The Birth Story of Anderson

What an incredibly amazing, life-changing experience. I just do not know how people could not believe in God after witnessing or going through childbirth themselves. It is such a miracle. My goal is to document all the details of Anderson’s birth {and the events leading up to it} so that I can remember it for the rest of my life. Here goes...

My impatience was killing me. I was so anxious, a bit uncomfortable, and so ready to see my son. For three weeks leading up to his actual birth date, I would receive text messages, phone calls, facebook messages, etc. from people asking where he was and when he would be here! I even had a few false alarms where I thought for sure he was coming, but when it came down to it, ONLY God knew. I was scheduled to see my doctor at 9:30 Monday morning, September 26^th, four days after my due date. I had it in my head that I would definitely make it to that appointment and was crossing my fingers and praying every moment that my doctor would go ahead and schedule induction.

You see, it was a crazy busy time for my family. My aunt, uncle and cousins were here from Indonesia awaiting Anderson’s arrival, my grandparents moved here to Ohio from Michigan the weekend of September 24^th, my mom was swarmed with work and scheduled to head out of the country, and so on. But God’s timing was perfect. {Why did I ever think it wouldn’t be?}

Sunday, the 25^th, was just like any other Sunday. We enjoyed a nice morning at church, lunch with the family afterwards, then lots of relaxation. We spent the afternoon hanging out at my grandparents’ new home, where I spent lots of time on my grandpa’s massaging recliner! I thought maybe that would get things moving, but really it was just nice to relax after so much hustle and bustle. We went home for a few hours, then later that evening, my hubby and I met my mom, dad, aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandpa at Bob Evan’s [one of my favorites, especially during my pregnancy]! Little did I know, it would be my last meal before becoming a mommy. I had blueberry pancakes, which was so random and not at all what I normally order. I guess I just had a craving that had to be fulfilled! HA.

Later that night, Roberto and I started watching a movie, Taken, but I quickly decided I was exhausted and didn’t care to be watching a suspense movie just before bedtime. So, I went upstairs to go to sleep, while he stayed on the couch to watch. {He loves falling asleep to the TV on, while I do not, so I think he takes any opportunity to sleep on the couch that he can!}

Anyway, fast forward to 3:15 a.m. on the 26^th. I was up for my 4^th trip to the potty. I finished my business and was walking out of the master bathroom, heading back to my bed when I felt “something” dripping down my leg. I cupped my hand under my crotch and ran back to the toilet. I tried to go to the bathroom again, then stood up, and out that “something” came again. This time, I realized my water broke! I grabbed a towel to put between my legs and decided I better waddle downstairs to wake up Roberto. Eek! So much excitement had already come over me. I said, “Tito?” He sat up slowly, mostly asleep, then I shouted, “my water broke!” He jumped up faster than I have ever seen him move, and he ran upstairs to get ready to go. I called my mom at 3:22 a.m. to let her know, so she too got ready to head to the hospital. I decided I wasn’t in enough pain to rush off to the hospital right away, so I jumped in the shower for a quick body shower and threw on a little mascara and some clothes before heading out. We stopped at my parents’ {so they could follow us to the hospital} where I grabbed a peanut butter sandwich and a bottled water, since I knew once I arrived at the hospital, there would be NO food allowed.

Off we went {Mom and dad, and cousins, Jenni and Jessi, joined in on the fun!}. It was pouring, and I mean POURING on our way down to the hospital. We arrived just after 5 a.m., I checked in at maternity triage, where they got me in a gown and examined me, confirming that the fluid that I was leaking was indeed amniotic. I remember the nurse asking, “Are you ready to have a baby?” I answered, “Absolutely!” At this point, I was a little over 3 cm dilated & 80% effaced. By about 6 a.m. they had started my IV, and walked me to my labor and delivery room.

Here I was, still smiling, and feeling pretty good.

Last pregnant picture...40 weeks, 4 days.

Amazing husband and best labor partner I could have asked for...

Only the beginning of the contractions... here they were still 3-4 minutes apart.

I was initially told to walk and rest in cycles of 40 minutes and 20 minutes, and I was to be checked again around 8 a.m. before they would decide to start pitocin. Well, after walking I came back to lay down for a bit, during which little man’s heart rate decided to take a drastic dip during one of my contractions. The nurse came in and checked my monitors, and told me I was to no longer be out walking without them hooking me up with a portable monitor. They would need to make sure all was well with the baby. Okay, that was frightening, but it happened just that once {he must not have liked my uterus squeezing him}. A few minutes later, the nurse went ahead and checked me; I was barely 4 cm, so the pitocin was started just after 8 a.m. I did some more walking, and had just moderate contractions over the next few hours. 

My precious husband WAITING. He seemed to think Anderson was going to make his appearance before noon. NOT.

Mom and Dad entertaining themselves...I'm sure dad was facebooking, while mom was working! Nonetheless, more WAITING.

Though they only checked my cervix every few hours, they came in to check my blood pressure every 30 minutes and asked me my pain level each time. It gradually got more uncomfortable, but nothing I couldn’t handle. She checked me again around 12:45 p.m. I was 5 cm. Ugh. Progressing pretty slowly. But I swear, the second she left the room, on came the contractions…close together and much more unbearable. My cousins & dad, who had been in and out of the room, decided to head for the waiting room, as they could tell I was getting very irritable and in a much greater amount of pain. I remember saying firmly to my mom and Roberto, “I don’t want to do this anymore!” I also had to start breathing through contractions, so I knew the epidural was to come…and soon.


By 1:15 p.m., I decided it was time for the epidural. I knew I would have to sit still during it, and if I let the pain get even worse, there was no way that would be possible. I hit the call button and said, “YEP! I’m ready for the epidural right about NOW!” It seemed like less than 5 minutes, and the anesthesiologist and nurse were there and ready. In my opinion, the administering of the epidural itself was a breeze. He gave me a quick numbing shot that stung for a quick second, then told me exactly what I would feel. I felt about 20 seconds of really hard pressure in my pelvis just after he injected the big ole needle. Then, I felt an electric zing down my right leg that sent my foot flying upward. Immediate relief.

Five minutes later, the anesthesiologist asked me if I could feel the contraction that was happening, and I happily replied, “Nope! You’re a rockstar!” Hahaha. He truly was. It was so quick and I was feeling so relaxed. Thank the good Lord above for giving someone the knowledge to create such a wonderful thing! My family came back into the room to keep me company since I was feeling great again!

Just after 3 p.m., a new nurse came in to check me yet again, and I was about 7 cm & 90% effaced. She told me my cervix had thinned quite a bit, the baby had dropped significantly and now was the time that “something should really happen.” She was estimating Anderson would make an appearance around dinner time! I LOVED this nurse. She was hilarious, so kind, and you could tell she knew what she was doing. To top it off, she brought both Roberto and I delicious popsicles {maybe it was extra delicious because I hadn’t eaten a thing besides ice chips since my peanut butter sandwich at 4:30 a.m.}. I was a happy camper.

My Aunt Christy arrived around 3:15 p.m. and hung out with us in our room as I was confined to the bed! Then, at 3:45 ish, the nurse came in to empty my bladder…let me tell you, that was interesting. Oh, the catheter. I never knew I could pee so much and so fast. Sounded like a stinkin’ race horse. Also, she shifted my position back and forth every half hour to keep baby moving. 

What a beautiful fall afternoon that awaited Anderson!

By about 4:15 or so, I felt like I could feel pressure and a little pain again, so I got a second drip in my epidural. The nurse warned me I would really be numb after the second dose, and she was so right. Beforehand, I could still move my feet a bit, but after this, I felt like a TON of heavy equipment was literally just lying on my left leg. Did not like that so much. I kept having my mom move my leg, but I couldn’t get the feeling to go away. My aunt reminded me I would be holding my sweet boy very soon, and that made it better! And, it was still totally worth it to not feel the contractions. At this point, they were a minute or a minute and a half apart, and really intense, but I sure as heck didn’t know it!

Now, it was 5:15 p.m. and the nurse came in to check me one last time. I was 10 cm, completely effaced and ready to push! YAY. I had never felt so excited, but anxious at the same time. They set up the room for delivery and by 5:30, my doctor {not to mention the BEST doctor I could ever ask for} was there and ready. I had no idea that this part was going to be so peaceful. It was not at all like I pictured. It was just me, Roberto, my mom, the nurse, and sweet Dr. Rinala. Sometime between 5:35 and 5:40, I began pushing during each contraction, then we would have regular small talk and relaxed conversation in between. I sure did not expect it would be like that {I guess it’s just not like that in the movies—everything seems so dramatic}!

I could not feel a THING, and I mean NOTHING, while pushing. In fact, I had no clue what I was doing, but they kept telling me I was doing great and told me my baby was coming sooner rather than later! Roberto counted to 10, 3 times, during each contraction while I pushed. He even stuttered and forgot he was counting a few times because he was so excited. He would tell you it was the coolest thing he’d ever witnessed. God love him!

At 5:59 p.m., Anderson Lee Astacio made his debut! But, I had no idea the next few moments would be so terrifying. He came out, the doctor threw him up on me for a few seconds, Roberto quickly cut the cord, but all I could think about was that I had yet to hear him cry! I was immediately petrified. The nurse was trying to shake him up a bit, but it wasn’t working, so they swept him away really fast over to the warmer where they were trying to get him to breathe. I was sobbing, head in my hands, and praying more than ever that all would be okay. Next thing I knew, the nurse had pressed the emergency call button, shouting, “We need the pediatricians STAT!” Okay, I certainly did not need to hear that.

Seconds later, it seemed like there were 5 more people around Anderson. They had him on oxygen, and who knows what else, while they eagerly waited for his heart rate to come back up and for him to let out the cry we had so longed to hear. I kept hearing them say, “Baby is 2 ½ minutes old!”…“Baby is 4 minutes old!” and so on. Thankfully, Dr. Rinala coached me through it and assured me everything would be okay, and that he just needed to transition from water breathing to air. {I told you, she was amazing. God bless her!} Finally, I heard him let out a nice scream and was so very relieved. Thank you, Jesus. Basically, during my last push, he had swallowed lots and lots of fluid. He was essentially in shock, and because his lungs were full of fluid, he could not breathe.

Funny little guy both pooped and peed on his nurse-ha!

LOVE him.

I was still very scared for the next thirty minutes or so, since I was not yet allowed to hold him, and they kept him over by the warmer, making sure his breathing and body temperature had first stabilized. He never left the room, and he was in my sight the entire time, so I was extremely comforted by that. 

Itty bitty feet!

Still waiting to hold him, but enjoying myself a nice Diet Coke!

Finally around 7 p.m., they placed him in Roberto’s arms, and he brought him to me to hold for the first time! Of course, I was in love that very instant—he was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. He was also very healthy, he just had a bit of a rough start. Little man, please don’t scare your momma like that ever again!

Daddy bringing him to Mommy!

First time to hold my precious son!

Once I had him in my arms, Roberto went to get the rest of the family and friends who had been waiting, and had only seen a picture message up to that point. With tears in his eyes, he told them Anderson was healthy and ready to meet them! My dad, Aunt Christy, Jenni, Jessi, and my friends, Erin, Rachal and Shellie came to meet our beautiful boy.

Proud 'Texas Abuelo'

Happy Daddy!

By 8 p.m., we made our way down to our room where we would spend the remainder of our stay. I loved the hospital staff and so appreciated all the guidance & help during those few days.

Uncle Jeff drove down from Columbus that night to meet his new nephew!

And here is the very excited Grammy!

All in all, it was the best experience I could have asked for. I was extremely lucky to have a smooth labor, a quick delivery, and a very easy recovery. I happened to be in that small percentage of women who don’t rip, tear or have to have an episiotomy during delivery. The doctors all told me how rare this was, especially for a first pregnancy. Again, thank you Jesus! {If it were that easy every time, I’d have 5 kids…and maybe I will! HA! Just kidding, husband.} 

Seriously, what a blessing. I will never forget that day and how it changed my life, all for the better. I now have my gorgeous Anderson Lee to love on and enjoy for the rest of my life! I am so excited to watch him grow {but not too fast} and become a wonderful man of God.

And just because I absolutely love this picture, I must share it...

Anderson Lee Astacio

September 26, 2011

5:59 p.m.

6 lb, 15 oz

20 1/4 in long

One more time, Thank you God for our precious little son. What an incredible gift!