Louis Michael Germani

Everything at the hospital went very well yesterday. We arrived at 7:30am and got started about an hour later with a small dose of Cytotec to try to jumps start the contractions. After taking the pill, Mom was required to stay in bed for an hour so baby could be monitored. After that though, she was free to walk around (although the nurse reminded us that we had to stay in the hospital)! Three hours later we went through another Cytotec round. Things were progressing very well with small contractions and dilation. The rest of the family (Ted, Sharon, and Kate) were able to come around noon which was a great help. We continued to walk around the floor hoping Marcie would continue to progress without the need for Pitocin. We all kept our fingers crossed but the pill didn't quite cut it.

Around 3:00 they started with Pitocin. Unfortunately, this meant that Mom would be hooked up to the IV and monitoring equipment for the duration of the process. Plus, with Pitocin, the rumors are that contractions can be a bit more intense. She was determined to continue the birth without pain medication and at this point that seemed very doable. Mom was still smiling and in good spirits, trying lots of different positions to speed things along.

The doctor came by in the afternoon to see how things were progressing. She confirmed that the baby was OP, rotated the face-up towards the pubic bone. This explained all the back pain that Marcie was experiencing and we began to try some rotation maneuvers for the next couple hours. The exercises worked and the baby was facing the right direction by about 6pm and Marcie was still in good shape (I knew all those pregnancy classes would pay off).

Shortly after 7pm Mom hit 4-5 cm, which meant labor was really starting. Things started to get a little ugly in short order from there. The contractions starting getting very painful but Marcie handled them like a champ. Between every one, she would apologize for groaning! No one could help but laugh (including the nurses). Things didn't take long from there and by 8:30 it was time to push.

Three pushes was all it took but things got a little scary when the doctor realized that the umbilical cord was wrapped three-times around the neck! You could tell the stress level was high but she acted fast, cutting and untangling the chord. Everything turned out fine and although a tad blue at first, his color quickly returned. Marcie was a little concerned about being induced rather than waiting it out but after the delivery, the doctor confirmed she made the right choice. She wouldn't have wanted Louis to be any later than he already was (and neither did we) :)

Baby Louis entered this world at 8:50pm on October 30th (same day as Grandma H)! He was born 6lbs, 5oz and measured 19.5" in length. What a cute baby! He has brown hair for now but Marcie is still holding out hope that it will soon be replaced with red :)

Thank you to everyone for your prayers that helped us through!

Pictures!
11/6 Update: I added a few more pictures from day 2 of the hospital stay ;)