Micah Leonard McDaniel
December 12, 2011
12:00PM
8 lbs. 1 oz.
21 1/2 inches long
(Micah's Birth Story)
He is finally here! Our sweet baby boy arrived on Monday, December 12th at 12:00pm. Labor pains began the Friday at work. They weren't incredibly painful, but I could tell my body was acting different than normal. On Saturday the pains progressed into contractions but they weren't very close together. They were occurring every hour or so.Roy and I walked about 5 miles on Saturday because I had a feeling I was in labor. By Saturday night I was having more painful contractions and they were closer apart. I didn't sleep that night and was writing down my contractions to keep track of how close they were.
On Sunday, I was in labor for sure! The contractions were painful, but still not close enough to go to the hospital. We told our families were pretty sure I was in labor and by Sunday night they arrived in Orlando. Sunday afternoon my contractions subsided and were almost non-existent. I was worried I wasn't in labor after all and that our family had come all this way and it might be a few more days until Micah arrive.
Boy was I wrong! Sunday night was awful. My contractions were strong and about 9-10 minutes apart for several hours. I would just lie in bed, waiting for them to get closer. Around 4AM my contractions were finally every 5-7 minutes and Roy and I were getting ready to head to Winnie Palmer Hospital. As I was breathing through a contraction my water broke and the contractions started getting VERY strong and painful and were only 2-3 minutes apart. We arrived at the hospital around 5:30AM and I labored in triage for a few hours until they could get me a room. The entire time my mind was focusing on the epidural I was going to receive once I got a room. I was 2 cm at this time and 100% effaced.
By the time I got a room I was already 7cm, around 8:00AM. I received my epidural and was waiting for it to kick it, but it never did :( I guess I am one of those rare cases where the epidural didn't take. Roy and my sister were incredible as I labored and assured me I could do this. I was praying and trusting God to give me the supernatural strength I needed and He was indeed faithful. By 10:45AM I was already 10 cm and it was time to push. They don't call it labor for nothing! At 12:00PM on the dot on 12/12/11 my sweet baby boy entered the world. Oh the joy that filled my heart! He had a rough start as the cord was wrapped pretty tightly around his neck. The doctor and nurses had to stimulate him quite a bit and it seemed like an eternity before I heard him cry.
Little did I know my epidural wouldn't work and I would be having a natural child birth.
After a few minutes I finally got to hold Micah in my arms. He was so content and has his eyes wide open. He was just lying there looking at his mommy. It was a sweet, precious moment for sure!
Micah had to spend a few hours in the transition nursery since he got a rough start, but was thankfully healthy and ready to meet his grandparents and niece shortly after.
On Wednesday afternoon we were ready to go home. Micah's jaundice levels were a little high, so he has been connected to a special light since Thursday to help bring down the Bilirubin levels. He gets another blood test tomorrow so hopefully the levels will have come down. He is eating and sleeping like a champ. He has brought so much joy to our hearts. I cannot even begin to describe it! I am so thankful to the Lord for this precious blessing that we longed for. He is here and we are again reminded of God's incredible faithfulness in all things.
We ask for your prayers during this time of transition. We pray for wisdom and strength and can already see the Lord working in our hearts as we begin this new blessed season of life.
May God bless you all during this Christmas season! Merry Christmas!
