Birthing Bekham!

I was really hoping to get around to this a lot sooner. I was obviously unfamiliar with the demands of a newborn! However, I'd take the lack of sleep any day over having spare time to blog. This miracle of a life is absolutely precious. The love I have for him is immeasurable and the coolest thing about it is that this little boy had done NOTHING to earn it. So cool to think about God's love for all of us in this new perspective.

Anyways, I really wanted to share Bekham's birth story for many reasons. Primarily because it was a major life changing event for me and I don't want to forget one detail of the process, but also because some people have asked to hear the story! Pretend this is TiVo and I am hitting rewind from where we are today!

Saturday afternoon, while watching the Iron Bowl, I began feeling consistent, mild contractions. By consistent I mean about every 5 minutes. By mild, I mean, I could easily continue with the activities I was doing without a problem (showering, getting ready for the night, watching TV etc.) I called my mid-wife and she said to take a bath or drink a lot of water- sounded like I could be dehydrated. Well, I drank water, but didn't have time to get in the bath as we were heading over for my sister-in-law's birthday dinner. Once Nick and I were both ready, I made sure we had all of our bags packed, simply because I knew the mild pain I was experiencing was something I had never had before and something was up. We headed over for a family birthday party and I basically laid on the couch the entire time. Eventually almost everyone was in there with me watching me track my contractions. We ended up leaving about 2 hours later to go home and try to labor for awhile before making a decision about going to the hospital. Again, at this point, I could pretty much continue normal activity while having the contractions. We decided to drive through Chick-fil-A as I hadn't eaten since about 1pm. Knowing there could be a long night ahead of us, I got some food in my stomach. Praise the Lord!

We got home and I decided to bake some birthday cupcakes to share with the nursing staff to honor their assistance in bringing Bekham into the world. Literally, as soon as they were done, cooled, and frosted, we made the decision to go to North Fulton. They were starting to get stronger and more frequent, although still nothing unbearable or concerning. Once we got there, Diane, our midwife, came to check my progress. As of Wednesday, my last appointment, I was 4cm. I laid on the table and said, "Please don't tell me I'm still 4cm." Well, she did. She suggested we walk the halls for an hour and then come back to make the decision to stay or go home. Well, as soon as we started walking, they started increasing in intensity. After about an hour and half, we talked to Diane and decided to stay. They were getting painful enough to where neither Nick nor myself wanted to be anywhere but the hospital. About another half hour later, we were admitted and in our labor and delivery room. Let me pause here to say, I had a bag of tricks packed to handle contractions and labor. Never unzipped the bag. Never handed a nurse my birth plan! All of that was completely out the window once the contractions hit! It's actually laughable now. HOWEVER. My midwife knew I wanted to go natural and that was all she needed to know to help make it happen the way I envisioned it.

We were hooked up to the monitor to make sure they could get a reactive strip on Bekham during my contractions. This part was miserable. At first I had to take the contractions laying in bed (the worst!) Eventually, Nick asked the nurse if I could at least stand up as i couldn't handle them on my back. She let us stand up and we watched each contraction come and go. Peak, and then release. It was awful. As they started to come, I would just reach up and put my hands around Nick's neck and we would rock back and forth. He would do as much as he could to console and encourage me. He was AMAZING. I wouldn't trade him for a doula! They stated to get incredibly painful and we called a nurse in to ask for a check. Diane came and said we were at 6cm and suggested I try laboring in the tub and shower. So we did that. Probably for about an hour and then even that got to be too much for me. Talk about a humbling experience. It was at this time in labor that I realized there was no more conservative laboring. I drank some juice, then we went back to the room and I laid on the bed again as the standing was getting too painful as well. At this point- I was miserable and inconsolable. I was crying and hyperventilating in between contractions and started with the "I can't do this!" Nick continually asked me if I wanted the epidural and I kept saying no. At this point- I said I needed help. He called a nurse in, and she was great. She told me we had options before the epidural. I still am not 100% sure of what they gave me, but it didn't stop the pain. It just mellowed me out. It was a narcotic and it made me fall into somewhat of a daze. It actually helped in between contractions, but no relief during the contractions. It got so bad again, the nurse checked me, and at this point we were 9cm! The nurse went to get Diane and she told me she could break my water to get me to 10cm. That's what we did. I was sobbing like a baby at this point. We had no more options for pain medicine as we were to the pushing point. I remember telling Diane I was too scared of the pain to keep going. She kept assuring me this was the end. I could do it. I believed her... somehow! Well, this started a literal hellish experience.

Pushing was the hardest thing I have ever gone through/felt/experienced. It was also taxing on Nick. The nurses asked him to sit down, offered him cool wash rags, and Gingerale. He was about to pass out! I was the obnoxious person that screams out loud in the movies and on TV. It took us over an hour to get this cone head out! I was pushing through my legs and halting his progress. I could feel myself refusing to push when it came time. Finally, the nurses told me his heart rate was dropping and I needed to get him out. That was obviously all I needed to hear to get him out. With legs shaking uncontrollably, I pushed like I was expelling ORGANS from my body. It was so uncomfortable and awful. But then out he came and Diane handed him right to me. SCREAMING. Best noise ever! I apologized to him over and over again for giving him a cone head. We got to hold him like this for about an hour before anyone took him from us. It was bliss. Nick cut the cord, and when he did, Bekham grabbed the scissors! It was hilarious! The rest is a blur. My mom and Nick's mom came to see him. They took him for his Vitamin K shot and sponge bath. I was forced to go to the bathroom and try to pee. Let me tell you (sorry if any males happen to be reading this)- that is just MEAN to ask a woman to push pee out after she just pushed a child out (and tore a little). I sat there for a good 10 minutes- legs and body quivering- and the nurse kept asking if I had gone to the bathroom. I literally looked at her at the end of the 10 minutes and said, "This really isn't going to happen right now." She let me get up at that point and I managed to walk to the wheel chair to go to our recovery room. Oh. My. Gosh. The pain that followed the labor was awful. Sitting hurt. Walking hurt. Going to the bathroom hurt. Getting in and out of bed hurt. I have never asked for so much help in my whole life, but I could not take care of myself for a good 12 hours. (Things no one tells you when you are pregnant!)

The rest will be in my memory forever (and in pictures to come)! I couldn't possibly blog every single detail of this amazing experience, but I wanted to get as much of it out as possible! Bekham entered our world on November 27th at 4:22am. He weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. He appears to have reddish hair, but its hard to be completely sure at this point. He has long fingers and long toes and he is absolutely perfect in every way imaginable! The main take aways I want to remember about this birth:

1. My husband was an incredible ROCK for me during the entire process. Never once was he distracted/checking his phone etc. He was touching me and talking to me through every pain and every moment of my labor. I have never felt so close to him as I have over the past 4 days. He has loved me in ways I cannot describe, but I am so thankful for him.

2. My midwife was a blessing from God. She took me as a patient at 36 weeks and was there to deliver this baby for me 4 weeks later. She acted like she had known me her entire life and she acted like this child inside of me was her own. Always calling him cutie when she checked on him along the way. She was a source of spiritual encouragement and physical encouragement. She knew I wanted this baby naturally and she did everything in her power to make it happen. I am so thankful for that woman. I couldn't have done it without her.

I will be posting pictures in future posts. I just needed to get the story out while it was all still so fresh on my mind. I cannot thank God enough for this miracle. He is a pure joy and I love him with my entire heart. I have probably kissed him over a million times. I have probably told him I loved him over a hundred times. This child is an answer to so many prayers of mine and desires of my heart. I have wanted him since I was old enough to babysit and he is finally here. Thank the Lord for a healthy pregnancy, a healthy labor, and a healthy boy! This is truly a memory that will be engrained in my memory for all time.