As Cooper’s 1st birthday approaches, I’ve been feeling super nostalgic. This has been the longest, fastest year I’ve ever had if that makes any sense at all. I’ve watched as my sweet, little, snuggly baby has grown up into a very mobile, super busy, almost toddler.
While I’ve been thinking about him growing up, I’ve also been thinking about the day he was born. I’ve told his birth story a lot, but I’ve never actually written it out, so I thought this would be a great time to share it with you all. This is going to be a super long post, so just hang tight friends!
Cooper’s due date was June 5th, 2018. We found this out previously in October, and we realized that his due date was the same week as Camp 1010 – the camp our ministry does each year that Tyler was preaching at. He was due the Tuesday of camp, so everyone was hoping that he would either come early, or stay put during that week!
My whole pregnancy I thought that Cooper would be early. Anyone who knew me while I was pregnant, knew that I was HUGE, and majorly swollen the last 2 months. I literally kept thinking, it’ll be any day now… every. single. day. I ate pineapple, ate a pizza called “The Inducer,” walked around IKEA with my mom a couple of times, walked around outside doing squats in the scalding heat, I mean you name it, and I tried it! None of it worked. So when the week of camp came, I was 9 months pregnant and ready to pop! We were having such a great time, but the whole time in the back of my mind I kept wondering when he would come. Tuesday the 5th came, and still no baby.
I had an appointment with my doctor that Wednesday, and they told me they wanted to induce me on Thursday night because Cooper was getting so big. I didn’t want to be induced, but we wanted to do what was best for our baby. So that’s what we decided to do.
I checked into Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, SC with my mom and mother in law on Thursday night. The night nurses got me set up in a super cozy (Ha!) hospital bed, and a lovely (Again, ha!) hospital gown. Tyler couldn’t come with me because he had to preach at camp, but he came as soon as he got done. Once he got there, they got him a cot, and it was time to go to sleep. It was our last night together just the two of us. We were both so excited we could hardly fall asleep!
The next morning we woke up, and they started me on Pitocin around 9 a.m. The contractions started, and I was bound and determined to have a natural delivery. They kept offering me drugs, but I kept saying no. As the morning went on, the contractions started getting stronger, and the nurse could tell I was hurting, so I finally gave in and they gave me some medicine through my IV to help with the pain. It definitely helped. I was feeling the pain, but I didn’t really care. It was a super weird feeling. One of my favorite memories of the day was the fact that I was SO hot, and nothing helped except for Tyler, my mom, and dad took turns fanning me with a magazine. They must really love me. I’m pretty sure they did it for a few hours! Once the medicine wore off, and they broke my water, I started really feeling the contractions strongly again. I tried to go a little while without anything, but anyone that knows me, knows that my pain tolerance is basically 0%. So I decided to get the epidural. The anesthesiologist came in, gave it to me, and after that I was good y’all! Family and friends were coming in to check on us, and see how everything was going. I remember feeling like I wasn’t really there. I was just kind of watching, and everything was a little blurry. I would catch bits and pieces of conversations, and chime in at random parts with things that made absolutely no sense. It was interesting.
I had the sweetest nurse in L&D. She took the best care of me. She was constantly checking on me, and made sure Tyler, and everyone around us had what they needed. She made sure I was as comfortable as possible at all times. I honestly couldn’t have made it through that day without her. She came in the room when I was at about 6 centimeters and made me lay on my right side for a bit. Tyler stepped out to take a phone call, and my mom was sitting right beside me. Everything was going totally fine, or so I thought.
Later she came back and made me try to lay on my left side. I went to move, and the nurse kept saying, “He’s a little mad at us!” I kept thinking, “Um, he’s a baby, he’ll get over it… What in the world?” She just kept saying that and the next thing I know they made me get up on all fours and were monitoring everything. I heard my doctor’s voice, and I just froze. I knew something wasn’t right. They flipped me back over, and put an oxygen mask over my face. My mama told me “It’s okay honey, everything is gonna be okay.” I kept asking her, “What do you mean? I don’t understand, I don’t understand.” I was in absolute shock. Tyler ran back in the room, and rushed to my side, and started telling me that it would be okay. He was praying, and I could see how scared he was. That scared me. I remember vividly the fear I felt. I didn’t know if my baby would be okay, if I would be okay, if either of us would be okay. I realized I was going to have to have a c-section. Right before they wheeled me to the OR, Tyler’s dad grabbed my hand and I saw the tears in his eyes, and I remember tearing up, but trying to remain calm for Cooper.
As I was rushed to the operating room, I had to be separated from Tyler, and I remember feeling so alone. I literally couldn’t get any other words out of my mouth other than, “What’s going on?” All I could do was pray. In my mind over and over, I was saying, “God please help us, God please help us.” As I was in the room and they were prepping me for emergency surgery, I remember there being a man behind my head named Danny. All I know is, Danny played a huge part in helping me stay calm. He explained everything that was going on, and talked me through it all. Apparently Cooper’s heart rate had dropped due to his umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck.
Tyler finally came in the room. I kept asking him if he thought Cooper was going to be okay. He kept saying I think so. He prayed over us, and I felt God right there in that room. I was still in shock, but there was a peace over me that I’ll never be able to explain. I felt them begin to tug, and I’m telling you that was one of the strangest feelings I’ve ever felt. Being pulled apart, and cut open, and feeling the movement, but not the pain. It was the craziest thing.
Miraculously, 12 minutes after they called for an emergency cesarean, I heard my sweet baby cry out for the first time. It was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. I couldn’t see him well at first, but Tyler ran over to watch them clean him up, weigh, and measure him. He was a healthy 8 pounds, 13 ounces, and 22 inches long! Tyler brought him over for me to see him, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The most perfect little baby, that I carried for 9 months was finally in our arms. I’ll never forget the feeling of looking at him for the first time, knowing that God protected him, and brought us through the scariest moment of my life.
After everyone got to hold him, and everything calmed down, I finally got to really hold him, and look at every little feature he had. I was so in awe at how perfect he was. I was reminded in that moment of how amazing the miracle of life is, and how blessed I was to have him. It didn’t matter how he got here, all that mattered was that he was here, with us.
I know this was dramatic, but it’s our story. If you made it this far, wow! Thanks so much for reading! I hope by reading this, you can see how God was present during Cooper’s birth, and how He showed us so much grace and love by giving us a perfectly healthy, precious little boy. I’ve attached a few pictures below from our time in the hospital.
Mykaela Blue 