Meet Our Son, Levi! + His Birth Story

A Little Oopsy: 

Although I was 39 weeks pregnant, Andrew and I went to church and enjoyed the day together just like any other Sunday. We went to lunch at one of our favorite spots, went on an evening stroll with our dog and watched a good ol‘ movie. Before we knew it, the day was almost over!

That evening, Andrew added some final items to the hospital bag and walked it downstairs to put in the car. I sat in the rocking chair in our baby’s room eating my favorite vegan ice cream with anticipation for our son’s arrival. After some time, I realized that Andrew had been gone for a while, so I stood up out of the chair to see how things were going, and then the most horrific thing happened: I tripped and fell. Hard. A complete belly flop! My leg had caught the edge of the footstool and thrown me off balance so quickly that I didn’t have time to catch myself or even properly brace for the fall. This wasn’t the first time my pregnant belly obscured my vision, but I had managed to avoid trip hazards until now. My husband soon came back inside to find me extremely upset. I was absolutely terrified at the thought that the fall had caused injury to the baby. Andrew then called our hospital’s Labor and Delivery unit and they advised us to come in ASAP for monitoring.

Once we arrived at the hospital, the doctor wanted to do a 24-hour observation with a heart rate monitor on my belly to make sure the placenta wasn’t bleeding. Good thing Andrew put those finishing touches on the hospital bag right before I decided to practice tumbling!

During the first 21 hours of observation in the hospital, my husband and I joked around, talked about the future, and watched movies which helped pass the time. That night, with only 3 hours of observation to go and no signs of complications, Andrew left the hospital to check on our dog at home and I continued to watch a movie. Andrew had only been gone about 30 minutes when multiple nurses and doctors suddenly rushed into my room. By the looks on their faces, it was obvious that something was wrong. Seriously, it was like a dramatic scene from Grey’s Anatomy! They put an oxygen mask on me along with many other things and said that my baby’s heart rate suddenly dropped from a normal 140-150 range to the low 40’s for more than 7 full minutes. Our son was losing oxygen. The team let me know that I MUST have the baby that evening for the sake of my child’s life…and there was a high chance that I might need a Cesarean if the baby’s heart rate dropped again. God knows that I DID NOT want a C-section. It was something that I was hoping and praying wouldn’t happen my entire pregnancy and there we were! Meanwhile, Andrew was still gone to feed and walk the dog and I was trying not to freak out at the thought of going into surgery without him! One of the nurses phoned my husband and told him to come back to the hospital immediately. It was definitely an experience to remember!

Andrew arrived back and the doctor told him about all the excitement that went down while he was gone. At this point, I was about 3 centimeters dilated but the nurse administered Pitocin to augment my labor. During this time, my doctor and her team highly recommended that I receive an epidural due to the likelihood of having a Cesarean. They explained that if I had the epidural catheter in place, it would be easier to transition me to the operating room if baby’s heart dropped drastically again. Let me tell you, I was not happy about this news. For the past nine months, I had been preparing any way I could for an unmedicated birth experience. Initially, I felt that I was being robbed of my birth experience, however, I understood that the health of our son was more important than my original plans. And to be quite frank, it was pretty darn freaky going into the unknown of an unexpected operation.

Labor & Birth:

Soon after, labor really started poppin’. I had heard stories from other women about the intensity of labor, but my goodness! That epidural barely took the edge off!

Multiple times throughout labor, the baby’s heart rate dropped drastically again and he began to lose oxygen. The medical staff would rush in my room to intervene, but thankfully his heart rate recovered quickly each time. It was an ongoing event. We just prayed that our son would be born quickly and safely.

At 8:21 am, after almost eight hours of labor, our son, Levi Andrew Jacobson, was born. It was the most invigorating and surreal moment of my life aside from marrying my husband. Hearing his little voice gifted me so much joy and unspeakable love. I never knew I could love someone so much so quickly. It was a relief to finally meet the tiny person had been growing inside me.

We then learned that Levi’s umbilical cord had been wrapped awkwardly multiple times around his body which was most likely the cause of the dips in his heart rate. After the nurses cleaned him up, Andrew, the baby, and I had the chance to bond just the three of us as a new family. Our room became quiet and complete in that moment.

Side note: I’m so grateful to have a life partner like Andrew. He was an amazing support the entire birth. I sure do love that man.

Recovery & Our New Home Life:

As a newbie to the game, motherhood has been joyful but at the same time exhausting (But I suppose that’s how the next eighteen years will be!). It got real as soon as we brought him home. The first two weeks were the hardest. Between breastfeeding, the lack of sleep, and adjusting to taking care of a little human, the struggle was real. Plus, we barely slept because we kept checking on him constantly day and night! We’ve since developed somewhat of a new routine to adjust to our crazy new lives. I sure am thankful that my husband took six weeks off from work!

Thankfully, Levi is a natural at breastfeeding. The guy loves his mama’s milk! He is a month old now and has gained roughly three pounds and grown over an inch! Since Levi’s birth, Andrew and I have grown closer as a couple and as a family. To add, our dog, Ranger loves Levi and is so protective of him!

I’m so looking forward to raising and loving our son. He has become my greatest joy, my heart is overflowing!

• Levi Andrew Jacobson
• 7lbs & 10 oz
• 20 & 1/2 inches long
• Born 11/13/2018 at 8:21 am