We had hoped that Porter would take the initiative to come out a little earlier on his own before having to be induced, but he was obviously nice and comfy in there. We went to the hospital on Friday (February 25th) at 7:00 am and began the induction. It started off slow with some bloodwork, an IV, and a Pitocin drip. Things went slow at first and contractions were very mild for the first 4 or 5 hours. At 2:00 I had progressed from 3 cm to 4/5 cm and the dr. broke my water. Things got a little crazy from there. I started feeling much stronger contractions right away but was able to walk and manage the pain for about 3 hours. At around 5:00 pm I had not progressed past the 4/5 cm and was feeling an intense (understatement!) amount of pain. I opted for the epidural and have no regrets about that. I had so much fear and anxiety about having an epidural because I have a huge fear of needles. However, I had felt so much pain and was so exhausted by that point that I actually fell asleep during the process of getting the epidural. From there, things were instantly calmer and I was able to rest for an hour or so. I had one 'hot spot' the entire time that never got fully numb, but was relatively pain free other than that. From 6:00-11:00 pm things were still pretty calm and it was just basically a waiting game at that point. However, at around 11:00 I started getting a fever that was climbing pretty rapidly. The dr was concerned that I could have started getting an infection from having my water broken. They were going to give me one hour to see how far I progressed and whether my temperature continued to rise. If there was no progression and a higher temperature, then a c-section would be my only option because we couldn't risk Porter getting an infection also. I prayed so hard for that next hour that the Lord would intervene and I would progress and the temperature would lower. There seemed to be an overwhelming sense of peace over the next 45 minutes until the dr came in. He came and checked and my temperature had lowered to a normal range and I had progressed to 9 cm- I was ready to push!! By that time I had been 24 hours with no food and no sleep but somehow knew I had to have enough energy to push. We again prayed that somehow I would get some energy from somewhere to go though this final stage of getting Porter out. I started pushing a little before midnight and let's just say movies don't quite convey the intensity of this process! It's amazingly energizing yet exhausting all at the same time. At first Porter started coming down quickly and it looked like I might only push for a little while. However, he hit a hurdle and got stuck. I tried to push past it, but he just wouldn't come any further. After 3 hours of pushing the dr came in again and said he would try the vacuum to see if he could get Porter past the point he was stuck at. However, he said that since I had pushed so long and Porter had been in the birth canal for 3 hours already we couldn't wait very long to get him out. Again, a c-section was up in the air. God is good and after the vacuum and 2 more pushes we finally got to meet our baby!!! It was 3:06 am on Saturday morning and we experienced the biggest miracle of our lives together. Meet Porter Graham Mitchell...
It's amazing how you instantly fall in love with someone you've never even met. The bond I felt instantly with my baby boy was indescribable. We have prayed for this baby in my belly for 39 weeks and have seen pictures of his little face and prepared our home for him. However, nothing prepared us for the overwhelming emotions we would experience holding this sweet baby for the first time. So many blessings and miracles had happened up to this point and I take none of them for granted. Porter was 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 21.5 inches long. He was perfect in every way (ok maybe I'm a little bit of a proud mommy!). He had a touch of jaundice, but not enough to need to treat it. Amazingly, his blood sugar was in a healthy range at 4 different checks which indicated that my gestational diabetes had not affected him. Our family was at the hospital and was able to meet Porter right away. Let's just say this little boy is quite loved! Our lives have changed forever on February 26, 2011 and I could not feel more blessed. This little angel has already brought so much joy and happiness to our lives and our home. Our family of 3 feels perfect and I could not ask for more!
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