Throughout the night of the 19th and into the morning of the 20th I had a pretty restless night. I kept waking up with what I thought were some of the Braxton-Hicks I had been having for the last several weeks. Finally, at 7:00 am, Josh and I started timing them as they began to get stronger. They were consistently 3 - 5 minutes apart and though they hurt, they weren't the agonizing pain that most women describe. We called the hospital to see what we should do and they said their policy is to come in when they are regular. I slowly got ready between contractions and then Josh and I went out to the car. As we were driving, we still weren't sure whether or not we were going to head to the hospital or just over to my parent's house. My contractions began to get a little stronger and we figured that if they weren't strong enough for the hospital to want to keep me, we might be able to talk them into induction since I was past my due date and we were going to discuss that at my appointment that day anyway.
We parked at the hospital and a nice little old man in a hospital golf cart valet-ed us to the doors and got me a wheelchair. I had already preregistered so they got me checked in nice and fast and up to a room where I changed into a hospital gown. My contractions were getting even stronger so I was REALLY hoping they wouldn't turn me away. By this time, my mom had made it to the hospital as well. They got me hooked up to the baby's heart monitor and the contraction monitor then checked my dilation. I was at 4 cm! That meant I wouldn't be sent back home!
From this point, everything was cruising. They ordered the epidural and in the meantime my contractions were manageable. The anesthesiologist came and had me sit up hunched over. The administering of the epidural was one of the most painful experiences I ever had in my life. I felt like someone was crushing my spine on both sides and bawled the whole time. But it was worth it! Bad pain, one time, for just a couple of minutes instead of horrible pain every 3 -5 minutes. I'll take it. Next, Dad made it to the hospital and he and Josh were able to give me a blessing.
They checked me after the epidural and I was a 6! We had only been there for about 2 hours. At this point, we were thinking I would be delivering in no time and my parents were talking about getting the kids out of school early. Dad, Jordan, and Kaitlyn were already in the waiting room. The only slight hitch was that periodically I would get super nauseous and start throwing up (which is not very fun when there isn't anything in your stomach to come up except for bile).
We kept joking that everything was going just a little too smoothly and we were waiting for the other shoe to drop. And at this point, it did. I was dilated to 7 cm when my labor completely stopped, most likely as a result of the epidural. The nurses gave me some pitocin to try and get things moving again. Over the next 5 hours, the nurses continued to check me, but with no luck. I was a 7 every time.
My epidural began to wear off and I developed an excruciating hot spot in my right lower back. Around the same time, the nurses suggested that I turn over on all fours for a half hour to see if that would get labor moving again. The combination of the position and the hot-spot were horrible. All I could do was cry my eyes out every time a contraction hit while the nurses went in search of the anesthesiologist (who, fortunately, had a late meeting and hadn't left the hospital yet). At this point, the doctor also came in to assess the situation and the words "c-section" were thrown around for the first time. This did not help my already extremely fragile emotional state. I was terrified of c-sections in general, but I also hated the idea of a scar on my uterus when we already had fertility problems this time as well as how that would impact the number of kids that we could have in the future. Seeing how much the idea upset me, the doctor said she would give us a little more time, but didn't have much hope because I wasn't progressing, the baby was face-up, and it appeared that I might be too small for him to fit through.
Finally, the anesthesiologist came and put me out of my misery and the nurses had me turn over and checked me again. I was at a 9! As uncomfortable as it was, being on all fours did get things moving again. We only had one more centimeter to go.
A little bit later, I was at a 9.5 and mentally preparing myself for pushing. A little bit after that...still at a 9.5. The doctor came in to check for herself and had me push a couple times. Then she announced that the baby definitely would not fit and that a c-section really was our only option.
Josh and I had said several prayers and when the doctor made this announcement we both felt like it was right. And, let me add at this point, that Josh was absolutely amazing through out everything. He was so attentive and sweet. Even though everything was stressful and scary for him, too, he was an absolute rock for me the whole time. I don't know what I would do without him! Mom also stayed with me and it was a huge blessing to have her there. She's more than a little experienced with giving birth and was amazing at giving great advice and encouragement or just offering comfort when I hurt. As a matter of fact, my whole family is amazing and supportive. I am very blessed.
So, after laboring for about 14 hours to 9.5cm, I found myself preparing for a c-section. The surgical staff had already gone home, so we had to wait for them to return to the hospital. I laid in my bed absolutely exhausted. I can't ever remember being this tired in my entire life. Just opening my eyes took monumental effort. Doctors and nurses were buzzing in and out getting us ready and telling us what to expect but I couldn't even open my eyes to look at them. Fortunately, Josh and Mom did most of the conversing with them. I heard the anesthesiologist tell Josh that there were two ways to do the c-section: with me awake or by putting me under. If I was awake, which they would try first, then Josh could be in there. Unfortuately, because of my performance earlier in the day, they knew I was prone to hysterics (oops). He told Josh that if I got hysterical again they would have to put me under and Josh wouldn't be able to be in there. So I knew that no matter what, I had to stay calm.
The staff finally arrived and they wheeled me into the delivery room where they strapped my arms down like a scarecrow and put up the screen so that I couldn't see my belly. Still so tired, I had my eyes closed most of the time. I was terrified that I was going to miss out on the experience and on enjoying my first moments with my baby because I wouldn't be able to stay awake and alert. After a short time, I guess they decided I wasn't in danger of going ballistic because Josh came in with his scrubs and surgical mask on.
Just a few minutes later and they were cutting me open while Josh held my hand. Then they told Josh to get the camera ready because it was almost time. I couldn't see anything, but I finally heard my baby cry for the first time, and it was the most wonderful sound! I heard someone mention his hair (which was surprising because I was expecting him to be bald).
They held him up for me to see for about 2 seconds before whisking him over behind me to be checked out. Josh, at least, was able to follow him.
I tried to look at him over my shoulder while they worked on getting out my placenta, but all I could really see was the top of his head. And he did have hair! After about 5 minutes they brought him over for me to hold while they stitched me up. He was the most beautiful newborn ever. He was wide awake- all of the doctors and nurses kept commenting on how alert he was! He was staring all around him with the most beautiful blue eyes. Josh and I immediately fell in love.
I was able to enjoy about 15 minutes with my baby before they pushed me away to a recovery room and Josh went with him to the nursery to see him weighed and measured, and my family was able to see him for the first time.
To be continued...
We parked at the hospital and a nice little old man in a hospital golf cart valet-ed us to the doors and got me a wheelchair. I had already preregistered so they got me checked in nice and fast and up to a room where I changed into a hospital gown. My contractions were getting even stronger so I was REALLY hoping they wouldn't turn me away. By this time, my mom had made it to the hospital as well. They got me hooked up to the baby's heart monitor and the contraction monitor then checked my dilation. I was at 4 cm! That meant I wouldn't be sent back home!
From this point, everything was cruising. They ordered the epidural and in the meantime my contractions were manageable. The anesthesiologist came and had me sit up hunched over. The administering of the epidural was one of the most painful experiences I ever had in my life. I felt like someone was crushing my spine on both sides and bawled the whole time. But it was worth it! Bad pain, one time, for just a couple of minutes instead of horrible pain every 3 -5 minutes. I'll take it. Next, Dad made it to the hospital and he and Josh were able to give me a blessing.
They checked me after the epidural and I was a 6! We had only been there for about 2 hours. At this point, we were thinking I would be delivering in no time and my parents were talking about getting the kids out of school early. Dad, Jordan, and Kaitlyn were already in the waiting room. The only slight hitch was that periodically I would get super nauseous and start throwing up (which is not very fun when there isn't anything in your stomach to come up except for bile).
We kept joking that everything was going just a little too smoothly and we were waiting for the other shoe to drop. And at this point, it did. I was dilated to 7 cm when my labor completely stopped, most likely as a result of the epidural. The nurses gave me some pitocin to try and get things moving again. Over the next 5 hours, the nurses continued to check me, but with no luck. I was a 7 every time.
My epidural began to wear off and I developed an excruciating hot spot in my right lower back. Around the same time, the nurses suggested that I turn over on all fours for a half hour to see if that would get labor moving again. The combination of the position and the hot-spot were horrible. All I could do was cry my eyes out every time a contraction hit while the nurses went in search of the anesthesiologist (who, fortunately, had a late meeting and hadn't left the hospital yet). At this point, the doctor also came in to assess the situation and the words "c-section" were thrown around for the first time. This did not help my already extremely fragile emotional state. I was terrified of c-sections in general, but I also hated the idea of a scar on my uterus when we already had fertility problems this time as well as how that would impact the number of kids that we could have in the future. Seeing how much the idea upset me, the doctor said she would give us a little more time, but didn't have much hope because I wasn't progressing, the baby was face-up, and it appeared that I might be too small for him to fit through.
Finally, the anesthesiologist came and put me out of my misery and the nurses had me turn over and checked me again. I was at a 9! As uncomfortable as it was, being on all fours did get things moving again. We only had one more centimeter to go.
A little bit later, I was at a 9.5 and mentally preparing myself for pushing. A little bit after that...still at a 9.5. The doctor came in to check for herself and had me push a couple times. Then she announced that the baby definitely would not fit and that a c-section really was our only option.
Josh and I had said several prayers and when the doctor made this announcement we both felt like it was right. And, let me add at this point, that Josh was absolutely amazing through out everything. He was so attentive and sweet. Even though everything was stressful and scary for him, too, he was an absolute rock for me the whole time. I don't know what I would do without him! Mom also stayed with me and it was a huge blessing to have her there. She's more than a little experienced with giving birth and was amazing at giving great advice and encouragement or just offering comfort when I hurt. As a matter of fact, my whole family is amazing and supportive. I am very blessed.
So, after laboring for about 14 hours to 9.5cm, I found myself preparing for a c-section. The surgical staff had already gone home, so we had to wait for them to return to the hospital. I laid in my bed absolutely exhausted. I can't ever remember being this tired in my entire life. Just opening my eyes took monumental effort. Doctors and nurses were buzzing in and out getting us ready and telling us what to expect but I couldn't even open my eyes to look at them. Fortunately, Josh and Mom did most of the conversing with them. I heard the anesthesiologist tell Josh that there were two ways to do the c-section: with me awake or by putting me under. If I was awake, which they would try first, then Josh could be in there. Unfortuately, because of my performance earlier in the day, they knew I was prone to hysterics (oops). He told Josh that if I got hysterical again they would have to put me under and Josh wouldn't be able to be in there. So I knew that no matter what, I had to stay calm.
The staff finally arrived and they wheeled me into the delivery room where they strapped my arms down like a scarecrow and put up the screen so that I couldn't see my belly. Still so tired, I had my eyes closed most of the time. I was terrified that I was going to miss out on the experience and on enjoying my first moments with my baby because I wouldn't be able to stay awake and alert. After a short time, I guess they decided I wasn't in danger of going ballistic because Josh came in with his scrubs and surgical mask on.
Just a few minutes later and they were cutting me open while Josh held my hand. Then they told Josh to get the camera ready because it was almost time. I couldn't see anything, but I finally heard my baby cry for the first time, and it was the most wonderful sound! I heard someone mention his hair (which was surprising because I was expecting him to be bald).
They held him up for me to see for about 2 seconds before whisking him over behind me to be checked out. Josh, at least, was able to follow him.
To be continued...
