The McCrackens: The Birth Story...Finally

Ok, so 2 months later, I am just now sitting down to type this out! Here is the story of the day we witnessed a miracle!

I went to the doctor on August 19th, one day after my due date. The doctor hooked me up to a monitor to discover that I was ha

ving some contractions, I just didn't know. I hadn't dilated at all yet but Tatum was measuring 9 lbs 2 oz on the ultrasound! Dr. King told us that we could come in that evening to start the induction process. She also said we could wait to see if I go into labor on my own in the next week. She told us that if we induce, my chances of c-section would increase. She also said if we waited to see if I would go into labor on my own, Tatum would just get bigger...which would also increase my chances of a c-section. She left Michael and I alone so we could make the decision. We decided to go ahead and go in that afternoon to start the induction process.

After the appointment, I went back up

to school to finish preparing my room for Meet the Teacher that my sub would have to take care of that afternoon! Michael came home to clean up a little and finish packing our bags. We checked in to the hospital at 4:30 PM on August 19th. Dr. King gave me something to soften my cer.vix, they started my IV and we just chilled in our hospital room for the evening and night! The next morning, they started the pitocin about 6 AM. Dr. King came in to break my water around 9 that morning. Once she broke my water the contractions started coming on really strong. At one point they had to slow down the pitocin because I wasn't getting any time in between contractions. Each time Dr. King came in to check me I had dilated another centimeter. I did end up getting my epidural when I was 4 cm. By 5 PM I had dilated to 9 centimeters! Dr. King told us it would be a few more hours and I'd be ready to push. A few hours later, I was still 9 cm. They ended up puttingme on oxygen because Tatum's heart rate was dropping. They monitored Tatum and me closely for about 45 more minutes and then Dr. King made the call to do the c-section. Michael got all dress

ed for the OR and I was wheeled into the OR. At 8:05 PM I heard the amazing cry of our precious miracle baby. As soon as he came out all I heard in the OR were the doctors and nurses going crazy over how big he was. Dr. King was sure he was 9 lbs. He ended up weighing 8 lbs 12 oz. He was 21 5/8 inches long. I was in recovery for a little over an hour.

I finally got to hold our sweet boy at about 11:45 PM that night. It was all so surreal. My parents were at the hospital, Michael's parents, and our friends Jon Paul& Crystal. In these moments I had NO IDEA of how radically my life would be changed in the coming weeks!