The Birth

Scheduled to be induced 6:30 a.m. 11-08-06 (one week past the due date)

Julie called the hospital at 4:45 a.m. and they were too busy so we were told to come in a 8:00 a.m. By 8:30 a.m., Julie was hooked up to Pitocin (sp?) and monitored for baby heartbeat and an external contraction monitor. After 3 hours, they broke Julie's water hoping to stimulate labor. Julie was feeling the contractions, but they were not increasing and the dilation went from 2 cm to 4-5 cm in 10 hours. By 9 p.m., Julie was at 6-7 cm and no pain meds had been administered. At 7 cm, she received an epidural in the spine to alleviate the peak contraction pain. She napped for 1 hour. And we waited….after several hours the epidural wore off so Julie's pain was back. The doctors administered another dose to ease the pain, but it did not hold. The doctor gave the news to an upset Julie around 3:15 a.m. that a c-section would be performed. After 6 hours of no progression, doctors didn't feel a traditional delivery was likely.

Because the epidural didn't hold, Julie was put into a deeply sedated state. Her eyes were open, but she did not respond to any sounds and could not talk. During the procedure, she squeezed the hand of her wingman tightly. In retrospect, she should have cut her nails to save Jason the scarring.

Lennox James was born on 11-9-06 at 3:48 a.m. He was 10.0 lbs and 22.25" long. Doctors were convinced Julie would not have delivered traditionally, due to the size of Lennox's head – 14.75" circumference. When Dr. Mullins pulled out the baby, he mentioned that he thought Lennox was in the high 9 lb range for weight and he was surprised the baby was larger than the 8lb estimate, based on Julie's measurements.

Julie didn't fully wake up for several hours. Lennox was off to the nursery for his check-ups. Because he was so large, he needed to pass 3 blood sugar tests, in case Julie really did have gestational diabetes. So far, all is healthy. Last night, he passed his hearing test with flying colors.

Julie is expected to check out of Oakwood hospital on Sunday or Monday morning. Until then, she will be in room 336.