If you missed Part 1 of Sawyer's birth story you can click here. Once I was approved in triage, I was then set up in my own room and stuck with an IV, belly monitors hooked up, and antibiotics started for GBS. They wanted me to have one round of antibiotics in my system before the baby came to help fight off any bad bacteria (the antibiotics take approximately 4 hours to get into your system). I was finally hooked up to everything by 12:00pm and wouldn't be finished with the antibiotics until 4:30. Around 3:00 my contractions were still inconsistent and about every 8 minutes apart. I had not felt one contraction but we would see them on the monitor. Since 4:30 was approaching they said they could give me pitocin to speed things along since my contractions were so inconsistent. I really didn't want pitocin because of horror stories I had heard and wanted labor to be as natural as possible without forcing it. They assured me they would monitor the baby and put me on the lowest drip of pitocin. I think the nurse said the drip could go up to 30 and they were only going to put me at 2. I agreed as I also didn't want a long labor. Once the pitocin was administered the contractions were becoming much more frequent and shooting up high on the monitor. I still didn't feel anything but a mild cramp every now and then. God was clearly with me. I decided I wanted to walk laps since I still felt great and was hoping that might cause my water to break on its own. So we did lots of laps around the birthing unit before the next dilation check. Around 6:00pm I had my first dilation check since being admitted. I was at 7cm. I was confused at how I had only gone up 2 cm since 9:00am after all the walking, steady contractions, etc. The nurse said the doctor would want to break my water at this point and asked if I wanted to go ahead and get the epidural before he did that. I had not felt any pain the entire time so I really did not want to get the epidural yet. I also knew that I did not want to feel anyone breaking my water and if I happened to get to 10cm rather quickly I might not have time for the epidural, so I decided to go ahead and get it. I was nervous about getting the epidural put in (I never researched an epidural and told a white lie when they asked if I had watched the video of how it was administered), but surprisingly it wasn't bad at all. It felt like a bee sting and that only lasted a few seconds. I look back and I am pretty impressed that I remained so calm and at ease during the process, it had to have been my nerves that day because now I squirm at the thought of anything going in my back. Disclaimer: a couple weeks later I saw a video on how an epidural was administered and about puked. I can't believe my hospital actually thought I would watch that right before getting it put in. Girls DON'T. Once the epidural was finally in they gave me a birthing ball to put my legs up on and use until it fully set in. Within 5 minutes of the birthing ball being used, my water broke on its own! The contractions were every 2 minutes apart and I started shaking uncontrollably. Not because I felt pain but apparently that can happen to some people after an epidural. I never felt anything but a little pressure after the epidural kicked in. It was a love/hate feeling. I loved that I couldn't feel pain, but I hated not being able to have control over the feeling in my body. The next check was around 9:00pm and I was still only at 7cm. At this point I began to get nervous. Everything had happened that needed to, why was I not progressing? I immediately started praying. God had been with me this entire pregnancy, this entire day, now I needed him to help speed things along. I prayed out loud and started to listen to my favorite Christian songs that always seem to calm me down. The next check was around 10:15 and I was 10 cm!! I had went 3 cm in an hour after multiple prayers..this was God helping yet again. The doctor told the nurses to prep the room for delivery and to get me started in the pushing process when I was ready. Around 10:45 it was go time. The nurse had told me what to do and I was ready to start pushing. It was just me, Bryan and my nurse. I asked her where the doctor and medical staff were? Didn't they need to be in the room if I was about to start pushing?! She assured me that it wouldn't just happen so quickly and she would call the doctor and nurses in when I was close. It happened rather quickly and I still felt no pain. Bryan and my nurse were the absolute best. Both of them were encouraging and comforting. The nurse finally called the doctor in when Bryan yelled "Sawyer has hair! And it's brown" (we both wondered if he would come out with blonde or brown hair). At this point, I knew it was close and had more motivation to keep going strong. I kept quoting Philippians 4:13 during the count period and a few minutes later Sawyer John was welcomed into the world at 11:53pm weighing 8lbs 9oz and 20 inches long. He was perfect. As soon as the doctor delivered him he was placed on my chest. I couldn't believe it, this little miracle of life was finally in my arms. I looked over at Bryan and we both couldn't believe it. I just kept telling Sawyer how much I loved him. They say you will never feel a love like the love you have for your child and it's true. I can't begin to explain how much love I have for this baby. He was the sweetest, most cuddly, warm, and greatest gift from God laying perfectly on my chest. I thanked God for allowing this baby to be ours and being with us my entire pregnancy and labor. Sawyer was finally here safely, happy, and healthy. I'll always remember the day Sawyer made me a momma but little details may fade as time passes so I am hoping this helps. I had only wanted Bryan to be in the room with me during L&D and I'm so happy it was just him and I that shared that time together. He was so encouraging, the biggest help, and the greatest support system I could have ever had. I wouldn't trade a single moment for how everything played out (including the doctor that delivered Sawyer, who wasn't even my doctor, and the nurses on staff that shift). December 1st was exactly what I could have hoped for and everything I had prayed for. Every promise of God's grace was answered that day. I will say although I had an incredibly great pregnancy, easy labor and delivery, once the epidural wore off it was a different story. Granted I had a couple minor complications following delivery, post delivery was tough on my body. The pain was intense the following few days but that goes away. Every little detail regardless of what happens is and will always be worth the miracle of life placed in your arms. I continue to thank God everyday for our little Sawyer and can't help but look at him in awe. Bryan and I love watching him grow and are amazed at how fast time goes. The new things Sawyer does each day are so exciting and we can't wait to see him grow and develop into his own personality . It is such a blessing to be a part of God's work and see pieces of Bryan and I in this little man. God's plan always prevails and we are truly thankful!
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