Hi guys! I’m so excited to share that my sister, Hannah, welcomed her baby boy into the world! Gideon arrived on Sunday April 13th, 2025 and we are praising God for him! Isn’t he a cutie?

His arrival was intense, so I wanted to welcome Hannah to the blog to share what went down. She and Gideon both went through so much, and I am continually giving thanks to God for both of them being safe and healthy today. Hannah is one strong woman physically, emotionally, and spiritually and I am constantly in awe of the grace she carries as she has been through so many trials and challenges 🩵

I definitely look up to my little sister and pray I can have half the courage and fortitude she displays in her life. Okay, enough of my talking, here’s Hannah!

Gideon’s Birth Story

I guess I can back up and start this story with Thursday, April 10th. I was 36 weeks on the nose and had noticed some clear fluid leaking ever so slightly for a few days but wasn’t sure what to do. I messaged my doctor and they recommended I come in to labor and delivery just to be sure. When they tested to see if it was amniotic fluid, the test came back negative so they sent me home. I was 3cm dilated & 60% effaced.

Friday and Saturday I felt fine, just a little off of my normal self, but nothing I was worried about. Saturday evening we went out to Applebee’s as a family to get the kiddos out of the house and be together as a family. It was so nice. When we got back home, we were getting the kiddos into the tub and I noticed that I started leaking fluid again but more so in gushes. I texted Allie and asked her if she thought I was just peeing and after denying it and feeling embarrassed to call the doctor *again* when I was just there Thursday, I called again and they said to definitely come in because it sounded like my water had broken for sure this time.

This came as a surprise because I had never had my water break before or gone into labor with my other three pregnancies and definitely not at 36 weeks and three days! I was induced with all three of my other kids, at 41 weeks and one day, 39 weeks and 6 days, and 37 weeks (due to IUGR diagnosis). 

When we arrived at the hospital, they did the same tests they did on Thursday, but they came back as negative again. The doctor wasn’t convinced and decided to do an ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid levels. They like to see 5cm at the least and were only seeing 2cm for me, so they decided an induction that night. So over to labor and delivery we went and they began my Pitocin! Around 1:35 am Sunday the 13th I began having contractions. I was 3cm and about 60% effaced, the same as Thursday.

They had me labor and slowly increased the Pitocin from 2-8mL/hour. At 5:00 am they rechecked me and I was 5cm and about 70% effaced. I felt good, or as good as you feel when you’re in labor 🤣 Right around 5:20 am or so, the nurse and one of the doctors came back in the room because Gideon’s heart rate was slowing. After readjusting the monitor on my belly and having me flip to both sides there were no changes. By this time two or three more nurses entered the room along with the other doctor.

All of the sudden, I was getting a shot in my arm and the doctor was doing an ultrasound to check Gideon’s heart. It was beating, but very slowly. The shot was to slow the contractions and they were putting an operating room cap on my head. The doctor said, “If this shot does not work we will be getting him out real quick.” I heard the announcement over the speaker in the hallway that said something about “Emergency c-section to the OR”.

Within seconds I was wheeling down the hallway with my husband following behind me. They brought the ultrasound machine with them. They were still looking for his heart rate and had me transfer over to the operating table. The doctor said, “We need anesthesiology up here now.” Then she looked at me and said, “Okay, we are going to put you under and intubate you and he is going to be out within one minute!” I just remember asking if he was alive and they said that he was alive. Then they put an oxygen mask over my mouth and nose and told me to breathe. 

The next thing I remember is waking up, not knowing where I was and I was shaking and could not stop. Josh was holding my hand on my left and another nurse was on my right. Suddenly it hit me and I asked, “Is he okay? Is he alive?” And they said “Yes, he is alive.” I could breathe. I could not stop shaking and it hurt my stomach so bad, but I couldn’t stop the shakes! It was adrenaline and post-birth hitting me all at once I suppose. 

From Josh’s point of view, after they wheeled me away from the labor and delivery room, he was in the hallway and could see through the blinds. He saw Gideon right after they took him out of me and laid him on the table. He was born at 5:30 am and weighed 5lbs 9oz and was 18.5 inches long.

They were working on getting his heart rate and breathing in check and then Josh heard him cry. He said he was just praying and watching. Then they had him go back to our labor and delivery room to wait for another 35-40 minutes. He got to see Gideon at this point and they explained that he had some issues with his breathing because he had a few pneumothoraxes in his lungs (pockets of air/bubbles in his lungs) so they had to place a chest tube and get him to a different hospital (West Penn Hospital–which is a Level 3 hospital with a NICU). 

Another 30 or so minutes passed and Josh got to see me. They brought him to the postpartum room to wait and then they brought me in before I was awake yet. We later learned that the reason Gideon’s heart rate was dropping was because I had a placental abruption. This happens when the placenta detaches from the wall of the uterus before delivery. It reduces baby’s oxygen supply, which explains why his heart rate went so low.

I would say when I woke up it was somewhere around 7:00 am and it took me a while to get my bearings. I had a lot of peace about him going to West Penn but I was so sad I didn’t meet my baby yet. In my mind, he wasn’t born yet! I didn’t see it happen and I didn’t get to hold him until 9:00 pm that night. It was a strange day to say the least. But I did get to see him before he was life flighted around 9:30 am.

We had to stay at the hospital I delivered at (Forbes Regional) because I was still post-op from surgery. We were there until about 6:00 pm. They took me in an ambulance to West Penn Hospital and Josh drove our van there.

I got to meet Gideon and touch him in his incubator at about 7:00 pm and it was glorious!

Then at 9:00 pm we got to hold Gideon for the first time and I’ll never forget it.

He will spend some time in the NICU at West Penn, but hopefully we will be bringing him home soon to meet the best big siblings out there!!

It was a hectic and unexpected way that everything went down, but boy is God so good to us. There were so many things that *could* have happened but did not! He is healthy and in my arms. I couldn’t imagine going through any of this without God and Josh by my side. He has given us strength and peace that really does surpass all understanding.

We have prayed so many times in fear and thanksgiving these last couple of days. And let me tell you, Josh has been the ultimate husband/nurse/dad. We have grown closer than ever and I couldn’t imagine anyone better to be with me through this crazy experience. I thank God for him everyday. We have had amazing support from family and I feel so loved and blessed. Between snacks, Door Dash deliveries, visits, meals, text messages, phone calls and so much more, I just can’t stop counting my blessings.

Thank you all for reading and for the prayers! And thank you Allie for letting me share this. 🥰