Happy Birthday Willis Joseph

On June 19, 2012, I went to Maple Grove for my twice weekly BPP ultrasound. Will was showing some signs of stress and wasn’t moving the way he should be and always had been. After 15 minutes of trying different things to help him respond the Dr. recommended I go to North Memorial Robinsdale to be monitored on the NST (Non-Stress Test) to make sure everything was ok.

I got to the hospital and was kindly greeted by many of the nurses that took care of me during my 7 week stay. I talked to Dr. Martinie and she recommended that I call Chris and tell him to come down in case we needed to go into emergency c-section or needed to induce labor right away. The first hour showed that Will was still under stress and he still was showing little sign of movement but he had a strong heartbeat. The second hour showed much improvement! Will was starting to move around and was looking pretty good on the monitor so they gave me the option of going home and coming back the following day for another ultrasound and to be hooked up to the NST again OR to go ahead with the induction as we originally had it scheduled for this date but because I wanted to go natural, I moved the induction date back. I thought about it, prayed about it and ask for input from Chris and my mom. After some time, I felt at peace with moving forward with the induction as originally planned.

At 2:00 pm, Dr. Martinie broke my bag of waters, I was dilated to 2 cm at that time. Within 15 minutes my contractions started. By 3:00 pm, my contractions were 2 minutes apart. At 4:00 pm, I opted for some IV medication to help with the pain. I had horrible back labor, the nurse warned me the medication would only last an hour but I could opt to have another dose at that time. The medication made me feel terrible and only lasted 30 minutes for me. So as the next hour was approaching, I decided if I hadn’t progressed much, I would need to do something else for the pain. I was checked again and was only at 3 cm, so I opted for the epidural. Ah, instant relief and so glad I got it! At 6:00 pm, I was dilated to 5 cm. At 7:00, I was at 7 cm and then I sat there... At 9:30, I was still at 7 cm because of the scarring my cervix has from the cerclage, Will was starting to show signs of stress, Will’s head was coning really bad, I started swelling terribly bad and the Dr. was concerned that I might not even be able to push Will out. The Dr. recommended that I have a c-section. I totally trusted in the Dr. and quickly agreed. So both Chris and I were prepped for the delivery room and I was taken away.

Will was welcomed into this world at 10:52 pm. The cord was wrapped around his neck twice but once they got him unwrapped and cleared out, he gave us a loud and beautiful cry! The Dr. held him up quickly for me to see and then they went to clean him up. 

 Chris trimmed the cord and brought him over for me to meet him. He was perfect in every way. It was love at first sight. Seeing Chris holding our son and the love I could see he had for our son already was very joyful.  

 When I was in the recovery room, Will was taken to the nursery where they cleaned him up a little better, weighed him and checked his glucose level. The nurse held Will up to the window so the grandparents could see him. We have a very healthy little boy!

Willis Joseph

Weight: 6 pounds 13 ounces

Length: 21”

Head circumference: 13”

Over the next few days, we enjoyed many visitors. Family, friends and nurses came to see Will – we have such a loved little boy. We were very busy, it seemed like when we didn’t have a personal visitor we had staff visitors checking in on us. Trying to learn what your newborn needs, how to nurse and having a major surgery really takes a lot out of a person. I was very happy to be able to leave on Saturday and start the next chapter of our lives! 

Thank you everyone for your love, support, prayers, gifts and everything you did for us while I was pregnant with Will. God’s grace shined through each of you and we are so thankful and fortunate to have you in our lives. We are truly blessed!