Kyper's Entrance

So, I thought I would share a little more about Kyper's entrance into this world.

As many of you know, I was stressed out when we found out this winter that we were moving to Detroit. Part of it was moving stressed me out, but the majority of my stress came from the fact that our baby was due July 23 and Joel had to be in Detroit to start rotations by August 3. What a time crunch!

Well, with the help of family and friends we were able to move most of our stuff out there earlier in July. So, that part was taken care of. Now, all we had to do was wait until our baby came. We had been talking to our doctor about the possibility of inducing, because of the move. I really hated the idea to be induced for multiple reasons. First, I heard that induction causes harder and longer labor. Second, I don't like the idea of inducing for convenience's sake. Third, I knew that I would be more anxious about the labor and delivery part if I scheduled it. How would I be able to sleep the night before?! Finally, it is very weird to me to think that I could choose my baby's birthday. So, I recruited many people to pray that an induction would not be necessary and that our baby would be born early and healthy.

Well, I am here to say that God is good and his timing is always perfect! Early Sunday morning, I started feeling some contractions. I woke Joel up at 4:00am and told him. The contractions weren't too close together or intense yet, but we did decide to skip church just in case. Well, we could have gone to church. The contractions stopped by 9:30am. I had a few throughout the day, but nothing too bad. The same thing happened Monday morning. They were a little stronger than Sunday's but still not bad. I could talk through them. They did last a bit longer and I decided not to go into work that morning. Again, I probably could have gone to work all day. They ended by about noon, so I did go into work Monday afternoon. (Good thing, since I had a few loose ends to tie up.) I did talk to the OB-nurse on Monday and told her what happened. Plus, I talked to my sister and mom. They all confirmed that I probably just was experiencing some false labor. While on the phone to the OB-nurse, I did schedule an induction for Friday, July 17. Seeing as it is Friday today and I have a beautiful baby sleeping beside me I did not need to schedule that induction after all. I had more contractions on Tuesday morning. Except these were harder and they started getting closer together. They started around 11:30 and I woke Joel up about 4 am again. We still weren't sure if they were the real thing. Around 6:30am, Joel prayed that God would show us if we needed to go into the hospital. He first asked generally and then decided to ask for something more specific. His request: let the next three contractions Julie feels be just around five minutes apart. Well, they were. So, Joel said I think we need to go. I agreed. Although, we both we pretty sure we may get sent home. I even took jeans along to change into, so I could go right to the hospital to work. We got to the hospital and got checked in. The nurse examined me and told us the good news. I was four centimeters dilated and we weren't going anywhere! We were going to have the baby today.

Some information about the labor. I elected to have an epidural and I was fortunate to be able to get one very soon after I got there--probably around 9 am. The doctor that administered the epidural was very nice--once he found out Joel was a student they talked shop for a bit. (This was after he first told Joel that he preferred Joel to sit in front of me and make sure I was okay.) The epidural did the trick. I hardly felt any of the contractions--however it missed a spot in my right leg, so I could still feel some of the pain and pressure of the contractions. Right before 2 pm, they did start a very small amount of pitocin just to get the labor moving. By the time 2:00pm rolled around I was 10 centimeters dilated and it was time to push. I could still feel the pressure, so that was good in the sense that it helped me know where and when to push. I was told not to tell other moms this, but I only pushed for a half hour (it seemed longer and harder to me.) So, at 2:34 Kyper Simon entered this world.

There you have it. Kyper's entrance into this world. God has truly blessed us with a beautiful son and it was perfect timing. I really shouldn't have been stressed out about the timing. I knew God would provide. His timing is always perfect! Kyper was born nine days early on his own time. An induction was not necessary and Kyper is a healthy baby boy. We now have a little more time that we can spend in Des Moines, so friends here can see him and say good-bye. We aren't as rushed to get to Detroit either, so we hope to stay a few nights in Holland to introduce Kyper to his great grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. Then we can get to Detroit and still feel like we have a little time to adjust before Joel starts rotations.

Prayers are still requested though. Pray that Kyper will stay healthy and strong and that he will learn how to nurse--he is doing well, but lets face it we are now making him work hard to get food, so it will take some time to get it right. :) Pray that traveling goes well and that we all stay safe. Pray that Joel and I adjust to being parents and that we work well together. Pray that we can get into somewhat of a schedule--knowing that it will change once Joel starts rotations. Pray that we are good parents and provide for Kyper. We love this boy to death. If you ask me this is the really hard part. I had a wonderfully healthy pregnancy and now I have to be a mom. Pray that I feel capable and that I can do it and not get really anxious about the daunting task. Pray that we stay dependent on God for help. Pray that Kyper grows to know and love Jesus and that we show him this through our words and actions. Also, I am quite afraid of postpartum depression due to all the changes we are in the next two to three weeks, so pray that if it happens I recognize and am willing to get help or that I don't get it at all and just get the typical baby blues. I am sure there are other prayers I could ask for, but those are the major ones.

Thank you to all you prayer warriors. We couldn't have gotten this far without you and I know we can't make it without all of your prayers, support and encouragement! I don't know what we would do without this community of friends and family.