Tuesday, March 31, 2009

He's finally here!

Ethan Zander Searls arrived at 2:47 pm on March 26th...weighing 6 lbs 4 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. For those of you who don't want to hear the full story, you can skip this part and go for the pictures! We went in to the doctor on Tuesday and we decided to finally enduce since I was a week overdue and my blood pressure was getting to high. I went in to the hospital at 5:30 am but was having contractions all night long. I was still dilated to a 2 when we went in that morning, we went through 3 rounds of gels and 2 doses of some oral medication thats supposed to regulate contractions. By about midnight I had been having regular contractions for about 15 hours but still was only dilated to a 5 so they decided to break my water around 2 am. Within an hour I was dilated to a 6 with harder lasting all night. At 6 am I was exhausted and funally decided it was time to start the petosin (something I had wanted to avoid the whole time.) I also decided that after 24 hours of labor I needed to get some sleep if I was ever going to push out our baby so I gave in and had an epidural. Around 10 am that morning I had gotten a few hours of sleep but I still hadn't dilated any more, the doctor said the baby was coming out diagonal so that's why I wasnt dilating and said we were most likely going to have to do a c section. At that point I broke down and started to cry, the whole experience wass just emotionally exhausting and getting a c-section was the last thing I wanted. Jason called his uncle whoe lives in Flag and he came and they gave me a blessing. After that I decided that even though I had an epidural and couldn't feel anything I needed to do something to get our baby in position to I asked the nurses if I could try some yoga poses and they said it was fine as long as I could handle it. My mom and Jason helped lift me up and turn me on my hands and knees and I did some Yoga moves for about 45 minutes until I couldn't take it anymore. When the doctor came in an hour later she was ready to tell me they were going to take me in for a c section but checked to see if I had any progress at all, and was completely shocked that I was dilated to a ten and ready to start pushing. I pushed for about 30 minutes but the babys heart beat was dropping so we had to to and rest for about 20 minutes and try again or we were going to have to use the vacuum or go in for an emergency c section. After trying again and the babys heart beat still dropping too low she decided that we had to use the vacuum to get him out. About two pushed later we had Ethan and a hospital room filled with not a dry eye in the house. It was quite the ordeal to bring our little man into this world, but worth ever second of it. We are so grateful for our son, he is a precious gift from our Heavenly Father and it was such an honor to bring him into our arms and lives. We are all doing very well, trying to adjust to the demands of a new baby but still loving every minute of it! I am so overwhelmed with the love I have for my precious little boy and for my husband who was so sweet and amazing during the whole process, I would not have been able to go through any of it without him.












11 comments:

Jennifer said...

SOOOOOOOOOOO happy for you!!! What a beauty. My James was vacuum extracted also. He loves to hear the story about how he got stuck and the doctors had to use a plunger to get him out. His head was like Jell-O for a couple of days, but since then he's had a very strong head.

Enjoy the bliss!!!

The Whites said...

Congratulations Katy!!! I am so sorry labor was so tough and long! Hope your recovery goes well. Ethan is adorable. Just remember the first two months are the hardest. You will be an amazing mom!

Julie Mack said...

Congrats Katie!!! He's beautiful!

Natalie said...

Oh, Katie. You are a hero. I teared up just reading this. I'm so glad you are okay and have a healthy baby boy!

Kiersten said...

Oh my goodness, he looks like you! Congratulations. You are amazing. I'm so glad he's here!

Jennefer said...

We are sooo happy that little Ethan is here safe and sound and you are alright too Katie! We sure love you all LOTS and look forward to smooching that little cutie before too long!

Jon and Emily said...

Congratulations!!!! Katie, you're such a trooper, wow! Little Ethan is darling! I'm so glad he got here safe and sound. Make sure and take as many naps as you can =)

Sheena Searls said...

Congratulations!! We are so happy for you. He looks like Jason. :) Can't wait to meet him in person.

Unknown said...

HE IS SO ADORABLE!!! Congrats, Katie!!! You go girl, for doing those yoga poses and pushing out that baby! The first is always the hardest! I'm so glad you have him and I bet you are such a darling mom! I love the pictures. Congrats again!!!!!! I'm so happy for you and Jason!

Gordon, Jamie, Evelyn, Claire and Bonnie said...

he's so tiny and precious! Congratulations mama!!!

aristacrina said...

What a cute little guy. Congratulations! I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It's amazing what we do for these cute little bundles of joy... but it's so worth it.