Delivery Day!

The day had come to meet our son.  I was very excited!  And I was just as nervous, anxious, and scared.  This child was going to be under my care.  I had to keep him alive.  It's hard enough taking care of one's own self.

I'm sure I had all of the normal fears: 1) Fear that he wouldn't eat properly as I was attempting breastfeeding.  2) Fear that he would get sick and we as new parents not knowing what to do.  (He did get sick, and we didn't know what to do.  My advice is to have your parents on speed-dial as they not only are experienced, but they will be more logical in thinking during this scary time whereas you will have a foggy brain from being tired due to lack of sleep and overwhelmed from the ceaseless crying your child is doing.)  3)  Then there was the fear of not having enough financially to care for all of his needs.  We didn't (and we still don't).  But God does.  We were blessed in ways we never could have imagined.  Formula (I ended up not continuing with breastfeeding), diapers that they soil right after you change them, clothing that they outgrow overnight, and childcare cost money.  And the Lord has provided people with generous hearts and a desire to help in all of these areas.

My anxiety and fears were also wrapped up in the delivery process.  The doctor wanted to induce me one day after my due date if my son didn't decide to come before then.  The reason was to attempt to avoid me having a C-section.  The baby would continue to grow while he was inside of me which would increase my chances of not being able to deliver him myself.  Th doctor didn't want to have to cut me open since that would create more scar tissue as I'd already had surgery years before for my ileostomy.  He didn't come by his due date, so I was induced.

We didn't have to be at the hospital until later that evening.  My husband went to work for the day, which kept his mind busy.  And I just tried to carry on with my daily activities as much as possible.  I took care of a few last odds and ends and made sure our bags were packed well for the hospital stay.  And I even walked on my treadmill.  Exercise is something that was important to me before my pregnancy and continued to be so while pregnant.

As far as the delivery itself: our female ancestors were some of the strongest people on earth!  Anyone who has delivered a baby without medication, you deserve all of the accolades this world can offer.  And just think...our ancestors did that over and over!!

The medication to induce labor was started, and as the contractions were showing up on the screen, the nurse would ask if I was feeling them.  I would say no.  After a few hours had passed, I thought I'd try and go to sleep, and I needed to go to the restroom.  I saw blood while in there and had a moment of near panic.  I wasn't expecting that.  And as I was coming back to bed, that's when the pain came!  It was like going from 0 to 60 in a second.  I was thinking I had to really be dilated by now to be hurting that much.  But when they checked me, I was only at 1.5.  The contractions were also close together as if one would stop only to have another close behind.  The nurse told me to breathe through them.  I tried, but it didn't seem to help me.  And it was too soon for an epidural.  They were able to give me something to help me relax some, enough that the pain didn't seem as intense.  But I didn't rest well even with that.

Once they were able to give me my epidural, my body seemed to relax to the point that my husband and parents went to get breakfast and I was dilated very little still, and when they came back,  I was dilated at an 8.  The nurses started making preparations.

I needed to prep to as far as my ileostomy.  The most I had eaten through this process was several grape-flavored ice popsicles.  But my ostomy bag still needed to be emptied, and they helped me take care of that at the bedside since my legs weren't carrying me to the bathroom after that epidural.

Then, it was go time!  I was at a 10.  With my husband, sister and mom by my side, I started pushing.  My husband got lightheaded (the nurses saw it coming and got him in a safe place that he could still be present but not hurt himself if he passed out).  And it didn't seem but a few minutes of pushing had passed, and my son was born.  He was not at all happy to have been pushed out of his resting place, but he calmed down soon enough.  The only issue he had was low body temperature, so they had to take him on to the nursery before his father got to hold him.  Otherwise, he was perfectly healthy.

All went well with my ileostomy physically.  No blockages occurred throughout the pregnancy.  There was no leakage from the ostomy wafer during delivery.  It just got dirty from the delivery as the process is far from mess free.  And there was no reoccurrence of Crohn's Disease.

If anyone is reading this has IBD, if anyone has an ileostomy or maybe a colostomy, the journey of childbirth may not go as smoothly as mine did.  If I were to have more children, I may not have the same experience.  But don't let the fear of what-ifs hold you back from being a parent.