Reed's birth day

This is the story of the longest - and best - day of our lives. After much anticipation, Erik and I were finally going to meet our little boy. We were scheduled to induce labor at 7 a.m. on April 22. Surely, surely Reed would be born that day and he would forever share a birthday with his daddy. How cool, right?

Well, it seems God and Reed had other plans...

The day started really early as we got ready to go to the hospital. The early morning didn't bother me so much, though, since I could hardly sleep the night before. Erik and I were up and ready to leave for the hospital by 6 a.m. But before we left, the first birthday boy needed to open his presents.

Three presents - one from me, one from Tex and one from Reed. Daddy got a new dovetail joint saw (or something like that) and a new pair of headphones for when he mows the yard and works in the garage. Reed got him a new toolbox. Erik loved it!

So, after one more picture of Reed on the inside, we were off to check in at Hillcrest.

That was the start of a LONG day! By 7:05 a.m., we were checked in and in our room - ready to go. Our nurse for the day was Leigh Bowen, who is the wife of our church's college minister. She was so sweet to us all day, and it was a blessing to have what felt like a friend in the room, chatting during the down times and there for anything we needed to make Reed's arrival smooth.

(Notice there are zero photos between when we left for the hospital and when Reed made his debut. That was by design. No graphic photos. Sorry, folks!)

Around 7:30, Erik's boss and our good friend, Earl Patrick, came to check on us. Earl and his wife, Barbara, have been amazing mentors to us since we got married, and we love him dearly. He came to give some encouraging words and to pray with us. What a great way to start the day!

At 8 a.m., I got my IV of Pitocin to start contractions. My mom and dad, Grandma and Grandpa, got to the hospital shortly after that and Grandmama and GrandMike (Gin and Mike) got there a little later that morning. At 11 a.m., Dr. Patterson came over from her office, and they decided to break my water, hoping it would start more intense labor and get the show on the road. I was only dilated to a 2 or 3 at this point.

Well, the Pitocin and breaking my water sure got things going, but not in a good way. Pretty soon after that, I started having contractions one on top of the other. Not only that, but it was making Reed's heart rate drop. Not good. I got my epidural, which helped a ton with the pain, but they had to intervene a bit when his heart rate would dip. Leigh was so calm, but the first time it happened, she came quickly in the room and put an oxygen mask on me. She had to back the Pitocin down a good bit to make sure he was safe. Unfortunately, that also meant that the medicine couldn't work the way it was supposed to, and contractions would not come as often or as strongly. Read: It was going to be a long day. Thank goodness I had Erik, Mom, Dad and Gin to keep me company! (Erik was a trooper and stuck with me the entire day, only taking one short break to eat lunch before I called him back in. Each of the grandparents came in separately for a little bit, too.)

And a long day it was... By 6 p.m., I hadn't made much progress. The Connells came by the hospital to visit, and Rachel and Anne (PalSmith) drove down from Dallas to meet Reed. Unfortunately, he was taking his own sweet time, but they were able to come back to the room and hang out for a little bit. They are such sweet friends and did an amazing job of keeping my mind off the pain. (Yes, there definitely was pain, even with the epidural.)

Leigh's shift ended at 7 p.m., and we were so sad that Reed hadn't come in time for her to help deliver him. She had been such a huge help and comfort. But, she did leave us in good hands with her friend, Michelle, who was scheduled for the night shift. I made a little more progress in the evening, moving from a 5 to a 9 or so in a few hours. At 11:20 p.m., Dr. Patterson said I was at a 9.5 and asked if I was ready to push. Of course, we were trying hard to have this baby before midnight to give him the same birthday as his daddy. So we started pushing... and pushing... and pushing. It was a little frustrating and disappointing, but it became pretty clear that he wasn't going to come before midnight. But, we were so excited to finally hold our little boy that it didn't really matter in the end. By 12:49 a.m., our precious Reed Lewis Hill was born on his very own birthday.

Of course, he was absolutely perfect. Since I had labored so long, he was pretty worn from the day and had a fairly low APGAR score of 5. He swallowed some meconium, which they thought might impact his breathing at first. He had the most pitiful little cry for the first few minutes, and all I could focus on was the team working on him. But, by the second APGAR reading, he was up to an 8 and perfectly healthy. Praise God!

Reed Lewis Hill was born at 12:49 a.m. on April 23, 2013, at 7 pounds, 2 ounces and 22 inches. He was absolutely the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

 

I was exhausted from labor but so happy to have him here with us. His daddy even surprised me with the most beautiful pair of earrings in Reed's birth stone. I love them and will always remember that day when I wear them.

It wasn't just a long day for us, though. The grandparents, Rachel and Anne were all waiting (without much news) in the hospital lobby. By the time he was born, it was very late, and the nurses had to take him straight to the nursery. I hated that no one got to hold him that night. Erik went with him to the nursery, and everyone did get to see him from the window.

After a short recovery time, we were taken over to our recovery room at 2 a.m. and our life as a family of three began. Next to our wedding day, this was the most amazing day of my life. I already love this boy so much!