Patrick Wilford is Here!

Both of my boys (what, I have 2 boys?) are napping right now, so it's time to update this blog with Patrick's birth story before I forget the details.

Words to describe Patrick's birth: terrifying. fast. wonderful. merciful. unforgettable.

We'll start with Friday, September 7th. I had my 39 week OB appointment and was 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced. Promising, but no guarantee I'd go into labor too soon. However, I did go ahead and schedule an elective induction for the following Tuesday (the 11th) because I liked the idea of knowing I'd make it to the hospital, plus my favorite doctor was on call that day, plus Behn had that whole week off of work so I knew he'd be there for everything. So it just made sense, even though I did want to try to have another natural childbirth.

On Saturday (the 8th), I was excited because I knew there was a coldfront coming in. I was so ready for cool, unhumid air, but also was hopeful the change in the air pressure would cause me to go into labor, as it had done for Graham. (Graham was born hours before a snowstorm. My water broke and he came 4 hours later). All day I waited for signs of labor. Behn and I rearranged furniture in the morning- definite nesting. Then we took Graham on a little walk and ran errands. The rain and wind started, but I still felt like nothing was out of the ordinary. I had lots of braxton hicks, but that was normal for me, and they were painless. We ate dinner- my friend Jenny's Brunswick soup with extra pepper- and then around 6 we took Graham on a walk to throw rocks into the puddles from the storm. I mentioned to Behn that I was bummed the storm hadn't caused labor.

Just before 7 p.m., we went inside and I put Graham in the bath. While he played, I just sat in there with him, browsing blogs. Out of no where I had a huge, strong contraction. I immediately told Behn, because I knew something was up. I started pacing around and then a few minutes later I had another one. This time I called Jenny (my daytime designated Graham babysitter) and told her what was up. More contractions, just minutes apart, and it was getting hard to talk through them. I called the hospital,  getting a little panicked. They told me to drink some water and wait an hour, which I agreed to do, but also completely disregarded. I knew we needed to go NOW. I called Mom, told her I was in labor, and then, since it was getting near night, called Kay, our night-time designated babysitter for Graham. I told her to come right away.

At this point, my wonderful husband was concerned, but not too concerned, because he was trimming his beard while Graham continued to play in the tub. I sweetly told him now was not the time to trim beards and that he needed to get Graham out and dressed and give him his nightly yogurt. Behn began to understand how urgent things were. He got G dressed and started gathering things like the phone charger and camera and taking it all out to the car. Then he fed Graham. At this point, it had been about 20 minutes since I had the 1st contraction, and I was on all fours, unable to stand, groaning through the contractions. Behn was getting nervous, but stayed so calm. He gently asked me to get into the car if I could so we could leave the minute Kay pulled up. I managed to do so, but hopped in the backseat on all fours. I told him to grab a trashcan in case I threw up.

Kay arrived very quickly, at about 7:28. I couldn't even say bye to Graham, I was in too much pain. Behn pulled out really fast and as we were leaving I saw the most beautiful rainbow- a reminder of the Lord's promises to us. As Behn careened down our windy road, I told him to go straight to our local community hospital, Stonewall Jackson Hospital. They don't deliver babies there, but I knew we were not going to make it to Augusta Medical, which was about 45 minutes away. I told Behn to call 911 and let them know we were coming. Behn did great making the phone call- he was not panicked and spoke very clearly about what was going on. While in the car I was terrified because I could feel the baby bearing down. All of the sudden my water broke. I was pleading for mercy and speed to the hospital, and sweating profusely. Behn kept telling me, 'It's ok, here's another green light, we're almost there.' Thank God we live about 4 miles from the ER!

Behn pulled up, parked and ran in. I gathered myself and managed to get out of the car. I saw a nurse headed toward me with a wheelchair. I vaguely sat in it for a moment, but I knew the baby was crowning, so I didn't want to sit on his head. I jumped up, felt his head between my legs and the second we were in the door, collapsed to the doormat. Behn pulled my shorts off and Patrick's head was out! I was surrounded by nurses and a rather shocked ER doctor (as well as the general public). Someone supported my body and  grabbed my hand. Two (or maybe just one) more pushes, and Patrick was out- pink and screaming- at 7:45.

The next few minutes they got me back to a trauma room and delivered the placenta. They hooked me up to iv's for fluid and I began to nurse Patrick. He did great on his APGAR's: 10 and 10. They weren't equipped for a birth, but they still did great! Some of the nurses had worked on the OB unit before it was closed 2 years ago. Behn began making the phone calls to family and they cleaned me up as best they could.

The rest of the night was hard. Patrick and I needed to get to AMC, the hospital we were supposed to be at. I waited for an ambulance, but once they got there, they didn't have a carseat or any way to safely transport Patrick. Around midnight, we finally decided they would just take me, and that Behn and Patrick would follow when a NICU ambulance from UVA -in Charlottesville- was available. P didn't need a NICU, but it was the only safe way to transport him. So I got to AMC around 1 a.m. I was pronounced healthy (no stitches!) and took an amazing hot shower, then tried to rest while I waited for my husband and son. They didn't arrive until nearly 5 a.m. Patrick was also pronounced healthy- and 7 lbs, 10 oz- and the three of us slept until 7 when Behn had to get up to go relieve Kay and see Graham. (By the way, Graham did really well through the night- Kay is great!). Behn took over with Graham briefly, then Jenny came and took him to church so Behn could get some rest.

So, that's the story! It was so wild! But it was also wonderful and we have a fun story to tell. God was so merciful to keep us all healthy and safe. We are also grateful to all the staff at Stonewall, the ambulance companies, the staff at AMC, and our awesome babysitters!

If we have more biological children, I am so getting induced at 39 weeks! What will my next labor be like, 10 minutes??

We need to take a family picture still, but here's Patrick Wilford. Wilford is my grandpa's name and we wanted to honor him. So far, he is such a sweet and easy baby. We are in love!