I'd like to introduce....

Andrew Spencer Finley, the newest member to our Finley Family.  He was born Monday, January 11th at 5:29pm.  He weighed 7lbs 9oz at birth and was 20.5 inches long.

**WARNING***this is REALLY long...it's Andrew's birth story.

My due date was Friday, January 8th.  I was hopefully that he would come a couple days early like his big brother, but Friday came and went.  No contractions, no signs of labor, just waiting.  I heard all of the common things that a woman close to or over her due date hears.  I even thought about not answering my phone or texts because everyone was just calling to check in...as if I had secretly had the baby and not said a word to anyone...or posted anything on facebook...come on people it's 2010...everything gets posted on facebook somewhere! :)  Anyways, Saturday...no labor...sunday...we talked about not going to church because of all of the comments we would recieve (like it was my choice not to be in labor) but decided that being out and about would help the day pass.  Who knows maybe being out and about would start labor.  I have to admit, as much as it was annoying that my due date had come and gone, I wasn't feeling that miserable.  I was enjoying what I knew were the last days with just our family of 3.  After the baby was born, there would be no going back to those days.  I knew he (Andrew) would eventually come...and if I didn't go into labor by Tuesday am, we were scheduled to go to the hospital for labor to be induced.

I was scheduled to be induced with Asher, but he decided to come a few days before.  And...as it works out, we scheduled to be induce with Andrew...and he decided to come on his own as well.

On Monday morning, I woke up about 5am with some small contractions.  I didn't really think twice about it, went to the bathroom and went back to sleep.  However, I realized by 7 that a contraction was waking me up about every half hour.  I briefly thought this may be the start of labor, but thought the day will just be that much long if I think I'm in labor...I'm supposed to go in tomorrow morning to be induced anyways...why would I go into labor the day before. 

I got Asher up and we went about our morning.  Spencer went to work, and I told him I'd call if I thought something was actually happening.  Contractions kept coming, but they were doable...nothing too long or hard. I figured...great, I'll have contractions all day today and still have to go in at 6am tomorrow just like planned.  At 10:30, I got out a piece of paper and spencer's stop-watch and I started keeping track of my contractions.  I wrote down the start and end times so I could see how far apart they were and how long they were lasting.  If you've been in labor before you'll remember that you call the doctor at 5-1-1.  Contractions are 5 min apart, lasting for about minute, and it's been going on like that for an hour.  Well...just as I did with Asher...I talk myself out of being in labor....so I waited longer than an hour even though I was in that pattern startingat 10:30. 

At lunchtime, I called Spencer and told him to prepare not to go back to work after lunch.  At this point, I realized that we were either heading to the hospital soon after lunch, or I would need his help for the rest of the afternoon as contractions were getting worse.  Around 1:00 I called the nurse at my doctor's office and after talking about how my morning had gone, she checked with the doctor.  My doctor was at her office which is near our house, so she said to gather our things for the hospital, but to stop at the office first so she could check to see how far labor had progressed.  After maknig the plan with the doctors office, I called spencer to come home, and called my dad to come get Asher.  When we got to the office and she checked me (I had 3 contractions while sitting in the waiting room...I was tring to hide the fact that I was in labor) I was dialated to 7.  The doctor said to head straight to the hospital and they would be preparing things there quickly.

When we got to the hospital, Spencer dropped me off at the door so I could head up to labor and delivery and get things going.  I was shocked to walk into a room where 2 nurses were waiting for me to arrive.  They welcomed me and commented on how calm I seemed...I'd been dealing with the contractions all day...so I don't think I knew I shouldn't be calm. :)  Anyways, they got things ready, and I changed, and Spencer joined me in the labor room.    The nurse checked me and said I was almost complete at that point.  And then asked the question I wish she'd never asked..."are you sure you want an epidural?  you're almost done anyways"  The correct answer was "yes, I'm sure...bring on the epidural"  but I said..."well, if you're sure I'm almost done, then no...I don't want the epidural."  If I had come to the hospital mentally prepared to go through natural childbirth with no medication I probably would have been fine.  But I was prepared to get an epidural, so I hadn't read up on all of my "find a focus, and breath through it" tactics.  I labored for a while...maybe half an hour.  Contractions were getting more painful and I started to say..."I thought you said I was almost done and that contractions won't get to much worse."  After another half hour of so, the doc came in and checked me and said I was the same as I was at her office...WHAT?  I still had to go through the last stage of labor...which I didn't know much about, but I did remember that it's the hardest to get through...although quick...but you have to be really relaxed to let your body to what it needs.  AND...the doc ordered pitocin to get things moving....that was about the end of my "I can do it naturally" thinking.  I told spencer that I would continue for a little bit longer, but if I didn't progress that I wanted to order the epidural.  I would like to emphasize that I was just not mentally prepared go without the epidural...I think you really do have to mentally prepare for a completely natural birth.

Well...that's the second thing that I would change.  Things didn't progress and I asked for an epidural.  Contractions were really painful now...considering I was on pitocin. (spencer said he noticed that my reaction was much more painful after starting the pitocin...I had no clue what was going on).  They put my epidural in quick, and thanfully in between contractions.  After the epidural started working everything should have gone fine.  However, my heart started to feel all fluttery...that wasn't such a good thing.  The doc came in and saw my heart racing.  The baby was doing fine...his heart rate was steady.  But the doctor told me it was time to delivery the baby to see if my heart would slow after the baby was delievered.  Now...I am not a medical person...and don't really know much about all things medical....so forgive me if you are a medical person and I am saying things completely crazy.  My heart went into SVT during labor. (that stands for something medical...but to me, it meant that my heartrate was in the 170's) They ordered an EKG-seriously while I was pushing.  There was a poor college boy that was trying to put all of these stickers on me in al places to do the EKG all while the people around me are counting to ten and telling me to push harder.  Poor guy, I hope he's not scarred by my labor experience!  Thankfully, Andrew came out, and my heart rate went back down.  Again, Andrew was fine the whole time.  The doctors were really concerned about why all of that happened, so they called a cardiologist and he ordered some more tests for me to be done while I was in the hospital.  I had to wear a heart monitor the whole time I was at the hospital, and had to keep my IV in the whole time as well...that was more annoying than anything else.  Turns out all the tests came back normal, and no one really knows why all of the drama with my heart occured.  I'll see the cardiologist for a follow-up in a few weeks, but I haven't had any problems since. 

Andrew is a joy to our family, and I'll have lots of posts about him in the future.  But for now, that's the story of his birth. 
I have more posts to write, and pictures to put up here....but I need to go feed Andrew...and maybe catch a little nap.