Andon's Arrival

My labor started at 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, September 20th. I was up timing contractions and watching the news to pass the time. By 6:00 a.m., I felt like I was definitely in labor and we should go to the hospital. (Although it was hard to believe that he would actually be born on his due date.) We called my parent's and my mom came to our house and we headed out.
Here I am, ready to head to the hospital.

When we arrived, I was dilated to 4 cm. Dr. West said I could go home if I wanted to, but he didn't recommend it since this was my fourth child: when things really got moving, it would probably go very quickly. So, we decided to stay and see if I had progressed after a few hours. (Little did we know, we still had 12 more hours to pass at the hospital!)

At 1:00, I was barely 5 cm. Dr. West was surprised. I had talked to my mom and she said she never really progressed until her water was broken, so we decided to break my water.

At 5:00, I was only 6 cm! This was getting frustrating. My contractions were getting stronger, but still weren't unbearable. I spent a lot of time walking around the room, went in the jacuzzi tub, tried to keep moving/distracted, etc. Some contractions would be just a few minutes apart, then some were 10 minutes apart: very strange, but I felt like my body was giving me lots of breaks, which I didn't mind either. I just really wanted to do it on my own (without pitocin), so I hoped Dr. West would be patient. Here's daddy recording that we are 6 cm dilated, and trying to pass the time with a good Louis L'Amour!

At 6:00, I was only 7 cm. Dr. West said our baby was very stubborn and he was totally surprised at how unpredictable he was being! (Thanks!) He asked if we wanted to start Pitocin or give it one more hour. I said one more hour. By now, the contractions had really picked up, but I was very discouraged. Kyle gave me a blessing. I really believe that made all the difference. At 7:00, when Dr. West came in to check on me again, I was ready to push. I pushed for about five minutes and Andon was born at 7:07 p.m.! A perfect, 7 pound 3 ounce, 20 inch long baby boy!

The nurses at Salem Hospital were wonderful. I loved every one that we worked with: I so appreciated how they listened and responded to what we wanted our labor/delivery to be like. They were so sweet and helpful, offering lots of support, both before and after the delivery.

It was a totally different experience giving birth with no pitocin, no epidural, and no other pain medication. I feel like my recovery has been much easier/faster. I know a lot of people will think I'm crazy, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

A proud daddy!

Just look at all that hair! All our baby's have had hair at birth, but we think Andon wins the prize for the most!

Welcome to earth, little Andon. We love you!