Here it is! It's a bit long and shares most of the details (not quite all, which I'm sure you will be thankful for!) of Malachi's birth.
In mid-November, I started experiencing some all-over itching. At first, it wasn't so bad and so I didn't mention it to my doctor. I figured my skin was probably just dry from the weather changing. But it kept getting progressively worse and worse. A couple of weeks after it started, I mentioned it to my doctor. He said to try benedryll and oatmeal baths for a week. I did and they didn't seem to help much - or at all. The itching was driving me crazy. It was the worst at night and on my feet. I had a hard time sleeping every night because I was itching so badly! I was certain that I would wake up to bloody sheets at some point from scratching in my sleep. It was miserable. I did a little bit of research and came across a fairly rare (about 1/2000) gallbladder condition called cholestasis. The only side effect that is usually seen is severe itching- usually in the hands and feet. (1/1 in symptoms seemed like enough confirmation to consider it.) The only risks associated with cholestasis are fetal distress and having a stillborn. No middle ground-- it can either cause nothing or it can cause the baby's organs to fail. Yikes. So the next week I asked him if we should test for it, and he said yes. So that day (the 12th or 13th, not sure) they drew my blood. He told me that my gallbladder function test wouldn't come back until the end of the next week-- but if my gallbladder was REALLY out of whack, it would come up on my liver test a few days before they got the other results. So that was that.
Fast forward to the 18th of December. Around 3:05, just a few minutes after I had put my feet into a pedicure bath (thanks, Grandma!), my doctor called. I knew as soon as I realized it was him on the phone. He told me that he had some bad news-- that I did in fact have cholestasis and would need to be induced. He apologized because he knew that went against everything I was hoping this labor and delivery would be. He told me what my options were: either way, I needed to go into the hospital that afternoon for some monitoring. They would watch Malachi's heartbeat while running another liver function test to see if it had gotten worse. If it had, I would need to be induced that night. If not, I could either get induced that night, come back Sunday for monitoring (and potentially get induced that night if I needed to) or, at the very latest, get induced on Tuesday night-- Christmas Eve. He told me that waiting would increase the risk-- not a ton-- but it would raise it. I thanked him for the information and told him that I would go up to the hospital and see from there. Just as soon as I finished my pedicure. :) I immediately called mom and had a hard time keeping from sobbing. It took her a few calls to answer but when she did I just kinda lost it. I told her everything and we were at least able to laugh a bit about the fact that that very morning I had told her that she should probably pack her hospital bag-- that he could come anytime. She was planning on packing it that night. But she rushed home and packed as I finished my pedicure and then we met at Gaga's. I called Mallory and let her know what was going on while I waited for Mom. I told the G's, grabbed my stuff, and then mom and I headed up there. Egide (baby daddy) met us up there, and Christy was working- so that was good. I got all hooked up to the monitors, had my blood drawn, and waited. His heartbeat was strong the whole time & then the results came back-- slightly worse. So they told me that it was my decision. It was a bizarre feeling-- choosing to have my baby born. I didn't feel ready at all! But I had talked it over with Mom and Mal and knew that waiting would mean a whole lot of anxiousness on my part-- I don't think I would have slept until he was here. I would be paranoid and worrying all the time about why he's not moving and things like that. It wouldn't be worth it. So I said it-- let's do it tonight. And they admitted me right then!
I got to have one last meal and Christy and Egide went to get Panera, and it was delicious. Mom and Mal both stayed the night up there with me. I was able to sleep some- but mom didn't sleep at all. Anytime his heartbeat went off the monitor (which happened every time I moved or scratched my feet or anything...which was a lot) she would get up to check it. At 8PM they placed the first Cytotec - a little pill that they put at the opening of your cervix to ripen it. Awesome. I had another one at midnight and 4AM. And then around 830, the show got on the road. They broke my water-- which hurt and then felt like I wet the bed. (Haha, TMI yet?) At 9, they started the Pitocen. It was hell for the next 3 hours. The contractions were immediately strong and hard. I was in so much pain. I was up walking around as much as I could because I knew that the impending epidural would mean that I would be constrained to bed. But it was a MISERABLE 3 hours. Mom, Mal, and Egide were all in there for it with Christy working so coming in and out as she could. It was rough. Finally, around noon, I was 3cm dilated and could get an epidural. YES PLEASE. I made my last stretch around the room and last independent bathroom trip until little man's arrival. I crawled into bed & the saint of pain removal came and gave me the epidural. Within ten or fifteen minutes, I was completely numb from the waist down. Ahhhhhhhhh.
The next 6 hours were just a waiting game. For some reason, it was hard to monitor my contractions-- they didn't really come up on the monitor. But I continued to progress nicely without them having to up my pitocin (which I was thankful for.) Around 6:15, it was announced that I was 10cm and 100% effaced. Time to push. At that point, Clarissa (my mentor) had joined our group as well. Margaret decided that I was far enough along to call the doctor. I decided to put a little mascara on since I knew pictures would follow. :)
Words cannot even come close to describing how much I missed my daddy that day. I would have done anything for him to be there. I always knew that my heart would break a little extra when I brought a child into this world that would not ever get the privilege of knowing the incredible man that he was. So thankful that Mallory captured this picture of him "with us" that day.
Mallory is Malachi's godmother. This was just before the real "fun" began!
And then we began pushing. You are supposed to push through contractions, but like I said, mine weren't really showing up on the monitor for some reason so we had to kinda guess when I was supposed to push. No good. The doctor came a few minutes later and we continued. It is a very bizarre sensation to try to push while the bottom half of your body is completely numb. It's just so weird. It seemed like I couldn't quite get the push right until halfway or more through the second push-- so instead of getting thirty seconds of really good pushing-- it was usually only around 15. Frustrating. Mom kept the ice chips flowing, Clarissa was giving me massages, and Mal was taking pictures. They were all three very encouraging and I'm so glad they were there.
So after about 2 1/2 hours of pushing, I finally gave birth to Malachi Jacob at 8:32.. And he came face up! Oops! Usually they know if they are face up and can turn them, but for some reason, the doctor didn't pick up on that. So instead, he was in the birth canal for a while as I tried to push him out. Which resulted in a MASSIVE block head. Not even cone shaped. Like an actual block was on top of his head. Let's just say it was a bit traumatic for both of us.
Regretting my choice to put make-up on!
Immediately they brought his sticky self to my stomach. He let a huge wail out as soon as he was born-- strong boy. Christy and Egide were standing outside the door and got to hear his first cry. We let his cord pulse for a few minutes and then Mallory did the honors. He scored 8-9 on his Apgar (strong boy!) and they put him on my chest as she cleaned him off a bit. I could not believe it. I was a mom!! I was flooded with emotion-- more than I ever knew possible. I was so in love with him right away. Surreal. That's the best way to explain it.
Christy was able to take his vitals and weight and do his footprints which was pretty special.
I kept saying that Malachi looked Tibetan or Mongolian and he totally did. He weighed 6lb 12oz and was 21 inches long.
Gaga, Grandpa, John, Melanie, and Eden came in as well to see him.
John came bearing my congratulatory meal-- chicken nuggets and a peppermint shake from CFA of course.
"We're parents!!!"
Proud daddy.
Proud godmother.
So blessed to have the unconditional love and support from my mom. She is loving her role as Jjajja! (The Luganda word for "grandmother.")
Pastor Anthony came by and prayed over Malachi. Such a sweet visit only a few hours after he was born. I cannot think of a better way to have ended the day but to cover my sweet little man in prayer.
Malachi is now 6 weeks old and weighing 8lb 2oz. He is the sweetest baby, and we are absolutely in love! It has been a whirlwind of a month and a half, but God has been so good and so present through it all. He continues to lavish grace, peace, and joy over me in a way that I do not deserve in the least. I am excited about the road that He has us on and am continuing to try to trust Him each step of the way.
