Well, as you have heard, Finn is finally here! We just got home from the hospital and are trying to relax and take it easy. Thank you for all of the thoughts and well-wishes!!

Our birth story: (it's a long one!)

On Tuesday, October 9th we had a midwife appointment. They wanted to make sure that Finn was doing okay since we were approaching one week over due. We had a non-stress test first, where they listened to his heartbeat for 20 minutes to make sure he sounded okay. He passed with flying colors. At that point we left the midwife's office, with the plan to try an induction either Thursday (Oct. 11) or Monday (Oct. 15th) We had an ultrasound scheduled for that afternoon to check his amniotic fluid levels. Unfortunate, they discovered that his levels were low, which meant that he needed to be born sooner rather than later. After discussing our options with our midwife, we arranged to go home and get packed up to begin the induction that afternoon. It was nice to have time to pick up our house, finish packing and have some lunch.

We arrived at the hospital at 2:30pm on Tuesday. My blood pressure was high and so was Finn's heart rate, so they wanted to wait until those calmed down to start the Pitocin. Finally, at 9pm they started to administer Pitocin through my IV. They started with a very low dose, but within 45 minutes I had a contraction that last 11 minutes! Finn was not tolerating that at all. The decision was made to wait until the morning to start the induction and let both of us rest. On Wednesday morning, we woke up around 5am and the induction was supposed to begin at 6. However, I was having pretty regular contractions on my own, so again they decided to hold off. But by 9:30am my contractions were still not close or intense enough and the Pitocin was started. The Pitocin did help my contractions, but by 3:00 it was still pretty obvious that I wasn't making any progress. (I was already 4 centimeters dilated at the appointment the previous day, so all we needed was consistent contractions to get things moving.) Our midwife recommended breaking my water. After discussing our options we decided to go ahead and consent. While breaking the water, we were told that I was now 5 centimeters dilated, so those little contractions had done something. Breaking the water, definitely did the trick. Intense contractions began within 20 minutes. We tried a few different positions, but the birthing ball seemed to be the most comfortable. After a day of easy contractions, the intensity of these really threw me off. I kept thinking that there was no way that I could do it. Luckily, I had a great support team to keep me focused! And Finn was tolerating the contractions like a champ. Labor moved very quickly from that point. I went from 5 centimeters to 10 in just under two hours! No wonder my contractions were so intense. After about an hour and 45 minutes, I asked for the epidural even though I was really hoping for a natural birth. My support team tried to talk me into the Jacuzzi or another position, but I really was ready to give up and didn't think I could do it. They ordered the epidural and in the meantime the midwife checked my progress. I was at 8 centimeters which meant I was going though transition and I would be able to push soon. This gave me the strength to get through about 3 more contractions and as the anesthologist was knocking on the door I started to push! So, he had to turn around. At first I loved pushing, it was so much easier than the contractions. But the more tired I got, the more difficult pushing became. He was a much bigger baby than we had anticipated and I had to have an episiotomy in the last moments because his heart rate was started to decelerated. Finally, after two hours of pushing at 7:30pm (and only 4 hours of active labor,) Finn was born!! He was 8lbs 10 oz, 20 1/2 inches long.

Although my birth had a lot more medical interventions than we had hoped, it was a great birth experience. I was able to deliver him without the use of pain medications, which was my goal. But really, the ultimate goal was a healthy baby and with the help of an amazing birth team, we did just that!