Ransom Part 3: The grand entrance

So, just to sum up the last post: Epidurals..they are wonderful.

And finally after 36 hours we were ready to push that baby out! I remember looking at Brett and thinking, "Wow. We're going to have a baby!"

As though that were brand new information.

But, anyway, luckily it didn't take too long to bring Ransom into the world ( haha! At least from THIS POINT), which was a blessing since it became apparent pretty quickly that things weren't going super well with Ransom once I started pushing. The midwife and nurse were super calm about it, but nothing could cover up the truth of the heart monitor- Ransom's heart rate had gone waaay down and became very sporadic and so between contractions I started praying pretty hard that God would help me to push him out quickly.

Not to be too graphic, but first came the top of Ransom's head and Brett told me later he was afraid I was going to have a baby Klingon ( too much startrek for him!) but one that was definitely true: We were going to have a hairy baby! This I was not surprised about, I have been looking forward to having a baby with a full head of hair from the beginning of my pregnancy. It was pretty much the one thing I felt like I could know for sure about a kid that was a combo of Brett and I...we have a LOT of hair. Surely we'd pass that on.

And pass it on we did.

Anyway, 20 minutes after beginning to push, Ransom entered the world. The culprit of his distress was clear, the umbilical cord had been wrapped around his neck! But, God had answered my prayers, and we got him out quickly! The nurse announced the time: "14:21"

And Brett and I both looked at each other both immediately knowing what the other was thinking...one of the verses that we have memorized and love is John 14:21. And right then I knew that this was yet another promise on Ransom's life. I will most definitely be telling him that his "Life verse" is:

He who has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. And he who loves me is loved by the Father and I too will love him and show myself to him."


And I pray that this will be true of Ransom's life.


So, there he was-our little baby boy. The nurse and midwife started placing wagers on how much he was going to weigh, but none of them got close! He was much bigger than they thought! ( And I must admit I was pretty well satisfied since I'd been dealing with all those people telling me he was going to be "tiny") Coming in at a nice 8 lbs, 1 oz and 20 inches long-he was perfectly adorable. I spent the next however long staring at Ransom trying to take him in while the midwife "finished me up."

Once again I'll spare you the details, but it should be noted that I was apparently bleeding a lot and the midwife told me she would be bringing in an obstetrician to check my stitches and my bleeding a little later on. I didn't think anything of this...

And so Ransom was introduced to my parents and my sister who had gotten on a flight to Georgia the night before and had been waiting patiently all day for his arrival ( they hadn't eaten ANYTHING for most of the day just in case they missed anything....Ransom should know he's loved. hehe!)

Stay tuned for the last installment of Ransom's Birth...the Medical Emergency Drama Segment.