Mike and Briana Ethington: August 2010

On August 11th, 2010, our little man Andrew Michael Ethington made his way into the world. We couldn't be happier with our adorable baby boy. He is such a good baby and we fell in love with him the moment we laid eyes on him. We had a long labor to get him here, but it was all worth it in the end.

***I also wanted to make this post about his birth story, so be forewarned, as this is a long and well, obviously personal post.

I started to have contractions on August 7th (the day after my due date) when Mike I went down to Seattle to try and walk the little guy out. They continued on through Sunday so we decided to go to the hospital to see if I was ready to be admitted. Sadly, I was only at a 1 and they sent us right back home. I was really frustrated and was just getting used to the idea that the next time I would be coming home would be with my baby. On Monday, the 9th I had a Doctor's appointment and ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid levels. Little guy looked great in the ultrasound, but my fluid levels were super high (which had been one of the reasons that my weight kept creeping up). This is not as dangerous as when you have low levels of fluids but can still cause some complications. I was then checked and I was 100% effaced and at a 2, which made me feel a lot better as my contractions were actually doing something. My doctor, Dr. Cole, let me know that he felt good about letting me be induced tomorrow if I wanted and we talked a little bit about the risks that went along with that. I knew that your risks of having a C-section are higher if you are induced, but he assured me that where my cervix was completely ready for labor, my risks were a lot less. I thought about it and after talking with my doc for a few more minutes felt good and comfortable going ahead to be induced. Then we started to get excited, we were going to have a baby tomorrow! (Or so we thought!)

That night I continued to have some pretty good contractions, however, after laying down for a while they started to slow down and didn't have quite the same intensity. Mike just kept wanting to go to the hospital, as he was closely timing each contraction and asking me how hard they were. :) Gotta love his enthusiasm! The next morning however the contractions seemed to progress and were difficult to talk through. We were supposed to go in to be induced in the morning but when I called the hospital, there was a waiting list from yesterday and they said they might not get to me until later that after noon. Well, my with the way my contractions were going, we decided to go get checked out anyways. I was nervous about doing this because I just plain didn't want to get sent home again! Mike was nervous because he didn't want my water to break in the car.

Before we left Mike gave the sweetest blessing letting me know that whatever happened, everything would be all right and that our son would be all right as well. He also promised me that I would be able to remain calm through the birthing process, which really did help me through the labor and delivery.

We got to the hospital and my doctor checked me and I was only still at a 2. I wanted to cry right then and there. There was no way I was going to go home. My doctor wanted me to stay for an hour on the monitor to see if I progressed. I immediately started to coax and sweet-talk my little boy to PLEASE move down a little so the contractions would progress more. When my doctor came back to check on my we were at a 3 and he would let us be admitted! YIPPEE! I was then super excited, especially since my Mom and Gram and sister had just rolled into town, as they knew I was at least being induced that day. We got admitted and Mike and I started walking the hallway to keep the contractions coming. I then had my water broken by the doc, and it was crazy how much my tummy deflated, I couldn't believe how much fluid I had in there!
That was when the contractions REALLY picked up, they started to com close together and with major intensity. I only lasted about 2 more hours before I felt like I needed an epidural. It was like nothing else I had ever experienced.

After getting an epidural, I was no longer allowed to leave my bed and my delivery nurse, Erin (who by the way was amazing!) would have to keep flipping my from side to side. But for some reason, whenever I was on my left side, little guy's heartbeat would drop after a contraction and not come up for a while. We actually had one big scare where my nurse made my sister leave the room (everyone else was getting dinner before the cafeteria closed) and then more nurses and my doctor were running down the hall. So then my sister and her husband are trying to find my mom and husband and kind of freaking out. I was surprised that I didn't freak out as well, as the nurses were putting an oxygen mask on me and moving me into different positions to try and get the baby's heart rate up. The nurses were actually betting that the little guy was holding onto his cord and squeezing after really strong contractions. His heartbeat kept returning to an exceptable rate, but there were nurses in and out of my room all night due to it dropping. They ended up putting internal monitors for both my contractions and his heart rate to keep a closer eye on things.

I was given pitocin, but was only on it for a little while due to baby's heart rate again continuing to drop. But it did help my contractions get really going. I was at an 8 around 11:00 pm and the nurse thought I would be ready to deliver by midnight, alas, it was not to be. It ended up that his head was not centered on my cervix so I ended up being at a 9 for about 4 hours, because my cervix couldn't dilate to a 10 on one side where baby's head was. Finally my doctor came in (again) to let me know that we would try pushing past my cervix and then try and deliver him. If that didn't work he let me know that I would have to have a c-section. I decided right then and there that I did NOT want to have gone through all that labor just to have a c-section. I knew that if that's what had to happen to get my baby here safely of course I would do it, but felt sure that I could do it. I said a quick prayer to give me strength and calm myself and felt ready and more reassured that everything would be okay.

I only pushed for about 10 minutes and the doctor had to use the vacuum to get him out. It was the biggest relief to have him delivered safely. He didn't cry right away, but was flailing around when I looked up and then heard his amazing little cry. They had to take him right away to suction him out, because he had had a bowel movement in the womb. It seriously felt like hours until they could get him to me. I was really shaky from the labor but was so overwhelmed with the feelings of love and relief that my baby was healthy and here! I couldn't stop crying because I was so happy. They gave him to me all clean and wrapped up and I couldn't believe that this beautiful little boy was mine. Mike and I had waited to long for him, and he was well worth the wait. I knew right away that his name would be Andrew. It seemed to fit him perfectly. He is our little peanut. Drew (his nickname) was exactly 8 pounds and 20 inches long. He is long and skinny with long fingers and long toes just like his Daddy. The first few days I thought he looked a lot like my baby pictures but each day he develops a little more and I think is taking after his Daddy more.

(Sorry theses are totally out of order)

He is really alert and already focuses really well.