Zachary's Birth Story

When I found out I was pregnant with my third child I was very excited. My husband and I have children from our previous marriages, and this was our first and last child together. I have two other children: Madison, eleven, and Matthew, three. My husband has two girls: Alyssa, eight, and Emily, six. The sex of this child did not matter to me although I thought that it would be nice for Wade to have a son.

My first pregnancy had gone well, but Madison never dropped and so I ended up having a C-section. My second pregnancy went okay until I went into labor. I was in labor for 13 hours, and it resulted in an emergency C-section. So for my third and FINAL pregnancy we would be setting up a planned C-Section.

When I was almost six months pregnant, we were able to find out the gender of our baby. It was a boy! We were both excited. The pregnancy itself was going along great until I reached the eighth month. I was gaining a fair amount of weight and trying to exercise, then I started having a lot of pain when I walked. I found out that Zachary was pressing on a nerve. As time progressed I started growing rather quickly, and I could tell that this baby was going to be larger than my other two. Well, towards the end of my eighth month my stomach was indeed huge. I could not remember being quite this large before and I was very concerned. The doctor kept telling me that Zachary would more than likely be a large baby. They went ahead and checked my blood and sugar levels again, but everything checked out fine.

As I grew closer to my due date, it became increasingly difficult to walk as Zachary continued to press on a nerve. It was getting very uncomfortable all the time. Finally, the time came for us to meet our son.

I arrived at the hospital bright and early in the morning, feeling pretty nervous. My first C-section had been a planned one, but that had happened over 11 years ago. My second C-section had not been planned, but I really did not remember much about it. We finished some paperwork and I changed into the gown that I would wear to surgery. The nurse was wonderful and kept me talking; I think that helped with some of the nervous feelings I was having. Once the catheter and IV were in place we were all set.... there was nothing left to do but wait.

When they came to get me for the surgery I was having mixed feelings. One part of me was very excited and really wanted to meet my son, but the other part of me wanted to get up and leave. I was explaining these choices to my husband, who said he found them very interesting, but he added that this baby had to come out. He pointed out that my poor stomach just couldn't stretch any further. We both laughed and off we went.

The surgery area is not as scary as some people think. There was a wonderful man who kept a check on my vitals and talked me through the spinal block, nausea, and scared feelings. I don't know who he was, but I am very grateful to him. Once I was all set up they started the surgery, talking to me and letting me know where they were in the procedure. My doctor has a great bedside manner and a good sense of humor. He even kept us smiling through the surgery!

Finally the time was here for Zachary to make his appearance and the first thing that the doctor said is he is a VERY BIG boy. They asked me his name and then gave him his very first nickname... Zack Attack. He weighed in at ten pounds, fourteen ounces, and measured twenty three inches long. Now I know why I was in so much pain... I am only five foot two! Our son is a gorgeous big boy with huge eyes and a beautiful smile. He is a true blessing to both of us!