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COME ON BABY!

For those of you who don’t know what Circle of Moms is, you should probably go check it out! It’s a place for mamas to read, talk, review, browse, anything imaginable relating to babies and children.

I love the content on this website and today, articles popped up regarding inducing labor. If you want to check out what was said, head over here and read for yourself. But, since this is my blog and I can do what I want, I wanted to share my thoughts on this with all of you. 
In case you weren’t aware of Bubba’s birth story, you are about to find out! Zach left for Afghanistan when I was 8 weeks pregnant, and wouldn’t come home for R&R until I was 38 weeks pregnant. As you can imagine, it was super hard not having him at my side. 
8 weeks
38 weeks 
Besides the normal whining, emotions, and indecisiveness that comes with pregnancy, I also developed gestational diabetes and was admitted into the hospital twice for pre-term labor. 
Tracking down your husband when he’s 3,000 miles away, 9 hours ahead, and in a war zone and telling him you’re in the hospital with bleeding due to being 1.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced at 26 weeks is NO fun, nor is it easy. 
I was put on bed rest for the pre-term labor; I was able to get up to go to the bathroom and shower and that was IT. You can imagine how slow time went and everything became a waiting game. Waiting for Z to call, waiting for my parents to get home and help me out, and waiting for the days to end so I could cross them off my countdown until Z returned safely home. 
I was given a pill to take daily and finger pricker to prick and check my sugar levels 4 times a day. I counted carbs and was basically on a diet during the latter half of my pregnancy. It was awful. 
When a mother has gestational diabetes, a larger baby is a possible complication. The larger the baby, the more complicated it becomes for a natural birth, etc. So because of this, and the fact that Z would only be stateside for 2 weeks before having to return to Afghanistan, my doctor recommended we induce. 
I was 39 weeks and 1 day when I was induced. They started Pitocin (a drug that induces labor by causing the uterus to contract) and told me to relax and lay on my side. This, they said, would be the most comfortable position for contractions. 

Well a few hours later, feeling nothing, and after increasing increments of Pitocin, we were still without a baby. They told me to lay on my back again and jacked up the Pitocin. Well, apparently, the contractions weren’t registering on the monitor and as soon as I turned onto my back, BAM. HOLY MOTHER. 

Now I only felt 3 large contractions and that was enough for me to demand an epidural. An epidural was always in my plan, and because I went into the hospital at 4 cm dilated, I could have gotten it at any point. The nurse had told me the point was not for me to suffer, and to let them know when I wanted the epidural. Well ladies and gentleman, after I felt those 3 large contractions, I was at 5 cm and IT WAS TIME. 
After the epidural, it was smooth sailing. I went from 5 cm to 10 cm within an hour and only pushed for 30 minutes. So beginning to end, I was in labor for an hour and a half. Easy peasy.

I personally felt that there was nothing wrong with inducing Bubba into this world. At 39 weeks, everything is developed and the only thing the baby is doing is putting on weight. At a healthy 7 lbs 9 oz, Bubba was perfect. The neonatal team was present when Bubba arrived due to a dropping heart rate towards the end of his decent. This scared the crap out of me, but it was more of a precaution than anything. He was fine, but better safe than sorry. 
Having my husband there for the birth was priceless; I cannot imagine my experience any other way. Had I not had gestational diabetes, the protocol for induction would have been different; 41-42 weeks. This would have put us past the two week window and caused Z to miss it and prolong the meeting of his son until months later. Although I suffered a hellish pregnancy, I feel as though God found a way to make sure Z would be there for the birth. 
What are your thoughts on induction? Do you believe in it, or that a baby will come when he/she is ready? Were you induced? 

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