The Akins: Colson's Birth

I went in for induction at 5 AM. It was such a weird experience for me to be a patient at my work. I was so incredibly lucky to have all my friends around to visit with me all day and I knew I was in great hands. My friends Jennifer and Ginger were my labor nurses and my friend Anne was Colson's nurse. I really felt like I was getting the royal treatment. I tried not to watch the fetal monitor and allow everyone to do their jobs and I feel like I did a pretty good job. Around lunch time I started to dilate pretty quickly. Colson's heart rate was dropping and to know what is going on can be kind of scary. Dr. Reddy had to use the vacuum to get him out because his heart rate was consistently in the 70s. His cord was wrapped so tightly around his neck it had to be cut when just his head was out. He was a very stunned baby when he arrived and white as a sheet. Dr. Reddy placed him on my chest and I went into full nursery nurse mode. Dr. Holler is one of our neonatologist (and an incredibly nice man) and he was attending my delivery as a courtesy to me. I was so glad he was there because we ended up needing him. Colson did way better than his brother did but he still scared me! His one minute APGAR was a 6 (not great but not a 2 like Cade). Shane has such anxiety about labor and delivery following our experience with Cade and I tried to convince him that is a rare experience. And then here comes Colson. Shane only freaked out a little bit and had to sit right when I was delivering him.

My first thought when I saw his beautiful face was that I was surprised by how incredibly cute he was. It is so amazing to love someone so much and so quickly. Everyone instantly fell in love with Colson. He was the cutest baby in the nursery by far (at least they told me that.) He weighed in at 8lbs 5 oz. and was 21in long.