Labor Story

For all those who have been dying to know how labor went, here you go:

When I went in for my appointment on Friday, June 13, I was dilated to a 2, and 50% effaced. She stripped my membranes, but said that they were still pretty in tact, so not to plan on anything exciting happening. That was also my last day at work, because I wanted a week or so to get things ready around the house, and I had this awful fear of having my water break while at work.

So Monday came, and I had a wonderful friend come help me clean the house, so I at least felt somewhat ready to have the baby without worrying about coming home to a mess. I still felt really good, though tired, but no contractions to speak of besides the typical Braxton Hicks. Wednesday I spent the day with my mom running errands, and getting some last minute items. I had some random contractions, but nothing regular. That night we went to our niece Lindsay's dance recital, and I started to not feel so good, but nothing too unbearable.

We went to bed at about 11:30 that night, and I got up at 1:30 for my typical night-time trip to the bathroom. As soon as I laid my head back on the pillow to go to sleep, I felt like I had peed my pants. I knew that I had just emptied my bladder, so thought to myself, "I think my water just broke." Then, as if to confirm my suspicion, another gush came. I woke Brock up and told him that my water had broken, and I've never seen the boy wake up so fast! I wasn't having any contractions, so this wasn't at all how I had imagined things would go. I wasn't even sure if we needed to get to the hospital right away, so Brock called and asked. They told us to get there as soon as we could. Brock packed his bags, and we were off. I guess the good thing about going into labor in the middle of the night, is the lack of traffic. We made it in record time!

I got all checked into my room by 3:00 am. Still no contractions. They didn't want to check to see how far dilated I was since there is an increased chance of infection once your water breaks. So we just walked around the floor trying to get my contractions to start coming. They started about an hour later, and were really very bearable. Not that they didn't hurt, but I could breathe through the pain. Brock was great with helping me, and being a great labor coach. They came in around 6:30 and wanted to start me on some pitocin, because my contractions still weren't close enough together. I wanted to do an un-medicated delivery, and I knew that once the pitocin started, that would be harder to accomplish, so I had them check me to see how far progressed I was. I was at a 4, and 90% effaced. I asked them if I could try it for a bit longer to see if I could continue to progress on my own. They were okay with that, but didn't want to wait too long, since my water was broken. They give you an 18 hour window to deliver vaginally after your water breaks. After that, they seriously look at c-section, because the risk of infection is too high.

By 9:00, the contractions were really strong, and a bit harder to handle. I got in the tub, and though it usually relaxes me, it did nothing. I had them check me again to see how far I had progressed, and much to my dismay, I was still at a 4! Though I guess the consolation was that I was now fully effaced. Wooohoo!!! In nearly eight hours of labor, I had only dilated 2 centimeters at the most (who knows what I was when I went in). I decided that I just couldn't do 6 more centimeters and then push the little guy out. It was a tough decision, but I opted for the epidural. Best decision ever! They still had to give me a little pitocin to speed up my contractions, but by 1:30, I was complete.

He was still sitting up pretty high in the birth canal, and the doctor (who unfortunately was not my OB, but one of her partners) still had some appointments upstairs, so I just laid there ready to go, and let the contractions push him down for me. At about 4:00, I started pushing, and at 4:34 pm, our little boy entered the world.

He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and I still can't believe that he is mine. He had a little difficulty breathing at first, so they were suctioning out his lungs, and had him on some oxygen. Brock overheard them discussing whether or not to call in the NICU team, but he finally cried that beautiful cry, and pinked up. It was truly the most amazing experience of my life. I can't imagine anything being better than that first moment when I got to meet the little angel who had been growing inside of me for the past nine months. He is perfect, and such a sweet boy, and I love him more than anything!