Noah James Wilkinson – A Birth Story

On July 21, 2020 our lives were forever changed when Noah James Wilkinson came into the world. That day will always be embedded as the best day of our lives. It’s the day we first met our son and the day we were granted the titles of mom and dad. Everyone always talks about how indescribable of a moment it is when you bring another life into the world but it’s truly not something you can even imagine until you go through it. On July 21, 2020 I finally understood what everyone was talking about. I finally experienced that indescribable type of love when I first laid eyes on Noah and I know I will never be the same. 

To accurately tell you about the day he was born, we have to rewind a little bit, ok? At my 38 week appointment we found out I had dilated to about 4cm and was 50% effaced. The doctor explained that I was progressing well and that there was a chance I wouldn’t make it to my 39 week appointment the following week. In few words, she told us to be ready for his arrival at any time! Before the appointment ended we scheduled an induction just in case, thinking it wouldn’t even be needed. I came out of the doctor and couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I gave Nick the update – we were both a little shocked and we ran around tying up loose ends just in case!

We spent the next few days wondering if this was our last meal at home, if today was the day he was going to make his way into the world and if we were prepared. Six days passed and he was still cozy inside me as I showed up to my doctor for my 39 week appointment. Sure enough I was *still* sitting at 4cm dilated and now 80% effaced. The next week we proceeded to continue playing the waiting game, trying to guess when he would make his arrival. We filled our days trying to stay busy and over dinner we would ask each other questions like what traditions we wanted to start with him, what we thought he would look like, what traits we hoped he would get from each of us and what we were most excited about. Many of these questions made me cry as I thought about all the things we were looking forward to. His due date, July 20, 2020, arrived and he still showed no sign that he was ready to join us earth side. So, we spent the day prepping for an induction the following morning. I don’t think I got more than a few hours of sleep that night as I anticipated his arrival!

At 5:00 a.m. on July 21st we woke up and started our day, knowing this would be the last morning in our home without a baby. We packed our hospital bag, installed the car seat and by 6:20 we were on the way to the Women’s Hospital at Moses Cone Hospital to meet our baby boy! We made it into our labor and delivery room around 6:45 to get things started. Nick and I both kept looking at each other with a light in our eyes like “today’s the day – this is happening!” We were both feeling a wave of emotions from overwhelmed, nervous and excited but we couldn’t wipe the smiles off of our faces! The real fun started at 7:00 when we met our L&D nurse, Yancey! From the very start she was wonderful and put me at ease. She truly played a part in making my labor and delivery process as smooth as it was, I will forever be grateful that she was my nurse that day! As we started to prep for labor I quickly learned that I have good veins, but they’re crooked. They made 4 different attempts to get my IV in before the fifth time was successful. I had sweaty palms the whole time and ended up with some bad bruises from that, but luckily that was the worst part of the day!

Afterwards Dr. Grewal came in and gave me a pep talk and we got started on an epidural before she broke my water. Once all of that happened I was in true labor and from that point it was just a waiting game as things progressed. We watched TV, I ate a lot of Mango Italian Ice pops and tried to relax as much as I could. Around noon they checked me and I was 7cm dilated. They thought by 3:00 p.m. he would be here… we couldn’t believe it! Nick was the best supporter, always making sure I had everything I needed and making sure I was as comfortable as I could be. He loved looking at the monitor and listening to the baby’s heartbeat since he hadn’t heard it since about 22 weeks! He also loved seeing how crazy my contractions were – he couldn’t believe I couldn’t feel them because they were off the charts! I didn’t start feeling much until I was almost fully dilated. Around 2:00 I started feeling a bit more pressure and like things were progressing even more. Turns out they were because I was 9.5 cm dilated. I decided to “labor down” and just close my eyes and focus on what was to come. At 2:45 I started to feel the urge to push and after one “practice” push the nurses decided it was go time! It seemed to happen SO fast. I turned on my playlist filled with songs that made me feel calm and at ease and I started to push right at 3:00 p.m. We had a whole team of nurses in the room coaching me through breathing and pushing. Nick stayed by my side the entire time encouraging me and cheering me on, while also watching as everything progressed. The next 40 minutes I focused on breathing and pushing. It was the most empowering feeling on earth, knowing that I was bringing a new life into this world and was going to be meeting our son soon. At one point a nurse told me to look and I remember laughing and saying “I don’t think I can!!!” And she replied “but his head is coming out, you’re almost done!” And I couldn’t believe it. There he was! Two more pushes and he was fully into the world! We welcomed Noah James Wilkinson into the world at 3:42 p.m. after 45 minutes of pushing and he was even more perfect than I ever thought he could be! Nick and I both cried as we kissed each other and became parents. Seconds later Noah was in my arms and I have never felt a greater love. I couldn’t believe that he was ours and that we made him! I held him skin-to-skin for an hour as tears of happiness pooled in my eyes. I couldn’t stop staring at him and taking in every inch of him. I wanted to freeze that moment and store it in my memory forever. He was perfect in every single way. He weighed 7lb 1oz and was 19 3/4 inches long.After they checked his vitals we moved to the mother & baby unit where our adventure really began. When we got to our room we finally had a moment just the three of us. Nick and I hugged as we stood over Noah’s bassinet with tears in our eyes over the joy we felt. We texted our family and friends letting them know that he had arrived and everyone was so overjoyed! We spent the night holding him and talking endlessly about how adorable he was with the biggest smiles on our faces. After 36 hours in the hospital, we brought Noah home on 7/22/2020 at 6:15 p.m. and our life has been infinitely better with each passing day! We have certainly never been more tired, but every wake up and diaper change is worth it to have him here with us!

Truthfully, for the longest time I wasn’t sure if I wanted kids because I was terrified of the path to get there (including being pregnant and birthing), but I am so glad that it was an overall positive, easy and joyous experience for us. I went into his birth with a very simple birth plan: get an epidural and have a safe delivery for me and baby. I feel so grateful that I had a safe and healthy delivery for both of us. I’m forever grateful for the nurses and my doctor for their calming presence as they helped to bring our son into this world. I trusted them and knew they would make the best decisions for us, no matter how he was delivered. I’m also thankful for Yancey, our gem of a nurse, who took my phone to take these photos. They are ones I will cherish forever (I tear up every time I look at them). I was also a little nervous about how the induction experience would be since I feel like I constantly hear horror stories about long labors and emergency c-sections. I am thankful that my induction process was straight forward and calming. Positive induction stories do exist, I promise, so I wanted to share that for anyone who is a bit anxious about an upcoming induction.And lastly, I cannot thank you all enough for following along on our journey and for your encouraging, kind words along the way! They truly mean the world to us and they got me through some hard days! I’m thrilled beyond words that we were chosen to be Noah’s parents and I can’t wait to share more with you guys! Motherhood is definitely a journey and I feel so lucky to have you all in my corner providing love, advice, and support! xx