Finley James Ashley
We are proud to announce that February 8th, 2010 at 4:37 pm, we welcomed Finley James Ashley into our family. Our "Baby Surprise" makes boy #5 and we couldn't be happier! He weighed in at 8 lb 3 oz and was 20 3/4th inches long. He has tons of dark brown hair and cute little dimples.
My doctor agreed to deliver via VBAC as long as I went into labor naturally before 41 weeks. She would not do an induction because I had a c-section with the twins and uterine rupture was a concern. I was dilated to a 1 at my appointment on the 6th and she said we could schedule a c-section for the following Monday or wait one more week. We decided to give it one more week. The following Sunday at 10:30 pm I had my first contraction. I didn't know it was my first contraction at the time. I thought maybe the baby was changing positions. After a couple of contractions Jack said that we should try to get some sleep just in case it was the beginning of labor. We went to bed and he slept like a log. I on the other hand was busy timing my contractions and trying to figure out if I was really in labor. I didn't want to go to the hospital if it was false labor. At about 4:00 in the morning I woke Jack up and called my sister in law Billie to come be with the kids. Looking back now it cracks me up. I wish there was a video. I'm walking around trying to think of what I still need to pack. Jack takes a shower. Billie comes over and there is this nervous energy! I keep telling her that I'm not sure that I'm in labor but I think I should go just in case. Jack and I are both telling her where everything is (as if she hasn't been over a million times)! We are both trying to make sure that everything is taken care of. During all of this I am having pretty painful contractions every 6 to 10 minutes. Jack is showing Billie how to work the baby gate and I am practically laying on the dining room table. Billie assures me that going to the hospital NOW would be a good idea and that she is pretty sure this is the real deal!
When we get to the hospital they put us in a room and hook up all of the monitors. After about an hour they tell me I can stay! They would have had to call security to get me to leave at that point. Contractions are no joke! I was still only dilated to a 1 but my contractions were strong and regular. After about 2 to 3 hours they were really making me rethink the whole VBAC thing. I kept thinking they would be in any minute with my epidural.... I was wrong. I finally got my epidural at almost noon when I was dialted to a 6 and boy I was ready. The anestheseologist was the same doctor that I had with the twins which made me more comfortable. I must have told that man I loved him 10 times while he was in the room. He wasn't all that attractive until he had my epidural in his hands... suddenly he became a GOD! I feel certain anyone else who has experienced a full contractions had the same feelings for their anesthesiologist as well. All is going along as it should and then my contractions slow down and get week. The doctor had said all along that if we were going to do a VBAC that she wouldn't do anything to progress the labor. Everything had to happen naturally or we would have to have a c-section. So when my contractions slowed down I was really afraid that we would have to go into surgery. Luckily she gave me a little pitocin in my IV to try to get the contractions going again and it worked. Then we waited.... For the first time in 12 hours I was bored. I couldn't sleep. How do you sleep when you are about to meet the baby you have been sharing your body with for 10 months? At about 3 pm the nurse examined me and told me that it was time to push. Apparently she could already see the baby's head. Everyone stood together and my Nana said a prayer. Jack, Nay Nay, Billie, and my cousin Sarah stayed in the room. It was quite an audience. At that point I was soooooo tired and anxious that I didn't even think about it. Normally I am a bit more modest. Poor Sarah was staying so she could get the baby's first pictures. Instead the nurse ordered her to hold my leg. I loved my nurse for her assertive manner but Sarah and I were both shocked at her new assignment. By the way... Thanks Sarah and Nay Nay for that support. I wanted Jack to stay above the waist on this one and thanks to you two he could! After an hour of pushing (it went by really fast) we were nearly there! The doctor came in, iphone in hand. Apparently she had been monitoring my progress on her iphone. Yes, there's an app for that! When the head was out the doctor asked if it looked like a boy or girl and Jack said it looked like a boy to him. A boy it was! Everyone but Jack and I were surprised.
They couldn't hide their shock!
Finley James Ashley was finally here! Jack had it posted on facebook within seconds! He is such a proud Daddy. He was a great partner in the delivery room. I couldn't have done it without him. There were a lot of moments during those 18 hours when he made me feel so much calmer just being there and holding my hand. I am so happy that I was able to experience natural delivery this time. It was tiring but the pain was definately worth it!
We are a very lucky family. Five healthy boys and two very proud parents!
