Grayson James Batte

For months Jenny and I had been talking and texting about the arrival of baby Grayson! To say I was excited to be at his birth was an understatement! I knew that I was going to be out of town the first couple of weekends in January and I was praying that he would not come early. His due date came and went and finally the day arrived for his induction. I had prepared everything the night before and after talking with Jenny, decided to come down to the hospital around mid morning. We had texted back and forth that morning and everything was going well. They broke her water and she said she would message me back when the doctor came in.  About an hour later while dropping my middle daughter off for school, JOSH texted me. "Jenny is at 6cm, come as soon as you can!" I about died! I rushed back home, got my stuff, and called my sister in law to come get my other girls. I seriously drove like a crazy person. Her best friend Megan was texting me all the way and when I pulled into the hospital she was at 8cm. I ran into the hospital, and she continued to progress to 9cm. I had made it...and then she stopped progressing! That last centimeter took an hour and a half at least! I was just happy that I had made it. Finally, the nurse came in and said that it was time! I got in position, her mom was in the room, Josh by her side, and Megan on the other side. She started to push and immediately I knew something was wrong. The nurse got quiet and Megan was looking at me. Megan and I have known each other for a long time and I knew that something was not ok. She looked at the heart monitor with tears in her eyes, Grayson's heart rate had dropped and was not coming back up. In a matter of seconds the doctor had come in, they turned Jenny on her side, and then the other side. Then the doctor said, "Ok, he is not going to tolerate labor, we are going to do a c-section." Everyone was ushered out except for Josh and they prepped Jenny for surgery. She was rushed down the hall. I just stood there with Megan, numb. This is not what we had planned. I've had 3 babies of my own and I know they do this everyday, but I was scared. I immediately texted my husband and my church leaders group and told them to pray! I stood in the hallway with her best friend, with tears in our eyes, and just prayed. We waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, we got word that everything had went well and baby Grayson was here! He and Jenny were fine. Ya'll I was so relieved. Thankfully everything was ok and Jenny, Josh, and Grayson are all doing great! He's eating, sleeping, and growing more adorable each day. Jenny and Josh are amazing parents and they are crazy about their little guy. Sometimes things don't go as planned. I was suppose to photograph Grayson's birth, but instead I ended up doing something much more important...praying during his birth.