March 29th, 2012
What an absolute blessing we have in our little Josiah! August 5th was Gary’s birthday, I was in a car accident and went to the ER to get checked out. We found out that we were expecting our fourth blessing. September 14th we thought we had lost our precious baby and as we sat trying to grasp what was going on we were comforted and encouraged by those around us. I soon saw our little one doing flips comfortably inside my womb. God had chosen to preserve the life He created!
Believing that this will probably be our last biological blessing, I decided early on that I wanted a natural birth without pain medications. With each of my other three, I got that glorious epidural. With Charis and Tobias I had pitocin which intensified contractions beyond comprehension. Even though their labors were short, they were intense and I was thankful for the relief. But I wanted to try with this birth. I wanted to see what all of the hype was about. And I wanted the best for me and my son, who had already been through so much.
The plan was set. I would labor at home for as long as possible with Audra coming to support me through the worst of it. I would then head to the hospital with her and Gary would meet us there as soon as child care arrived at the house. Gary’s cousin, Michelle who is a doula, would also meet us at the hospital.
With my due date being April 5th, I expect the delivery to take place sometime during the first week of April. I went to my Drs. Appointment on Wednesday the 28th and had been contracting about every 5-7 minutes. When he told me that I was 1.5cm dilated and 50% effaced my response was, “You have got to be kidding me!” He offered an induction date of the 3rd, which I refused. He then told me he wanted to see me on the 2nd if I hadn’t gone into labor before hand, but that he didn’t anticipate me holding out that long.
I continued having light contractions all day and that evening at church, I told everyone that I believed we would have a baby that night. Gary and I had finished preparations and I had a bag packed. That evening we got home from church and everyone settled in. I slept from about midnight til 2:30 and got up with somewhat stronger contractions that were ranging between 3-5 minutes apart, but weren’t very intense. Gary wanted me to go to the hospital, but I did not want to lie in a bed with an IV hooked up to monitors, nor did I want to be sent home because I hadn’t dilated! I wanted everyone to rest, myself included. I got up and watched a little TV then decided to lie back down around 4:30am. At 6 am I woke to stronger contractions that were in my lower abdomen and wrapped around my back, but still did not encompass my entire uterus, nor did my lil boy move down out of my rib cage. I texted Audra and she headed over arriving around 6:30am. At this point, contractions were still very manageable and ranging between 2-4 minutes apart. We talked, walked out back, walked out front, visited with the neighbor etc. Finally we came inside where I had two stronger contractions followed by what I believe was the placenta pulling away. At about 8:30, I knew it was time to go. I had already called Maralee to come take care of the babies and gotten Gary up.
Audra and I headed to the hospital with still bearable contractions. I was humming through the pain which started to intensify due to what I believed was the car ride. In a short few moments, my humming turned to groaning and pain shot down my thighs. It was incredible how quickly things progressed. Of course we were in traffic and headed toward Dallas. At one point I remember telling Audra that I just wanted out of the car. She asked if I wanted her to pull over and in that moment I felt pressure. I told her she HAD to get to the hospital. We were yards from the exit where we saw the wreck that had slowed traffic and she was able to put on hazards and get us off of the highway a little quicker.
Arriving at the hospital at about 9:10am, Audra physically helped me out of the car. The sweet volunteer, Henrietta started to take me to admissions who promptly said, ‘No! She goes straight back!” I stopped for a contraction while Henrietta grabbed a wheel chair. My water burst! Not a trickle.. a BURST! Thank goodness I was in sweats. Audra left me to go park the car and I was literally wheeled down one hallway to the nurses’ desk. Jennifer was there. She had done my birthing class with Micaiah and delivered Charis and Tobias.
God was totally in Jennifer being there at that moment. I calmly said, “Jennifer, I am about to have a baby.” She replied with, “I know! Are you excited?” I then felt Josiah slam down and had the urge to push. I said, “NO! I AM ABOUT TO HAVE A BABY NOW!! I NEED TO PUSH!” In that moment, everyone jumped up and all organized chaos began. Jennifer backed me into a room that wasn’t ready, quickly headed for a second room and started giving out orders. Mind you, I have been inside the hospital all of about 2 minutes at this point. Two nurses got me onto a bed and quickly stripped me waist down while others were setting up for delivery. It was confirmed that there was meconium and NICU was alerted. Dr Gordon had already been called. I heard a nurse say, “Let’s just check you and see what’s going on.. SHE’S CROWNING!”
Audra comes in and I have her arm as I am on my side screaming. She says that is how she found me in the first place. She also said that as she entered a nurse was physically pushing against me to hold the baby in. I told her that Gary was going to miss it all and to get him on speaker phone. That was at 9:19am. I remember saying, “I want him out!! I have to push!!” With nurses replying, “No! Don’t push!” and at the next contraction them saying, “Okay, we don’t want you to tear. Push easy!” Olive oil was generously applied as Audra kept saying, “You are doing great, Allison. He is almost here. Its almost over.” Good thing she was calm, because I sure WAS NOT! A nurse came in putting on a white gown and they asked if Dr. Gordon was here yet and she said, “Nope! Just me myself and I!” Not comforting. Two seconds later in walked Dr. Gordon who says with a smile, “Well, you didn’t need your induction!”
I begged for a local to which he winked and said, “What do you need a local for?” Everyone assures me he did not wink, but he DID! And he smiled. While he may be a bit old fashioned for some and his dry sense of humor a bit much for others, he provides a calm that I find assuring. He told me to focus and Jennifer called my name twice. I distinctly remember turning and thinking, “If I want this baby out, I have to get control and calm down.” He gave me a local and a small episiotomy. Then, he told me to give a controlled push. Jennifer had me grab my legs and I pushed. He asked for one more small push and there was my sweet baby’s head. One more light push and out came his body. 9:28 am. 7lbs .08oz and 19 in long. Josiah Micheal Hopkins was here.
He was quickly swept over to be suctioned out and given an apgar of 9. Dr. Gordon finished up the birthing process while we let Gary go. They came in a few moments later to get blood and asked where my IV was. I realized that very little had happened prior to the birth. I was still in the shirt I wore from home. Jennifer hadn’t asked me all of the pre birth questions. I was in the door and everyone hit the floor running. God orchestrated everything perfectly. I could not have asked for a more amazing, intense, and incredible birth. I could not have asked for a calmer stress relieving doctor. I could not ask for better nurses, especially Jennifer. And I could not have asked for a calmer more controlled supportive friend to assist me. It was truly amazing and not only was it everything that I had hoped for.. It was FAR FAR more! My recovery has been amazingly quick and I have been able to enjoy our sweet little one. He is absolutely precious.
