His birth story actually started on March 17 when we went in for my 40 week appointment and growth ultrasound. They estimated Baby Wilt to weight 8 pounds, 11 ounces. I had been measuring big the whole pregnancy, so this was not a surprise. What was a surprise was that a strange shadow appeared on Baby Wilt’s mouth in the ultrasound. We had three previous ultrasounds during my pregnancy (13 weeks, 20 weeks, and a 3D ultrasound at 28 weeks), and nothing unusual had shown up on any of those. Dr. Hartung explained to us that this shadow can indicate a cleft palate and lip. Of course, we were upset and worried. We had gone through 40 weeks of hearing that everything was “perfect” with the baby and pregnancy. To hear that news within 48 hours of delivery was hard. Dr. Hartung said it wasn’t definite at all, but if she were in our shoes she would rather know ahead of time. We agreed and thanked her for sharing the possible finding with us. Everything else checked out well at the appointment, and I was still dilated between 2-3 and around 80% effaced.
Dr. Hartung will induce if your uterus is favorable anytime after your due date. She was on call on Friday, March 19, for the first time after my due date, so we decided that would be our induction day. Aaron’s parents drove up from Mississippi on Thursday night in preparation for the birth on Friday.
Aaron and I woke up early and left for the hospital a little after 6:00am. We arrived on the maternity floor of the hospital by 6:30. At 7:10, they started the pitocin. When they started the pitocin, I was still dilated to a 2-3 and was contracting every 2-4 minutes. I knew that I had been having a lot of contractions in the weeks leading up to delivery, but I was surprised how often the contractions were coming even before any drugs were in my system. At 9:55, they checked me again and I was still at 2-3, but they said the baby was VERY low! Our wonderful nurse, Kim, even told us that she thought our baby had a good amount of hair!
Aaron and I had spent the previous two days since our 40 week appointment researching and learning about cleft palate and lip. Although we knew the odds were in our favor of nothing being wrong, we still wanted to be prepared if needed. I know I spent a lot of time those two days reading, crying, and praying. We really remained pretty calm all things considered. However, at the hospital, the reality started to sink in a little more. Our nurse was telling us about all the preparations that were in place for Baby Wilt if he/she was born with a birth defect. They had already told the pediatrician on call. They had talked to the nurses in the nursery/NICU. They had special bottles on hand to use for feedings. Although we were very thankful that they were prepared and watching out for our baby, it did make us worry and more nervous that the chances of a problem were very real and possible.
The next time they checked me, it was 11:00. I was officially at a 3. Not much progress considering I was practically that far dilated a week before at my 39 week appointment! I was feeling the contractions at this point. They were uncomfortable at times but not really painful at all. What was painful for me were my internals. It was very hard for them to check my progress, because it was so painful. So, at 12:30, I got an epidural! Getting the epidural was not nearly as painful as I imagined, and I felt wonderful after that. Everyone in the room kept telling me when I was having big contractions, and I didn’t feel anything except a little pressure every once in awhile.
At 12:55 they checked me again. I was STILL at a 3 and 80% effaced. Ugh! They tried to break my water, but Baby Wilt’s head was creating such a tight seal that no water came out!
When they checked my progress at 2:15, I was dilated to a 4 and 90% effaced. At least I had finally made some progress! They also put my catheter in around this time.
Around 3:00, they checked and I was still 4cm and 90%. Dr. Hartung explained that it wasn’t a huge deal that I hadn’t progressed in the last hour, but that if I went another hour without progressing we’d have to start to look at other options. She also tried to break my water again. This time a tiny amount of water came out, but not at all the usual amount.
When they checked me at 4:00, they said I was between 4-5cm and 90% effaced. This is when Dr. Hartung first brought up the possibility of having a c-section. She said at this point, there was about an 80% chance that I would need a c-section. Her advice was to wait another hour since we weren’t in a hurry and I wasn’t in pain and then to reevaluate.
At 5:00, I still hadn’t progressed beyond a 5 (remember I was almost at a 3 the week before at my appointment!). Dr. Hartung said that at this point my chances of having a natural birth were about 1%, but she’d be willing to let us wait more time if we wanted. This is when she told us that I officially had what they call “failure to progress.” After hearing that the chance of a natural birth was 1%, we decided a c-section was the way to go. The OR was being used, so they told us we would be next as soon as it was ready. Our nurse stopped my pitocin at this point too.
They started prepping us for surgery right away—giving us scrubs to put on and making me take some gross medicines. It was around 6:00 when we finally started to make our way to the OR. Before we left the room, Dr. Hartung checked me one more time just to see if I had somehow progressed more in the last hour. Of course I hadn’t so, after 10 hours of easy labor (with no pushing thank goodness!), they wheeled me down to the OR.
Aaron had to stay in the hall for a few minutes while they prepped me in the OR. I felt a little nauseous as they were preparing for the c-section, so I was quickly given some anti-nausea medicine through my IV that helped a ton! I remember shaking and being so nervous and excited. I first and foremost wanted to know that we had a healthy baby. We were also so excited to find out if Baby Wilt was a boy or girl.
Aaron came back in the room as they started the c-section. He stood up and looked over the curtain to watch the whole thing. He looked like the proud Daddy watching with his big camera around his neck ready to snap Baby Wilt’s first pictures! Before the surgery started we had requested two things from Dr. Hartung and the nurses:
1. We wanted Dr. Hartung to check the lip/palate immediately to let us know if something was wrong or not.
2. We didn’t want our doctor or any nurses saying the sex. We wanted Aaron to be the one to make the announcement to tell me whether we had a son or daughter.
At 6:55pm, Baby Wilt arrived! Before the baby was even out of my belly, Dr. Hartung examined the mouth and told us that everything was perfect. I was so relieved! At that point, Aaron and I were both crying and overcome with emotions and gratitude for a healthy baby. The next second, I hear Aaron saying, “It’s a boy. We’ve got a son!” Dr. Hartung held him up over the curtain, so I could catch a glimpse before he was taken over to the heater since it was so cold in the OR. Dr. Hartung told us that he was probably a 9 pound baby and that a c-section was the right move because there was absolutely NO WAY this baby would have come out naturally with as stuck as his head was.
The next few hours were a blur. As we had discussed prior to the c-section, Aaron followed Baby Wilt to the nursery for all of his tests while I was in recovery. Aaron had also gone out to tell our families that we had a healthy baby boy! Baby Wilt’s mouth got checked about fifty times that evening and the next day by every nurse and doctor around. Each time I was reminded of how blessed we were to have our precious, healthy baby boy.
He just couldn't hold it any longer:
A few hours after the c-section, around 9:00pm, the crowd from the waiting room came back to meet Baby Wilt. Bill, Sharon, Rene, Roger, Mom, Dad, Sarah, Mimi, Chris, and Dennis were all anxiously awaiting the news all day in the maternity waiting room! When everyone was together, Aaron and I told everyone his name…Grant William. We had decided on our boy name years before, and we were so excited to finally share it with everyone.
Grant William Wilt was born on Friday, March 19, 2010, at 6:55pm. He weighed 9 pounds and 1.2 ounce. He was 20 ¼ inches long. His head and chest circumferences were both 14 ½ inches.
After 9 long months of waiting, our beautiful baby boy arrived. Life hasn’t been the same since, and I know it never will be…but I wouldn’t want it any other way. We love you, Grant!
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