In honor of my little monkey being 2 months old, I figured I’d share his birth story! Joshua Alexander was born on March 2, 2016 at 1:45 in the afternoon. Although I would say it was an easy labor and delivery we had our share of complication. I went in to be induced on March 1, two days shy of being 41 weeks pregnant. I was severely anemic and had a horrendous tooth infection that I could do nothing about until he was born. I tried ALMOST everything to naturally bring on labor. My husband bought me a yoga ball that I bounced on from sunrise to sunset while I binged watched One Tree Hill and colored in my time consuming adult coloring books, I walked almost 2 miles on a treadmill every night while my husband and his best friend worked out, I ate ALL the spicy food I was able to get my hands on (Which is no problem for me. To me the spicier the better. LOL), and we even tried sex but not of them worked.
When I went to be induced I was only dilated to about 1.5 cm and not effaced at all. At 7 that Tuesday night the process began with the cytotec. I had my husband, mom, and aunt there for support and boy did I need it. Around 4:30 am on Wednesday I started my iv pain meds and they started the pitocin. Every 2 hours they came to give me another dose of my med and at 11:30am I was at a 4 so my doctor came in to break my water. They thought that it was going to be another 7-8 hours before I even went into what they called “Active Labor” but within 30 minutes I was to a 6 and having the most painful contraction.
They gave me my epidural at about 12:30 pm and at 1:15ish I started pushing. Joshua heart rate suddenly began dropping after he started to crown. My doctor ended up giving me an episiotomy and tried to use a suction cup to get my son out but when that popped off he had to pull him out forcefully.
Now, I’ve heard my whole life that once your baby takes his very first breath and you hear him/her crying as they enter the world it is music to your ears. Well I heard no music. What I saw terrified me. My son was the color purplish blue color of a blueberry. There was no sign of life. I glanced over at my mom trying not to burst into tear because I knew that something was wrong. Babies aren’t supposed to be blue and purple. My mother did her best to reassure me that everything is okay. The issue was that the chord was wrapped tightly once around Joshua’s neck cutting off his airway. Quickly my doctor cut the chord and air began to fill his lungs.
As I was being stitched up and they were cleaning him they noticed that his oxygen levels were dropping and he was having problems breathing on his own. His lungs were filled with fluid. I got to spend about 10 minutes with him before they needed to take him to the nursery so they could hook him up to oxygen. He was screaming. As they put my 7lb 13oz miracle on my chest and I started talking to him he began to calm down some. The screaming became small whimpers and he just laid there content but still not breathing well.
Joshua spent two days in the nursery and one day in my room. My recovery went well. On March 3 I was walking to and from the nursery constantly so I could check on my son and rest. We had very few visitors because of how miserable I was. Now I am fully recovered physically and am still working on my emotional recovery.
I would love to have more kids in the future. Labor and delivery doesn’t scare me, the postpartum depression does. BUT postpartum depression won’t stop me from loving my son and being the mother I am so desperately trying to be. It may get hard but it will get easier in time as I surround myself with people who will uplift me and pray for me! Joshua means Yahweh is Salvation, and I truly believe that God saved him. Satan tried so hard to steal this blessing from Joe and I, and is still trying to steal this blessing from us through my depression but I truly believe that God will be our saving grace. He saved me from depression before and He will do it again.
Joshua now is breathing perfectly and a healthy as can be baby. He is somewhere between 13 and 14 lbs already, it’s like he never wants to stop eating. He has been such a blessing to Joe and I even when he is acting up. We love this little boy with all of our hearts and are so excited to be his guides on this journey called life.
As Always Keep Smiling,
Jenny
