Josiah's Big Arrival

**Warning...this is LONG!**

As I am writing this, Josiah is snoozing away in my arms and it makes me feel SO beyond blessed to have this little miracle finally home with us!! It's crazy to think the following events I'm about to write about took place about 5 weeks ago..where does the time go??

The day had finally come. The day Dr. Pohl had schedulded me come to the hospital to be induced (January 22nd at 7: 30 pm). I honestly wasn't a big fan of being induced at first. It was the strangest feeling walking into the hospital, completely fine without any contractions...but I didn't really have a choice and it ended up being alright when it was all said and done. We pretty much had everything ready to go. We had our overnight bags packed and Josiah's diaper bag packed (just in case we were able to go home). My parents came over to keep me company and to help make the day go by faster. We also took a quick last minute trip to Sams to  pick up a few things I knew we would need once we got home from the hospital (whenever that would be). Once Anthony got home, I took a shower and he vacuumed the house. 6:30 rolled around and I called to see if the hospital had a room available for me. They gave me the green light and we had about 30 minutes before we had to make our way to the hospital.

Once we arrived I checked in at the front desk and we waited about 20 minutes before we were taken back to a room. Our Sunday school teacher was out of town that week and hated he would not be able to be there to come visit and pray for us. His sweet wife Sheryl decided to fill in for him. The labor and delivery room was pretty nice and spacious. But, it was crazy to think that this was the room I would be delivering Josiah in...I'm not sure why, it just was? Anyhow, we got settled in and I changed in to the very attractive hospital gown...Sheryl stayed and visited with us for about and hour and then prayed for us and left. So thankful for that family!

Let me just say, my experience at Gwinnett Medical was fabulous. I couldn't have asked for nicer nurses the entire stay. Dana, my night nurse came in and asked several questions and then said it was time to get this show on the road. She inserted the Cervidil and there was no turning back. Shortly after, another nurse came in and started my IV. I was also hooked up to the monitoring devices and learned that I wouldn't be allowed to get up and walk the halls or anything because of new restrictions/guidelines from the cervidil...being hooked up to monitors 24/7 until pushing started was no fun!

Anthony and I spent the next hour or so talking, watching some tv, and I filled out a little bit of Josiah's baby book. Dr. Pohl prescribed me an Ambien to help me sleep that night. I didn't want to take it at first, but I'm glad I finally did as I started to have a few contractions. The Ambien totally helped me have a good nights sleep.

7:30 am rolled around and my morning nurse Lynne walked in. She introduced herself, took out the cervidil and said I was allowed to take a quick shower if I wanted to before Dr. Pohl came to break my water. I could definitely feel some contractions going on so a shower sounded like a great idea. Anything to get out of that bed! Anthony helped me to the bathroom and I got ready to take my shower. Now, I would consider myself a pretty modest person. However, during the experience of childbirth, modesty pretty much goes flying right out the window! Here I was standing totally naked getting ready to get in the shower and in walks Lynne (I can't remember why now). Oh geez...it's more embarassing remembering it now than it was when it actually happened.

After my shower, I got back in bed and enjoyed some apple juice and strawberry jello (which did nothing for being hungry, oh well) and about 30 minutes later Dr. Pohl came in to break my water. He showed me what he would be using to do it and I remember telling him it looked like a ginormous crochet hook! The whole process took a few seconds and I instantly felt like I had involuntarily peed myself, haha! Anthony watched and told me later it was so weird!

Now, let me mentioned to those who didn't know, my original plan was to try to have Josiah without an epidural (although I wasn't opposed to getting one if I couldn't stand it). We read books and prepared as much as possible, but the whole being induced thing completely threw me off! I planned on walking around if I felt like it (no go because of the Cervidil). I also didn't want anyone except for Anthony in the room so it would be quiet and I could concentrate, again, that didn't happen. About an hour after my water broke I started having some insane contractions. I remember my mom walking out of the bathroom during one of my contractions and she was being really loud. I remember being extremely irritated and told her (not so politely) to be quite (I actually told her to "shut up"...give me a break, I was in crazy pain!). Finally everyone left. Another reason I wasn't able to completely relax was because I was hooked up to all those stinkin monitors.

This must have been during a bad contraction because
 I have ZERO recollection of this photo ever being taken

After about 2 1/2 hours of crazy contractions, I told Anthony I wanted that epidural! It took about 30 minutes before the anesthesiologist came in. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, and let me tell you, the BEST thing ever!! I actually took 2 naps the rest of the afternoon..it was heaven! Funny thing, I remember asking Anthony how big the needle was while I was getting the epidural. Being the intelligent man that he is, he replied "oh it's not bad at all"...later he told me the thing was huge!

Feeling much better!

Now, I know I've mentioned how phenomenal our cardiologist Dr. V is, but let me tell you...that man called 3 times to check on me and to see if Josiah had arrived yet. The NICU team also called down about 4-5 times during the afternoon to see if it was time for me to start pushing as well. Apparently they had been preparing for like a week for Josiah's big arrival. One of the nurses that day even told us we were like "celebrities" everyone had been waiting for Josiah's delivery date...lol! I had no idea! **We had our first cardiologist appointment yesterday and one of the nurses said she over heard one of the doctors say after my delivery that it was like they were "delivering the royal baby"...haha!**

5:30 pm rolled around and Dr. Pohl came in to check me. He said I was fully dialated and gave me the go ahead to push! Lynne explained to me how and when I should push and we were on our way. Now, I've heard from some people that because of their epidural, they couldn't feel the peak of their contraction (the best time to push). My epidural was great and I only "upped" it once right before pushing. I could feel the pressure and the peak of every contraction and when it was time for me to push.  The first 30 minutes of pushing were draining! They had put a mirror at the foot of the bed and I would look after everytime I pushed and think "oh my gosh this is going to take forever"! At about 6:00,  Dr. Pohl came in and got all "suited" up. The NICU team made their way in as well. Every time I tell people about delivering Josiah, I tell them it was like we were having a party in the room!! If I had to take a guess, I'd say there were about 9-10 people in the room, including anthony and myself, during the last 15 minutes of pushing. It took another couple of rounds of pushing and then Mr. Josiah made his big arrival at 6:14 pm!! I'll never forget seeing his head come out and telling Anthony "look he's almost here!". The feeling of first seeing Josiah is something that is unexplainable. Nothing but pure love and joy of finally having him here, but then anxiousness as to how he was doing "health wise". I specifically remember only hearing him let out 2 cries. Dr. Pohl immediatly started the whole sucking out his mouth, etc. but no more cries came. A lady from the NICU yelled out "1 minute 8 seconds Dr. Pohl". A few more "suctions" and Dr. Pohl handed Josiah over to the NICU team. At that moment I lost it. I'm sure it was a mixture of hormones, emotions, and not knowing how my baby was doing. They had him in a NICU bed next to mine and 3-4 nurses were surrounding him all working on getting him stablized.

 

Right before leaving for the NICU

The next 15 minutes consisted of Dr. Pohl finishing up working on me and the NICU team working on Josiah. One of the nurses said a couple of times "look, he's looking over at you", but I could barely get a glimpse because of all the nurses surrounding him. Finally, they had finished stabalizing Josiah and they wheeled him over to me so I could at least get a good look at him. He was perfect even with the breathing tube stuck down his throat. I don't think we've gone a day without someone saying how alert he is, and let me say, he was just as alert right after birth. He was looking right at me and I was able to hold his little hand for about a minute. One of the nurses was able to take a couple of pictures with my phone, which I am thankful for! After my "time" with Josiah, they quickly whisked him away to the NICU (to do an echo on his heart) and Anthony followed. There I was by myself with Dr. Pohl and my nurse Lynne. Our parents were able to get a quick glimpse of Josiah as they wheeled passed them on their way to the NICU and then they came in to visit with me. About 30 minutes later Anthony came back to the room to tell me they were about to transport Josiah to Egleston. Our family left so we could have a little time with each other before Anthony went to go be with Josiah. I can't really remember what all we talked about during that time, but I know there were tears. Anthony did tell me Josiah Weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long! After about 15 minutes we decided it was time for Anthony to go so he could be at Egleston once Josiah got there. We said our goodbyes and he was gone.

Josiah's sweet ride for Egleston

One of the nurses that rode with Josiah to
Egleston took this for me

And that was that..I was alone, well not really alone, of course I had my parents and my in-laws there, but the most important two people in my world were gone. However, for the next 1-2 hours I didn't really have time to lay around and cry, there was too much going on with visitors coming by. I am thankful for that because it kept my mind off of what reality really was. Around 9-9:30ish they finally moved me to a 2nd floor room. We had decided that my mom would spend the night with me so I wouldn't be by myself. We got all settled in and about 30 minutes later dad came back with, you guessed it, my salami sub from Publix!! I can't remember if I ever blogged about that, but I had been craving a salami sub from Publix from the time I was about 5 months pregnant, and I told everyone that that was what I wanted after I delivered Josiah. It was heaven! Anyhow, another sweet friend came by to visit for a little while, and at about 10:30pm she and my dad decided to let myself and mom get some sleep. And that, is when reality really set in. All of the craziness of what had been going on since 6:14 that evening had finally settled down. I actually had time to stop and think about how I was "here" and Anthony and Josiah were "there". That is not normal...and I pray no one ever has to experience that. I felt completely helpless, lonely, and aching to be with my husband and baby. But, I had no choice.

I some how managed to get some sleep that night, but 7:00am came quick. I ordered some breakfast and started eating a little bit until my phone rang. It was Anthony and he had an update. Dr. V (Josiah's cardiologist) had mentioned before Josiah was born that he might possibly have what was called a restricted atrial septum (ASD). That would mean he might need a procedure done before he had his actual surgery. And he did. Anthony had called to tell me that they were about to take Josiah back to the cath lab to put a stent in his heart. Even though we knew there was a possibility of this happening, it still didn't make it easy to swallow that our 1 day old baby was about to go back for a risky procedure. At that moment I think everything finally set in and I lost it, I burst into tears, and Anthony and I both cried on the phone. Mom came over, hugged me, and just started praying. I can't really explain my emotions at that moment. I felt completely helpless and just wanted to be with Anthony. It wasn't fair that he was having to go through all of this without me there. He had mentioned on the phone that the doctor who had read him the consent forms didn't have the best "bedside manners" and told him bluntly everything that could go wrong. I can't imagine having to hear that just one day after our son was born.

I finally gathered myslef together and ate about 1 more bite of my breakfast because frankly I didn't have much of an appetite anymore. At about 9:00 Dr. Pohl came by to see how I was doing. He asked how I felt and told me all the things I needed to avoid and also do once I was discharged. He then told me as long as I took it easy he was going to go ahead and give the "ok" for me to leave. He didn't say it, but I knew he knew I wanted to be with my baby. I was shocked! I honestly didn't think I would be discharged until later that afternoon, but I certainly wasn't complaining! The next 2 hours, I met with the lactation consultant, my nurse, and I also took a shower. I couldn't wait to get out of that hospital and get down to Egleston. At the same time I knew I needed to take it easy and tried not to rush myself. After signing some forms and getting everything packed up, the nurse wheeled me down to my parents car and we were on our way to Egleston at 11:30 am.

We finally made it to Egleston about 40 minutes later and I was greeted by Anthony and my father -in-law with a wheelchair. They informed me that I was not walking around the hospital and so they insisted I let them push me around. Funny thing, the first wheelchair they brought was a child size one...hahah and there was no way my butt was going to fit in that! Thankfully the information desk had one and let us use it. I'll never forget when Anthony finally wheeled me back towards the cardiac ICU we ran into one of the ladies who worked at the front desk, Marcie. She couldn't believe I was already at the hospital and asked if I was sure they didn't just let me out on a pass. I assured her I wasn't, and thought in the back of my mind..I'm not quite sure what the point of a pass would be, lol.

After washing our hands we were allowed to go back and see Josiah. He was in the same bed space as the little girl we had seen when we had come on our tour/consultation back in October. My precious little boy was hooked up to all kinds of IVs, a breathing tube, monitors, and not to mention he was very swollen from the procedure. He looked so helpless, but he was the most beautiful little thing I had ever seen. I was so glad to be there with him and Anthony. We spent the next hour or so just sitting with him, holding his little hands, and talking to his nurse.

First time getting to see my little man when I got to Elgeston

Like I have said all along. I am so glad that we found out about Josiah's condition before he was born. It allowed us to somewhat prepare for what was going to happen, but lets be honest, there is no way to absolutely prepare yourself for what we actually experienced. All of the events, emotions, etc. it is something I pray no one I know ever has to go through. It is such an unnatural way to experience the joy of childbirth. At the same time, that was our experience. God chose us to go through that. It's definitely not something I enjoyed or would ever like to do again. Frankly, it flat out stunk! But, that's our journey, Josiah's journey, and we can never change that. I thank the Lord each day for a little miracle...and that is exaclty what he is as you will come to find out as I continue to fill you in on his story...

First family picture together

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever"

~Psalm 136:1