christopher-stone.com

It’s been an exhausting 24hrs since we arrived at the hospital yesterday. After arriving and getting settled, the doctor wanted to start induction but did not want to jump right to drugs. They used a balloon thing to dilate Heather and get her closer. The balloon stayed in untill about 3:45 at which time she was dilated to a 5(ish). After giving the baby a little rest, we started on the drugs to induce contractions and ideally get a rhythm going which would lead to more dilating and stronger contractions. However, after another 8hrs or so, around 11-12 at night we had only dialed another 2cms. At this point the doctor had concerns about swelling on both the cervix and baby’s head due to the pressure from contractions on a cervix that stop dilating. We were told that we could wait a few more hours to see if she would dilate or have a c-section which is what she strongly recommend. We talked briefly and agreed that it was the best thing to do for the baby. Within 30min we were rolling into the OR to get him out.

They allowed one person inside the operating room with Heather and I was told to stay behind the sheet that separated Heather’s head and arms from where they were operating. I was able to see just as Anthony was pulled out and was able to stand with him while they cleaned him up, got tags on him, and did all the new baby stuff. Soon after I was able to bring him over to mom so she could see him for the first time. (Mom disagrees on the “soon” part of this statement…)

It was a long day and night and was a bit scary for a while, you read about having c-sections and it always seems like a last resort or something to worry about. After going through it, I was worried but everything worked out as well as anyone could have hoped. The doctor we had was one of the best around. She was able to stitch Heather up cleanly and it looks like it will heal very nicely. All in all, it was crazy but went smooth at the same time, if that makes sence.