Say hello to our baby boy – Micah Swift Apperley!
Micah was born on January 4, 2022 at 10:55 pm. He weighed 8 lbs 4 oz, and measured 20 inches long.
** Disclaimer: In this post, I will be sharing Micah’s birth story. If you are easily frazzled by medical situations, or simply not interested, feel free to skip down to the “coming home” section of the story, or forego this post altogether. No offence taken 🙂 **
Labour
On Monday, January 3, I had my 39 week checkup at my OB’s office. Since I was almost 3 cm dilated already, we decided to try a stretch and sweep to get things moving. Almost exactly 24 hours later, I started having some contractions at home, but nothing painful or patterned. They picked up throughout the day, but the pain was still easily managed. We decided to pack up our things and head to my parents’ house for dinner to be closer to the hospital in case we needed to go.
Once there, I began timing the contractions and noticed a pretty consistent pattern of every 4 minutes, lasting 1 minute each time. It was getting harder to move or talk during them, but I still felt that it could be worse and didn’t want to go to the hospital too early given all of the current restrictions.
At around 8:30 pm, Andrew convinced me it was time to go and see what was up, so we said our (tearful) goodbyes to Madilynn, who was very excited for a sleepover with Grandma & Grandpa!
Andrew dropped me off at the main doors of the hospital, as I had to go in alone. Right as I walked through the double doors, I felt a gush of liquid and thought to myself, “perfect timing.” I answered all of the COVID screening questions, and made my way through the hospital up to the birthing unit. I checked in at the desk, received my wristbands, and was sent to the waiting room, since triage was pretty busy. Sitting there alone, I felt my contractions gaining strength, and my clothes getting more and more soaked.
When I was brought into triage to be checked, I discovered that it wasn’t my water that had broken, but a whole lot of blood. My cervix was almost 7 cm dilated at this point, and they told me I definitely wouldn’t be going back home. The concern was that I might have a placental abruption, and if things didn’t progress quickly, I may need an emergency c-section. I would not have time for any medication, and I couldn’t access the jacuzzi tub like I did with Madilynn, as I would need to be constantly monitored. I quickly sent a text to Andrew to let him know that I was being admitted, so he could grab our things and come inside.
Delivery
At 10 pm, Andrew arrived to our room while I was hooked up to an IV and all the fetal monitors. I was battling pretty strong contractions at this point, and baby was a little less happy. I was offered laughing gas to get me through each one, and I gave it a try, but I quickly felt so dizzy, and incredibly nauseous – causing me to vomit 4 times. Shortly after, the OB on call came in to break my water, and that’s when things really picked up speed!
At around 10:30 pm, after two more contractions on my side, I felt incredible pressure. One push and I felt the baby drop, another and his head was out. Suddenly, one of the nurses told me to hold off because the cord was around baby’s neck and needed to be cut by the doctor. Then, I heard Andrew say, “I’m gonna pass out” and the other nurse quickly got him to sit down with some apple juice lol. Another two pushes and Micah was safely placed on my chest!
I was immediately caught off guard by how dark his hair was and how much he had, considering Madilynn was essentially bald at birth! We spent about an hour skin-to-skin, and with one attempt to feed, another surprise came my way when Micah latched right away. Suddenly, I felt so incredibly empowered by the thought that maybe this time around, the newborn stage really would be easier!
Recovery
Since all of the postpartum recovery rooms were full, we were able to stay in the labour and delivery room overnight. After all of Micah’s measurements were done, I had the most incredible hot shower while Andrew snuggled our new baby boy. I changed into my comfiest clothes and snuggled into bed with a gingerale and a carrot muffin. The rest of the night went relatively smoothly, and we FaceTimed with some family in the morning.
Just before lunch, we were moved to another room that had opened up, and unfortunately, it was a ward room split down the middle with a curtain to create two “private” rooms. The family on the other side was expected to be going home that night, but due to some test numbers for the baby, they decided to stay. Things got very chaotic that night with a loudly snoring dad, a mom in a lot of pain from a c-section, and two new babies wanting to eat on very different schedules. By 4 am, when my nurse came in to check on me, I was a puddle of tears from zero sleep, raging hormones, and fear that this postpartum was going down the same anxiety-ridden path as last time.
Thankfully, I got a little bit of sleep before a lab technician came in to do baby’s blood tests. By 9 am, Micah had passed his hearing test and we were given the all clear on the jaundice front, so we began to pack up our things. I was really looking forward to being back home in my own bed!
Coming Home
Once our precious little guy was safely in the car, we drove off to grab coffee and bagels from Second Cup – a classic Andrew and Laura date. We settled in at home that afternoon, and by dinnertime, Madilynn was brought home to meet her new little brother!
Madilynn shuffled into our bedroom cautiously, climbed up on our bed where I was holding Micah, and smiled big, unsure what to do or say. Eventually, she touched his hand, and talked with me about his little bed. We had a little gift prepared for Micah to give to Madilynn, and that definitely made her feel extra special.
We’ve been taking things slowly, allowing everyone to adjust to this new normal for our family. Micah has been a very content little guy so far. He is eating well, sleeping well, and peeking out at the world more and more each day. Meanwhile, Madilynn is learning what it means to share Mommy, and doing a great job of helping to take care of her little brother.
We are so excited to learn who little Micah will be, and cannot wait to watch their sibling relationship grow!
To our family and friends:
Thank you so much for all of your love and support in this season. We have already received so many kind messages, freezer meals and offers to take Madilynn for playdates. It truly takes a village, and we couldn’t do this without you!
Love,
The Apperley Family of 4!