of "mom" and our baby, Mac joined us in this big world. Our newest addition has turned in a brand new chapter of life. Being Mac's mommy is the best thing ever!

A special thank you to my dear friend Kylie for capturing Mac's birth day. These pictures I will cherish forever. All photo credits go to Kylligraphy Photography Lettering and Design.