DH and I found out that we were pregnant on February 8, 2009. We had been trying for about 5 months and finally, we got the BFP on our pregnancy test. It was an awesome day and I had a wonderful pregnancy with no complications, thank God. My due date was set for October 20, 2009 and so it began....
October 20th came and went without so much as a peep from in there. Our darling mystery seemed perfectly content to just hang out in the womb (i mean, who wouldn't??). So, I patiently waited and tried lots of the tricks for jumpstarting labor (evening primrose, spicy food, eggplant parm, other stuff, etc.) I wasn't uncomfortable or anything but I was trying to avoid the dreaded induction. You see, I knew before we even started TTC that I wanted to "go natural" so induction was really not interesting to me at all!
On October 25th, DH and I went for a long walk in the park and then picked up Chinese food. We ate that and then went for a tour of a local mansion with, yes, more walking. Came home and had some soup for dinner and went to bed. Again, no so much as a whisper from my loins when we laid down. At about 12:45am, I woke up for the first of my 5 routine trips to "water the plants" and felt different. Took a look at the clock and realized I felt the same way about 15 minutes later.
Flash forward to 3:30am - woke up DH to tell him I was in labor. Labored on the ball and in bed - felt pretty great and very excited. Called my mom at 5:00am and told her to make her way down here. While we waited for her, I took a shower and washed/dryed my hair. I know that some people think that was crazy, but for me - it worked for 2 reasons. 1) It gave me something to do and 2) It helped me to keep from looking like a complete zombie.
We labored at home until about 7:45am, when contractions were anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart. Drove to the hospital (having 3 torturous contractions in the car) and went to the L&D floor (after scaring the poor SOB who thought it would be smart to ride the elevator with a woman in labor - poor guy!).
I had called ahead and pre-registered so I figured checking in would be a breeze. Um, no. First, we had to wait for the receptionist to answer the bell. When she came to the window, she said "What can I do for you?" Had I been of sound mind, I would have replied "Oh, nothing. Just passing through". But, as I was doubled over on my birthing ball in front of all of the nice people in the waiting room, I just said "I am in labor..I called ahead?" After about 5 minutes of her finding my paperwork, she finally unlocked the big doors to let us in.
I got myself settled onto the bed and never even put on a gown because I was too anxious to see how far along we were and I figured I had time. (HA HA HA). So, there I laid in my nursing tank top in all of my glory for anyone who entered the room to see. At 8:30am, I was 8 cm dilated and at +2 station. I was so proud of myself that I made it to 8 cm and was doing pretty well as far as pain management was concerned.
Well - then the drama began. I was group B strep positive (GBS+) so I had to have a course of antibiotics via IV during labor. That, plus the monitors, kept me confined to my bed, much to my dismay. I had labored on my birth ball all morning and laying in bed was not my preferred position. I tried to squat in bed, but that was really hard. I tried getting on all fours, but that was also energy-draining. Everything was moving so quickly and not at all how I had pictured in my head. I had envisioned this serene and quiet birthing room with music and focal points etc etc etc. Instead, I kept getting hooked up to things and checked by doctors and nurses all the while managing the contractions. Ugh.
At 10:45am, I was 9cm and +1 station. My water broke, which felt awesome. The attending ob told me that I was doing great, would not need drugs if I had made it this far and that I would probably be pushing in 30-45 minutes. I could do this..I felt it. I used a bed pan for the first time and found the bars of the bed to be an amazing counter-pressure point for my face (although I am sure that I was freaking my DH and Mom out by trying to shove my face through the side of the bed)
An hour later, I was in so much pain and felt so much pressure in my nether region that I was begging to push. Then, the most painful experience I ever had occured - the attending ob said that she wanted to examine me while I was having a contraction to see if the remaining lip of cervix was disappearing with contractions. I agreed because, hell, if it meant I could push I was all for it. Until she put her hand you know where and I contracted. I think I must have looked like Linda Blair in the Exocist because I screamed for her to GET OUT!!!
Just then, my worst fears were realized. The nurse came over, put an oxygen mask on me, and told me to take some long, deep breaths. I watched my mom and DH looking at the fetal monitor and then to the nurse. My OB came in and examined me - my cervix had actually swollen a bit and was back closer to 8 cm. I was devastated. I hung in there until 11:45am but then my OB took a look at the fetal monitor and told me that my little one's heart tones had dropped and were not coming back up. She told me that an emegency c-section was in our very near future. I was so sad - I looked at my husband and mom and just broke down. They grabbed my husband and threw scrubs at him. They threw a sheet over me and wheeled me away. 5 minutes later, they made their first incision, my DH came into the operating room, and then at 12:06pm, my darling little son was born. Screaming.
Turns out, his foot was wrapped in the UC and when I was contracting, it was cutting off ciruclation to him. He was fine - better than fine - but I was in shock. I couldn't believe that he was here. That quickly. I just was trying to take it all in and absorb the fact that I was a mom now. The journey had begun . . .
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