On Tuesday, July 13th I had an OB appt. I requested that he 'strip my membranes'. Because I was hoping it would put me into labor soon. He doesn't like doing it, but did anyways... but only 'gently'. LOL!
Well, it worked. From that afternoon, I started having random, sporadic contractions. No biggie really... I figured, Braxton Hicks. Tuesday night, my sister in law told me she would take my boys for a while the next day while she treated me with a gift certificate for some pampering... A mani/pedi (Awwww, I love her!).
Wednesday, I posted on Facebook that I was "hell bent on having this baby tonight or tomorrow". The contractions continued all morning... but not with regularity. I texted my husband that "these damn fake contractions are getting me annoyed, but not getting me to the hospital" he replied "maybe tonight". In the early afternoon, I brought by boys to the SIL's house. She told me to have the people doing my pedicure to rub all the pressure points that trigger labor contractions. I enjoyed my little pampering session... I went to pick up my boys, visited with SIL about an hour, then headed home.
I literally did not sit down after getting home. I figured that if I stayed on my feet, maybe gravity would do the work for me. I cleaned house mostly. The Hubs got home soon after that... about 4pm. I informed him that my "dumb contractions" were about 15 mins apart... so maybe I really was in labor, but that at 15 mins (and not all that strong) it could still be another day or more away. So I kept killing time... not sitting down. Soon, they were about 10 mins apart. So he started timing them for me. I cooked dinner.
He kept timing contractions, I went out in the yard to walk around, I talked for a few mins with my neighbor. By 7pm, they were 7 mins apart, and getting a little stronger. But I still wasn't all that uncomfortable. The Hubs was SURE we needed to go to the hospital. I told him it wasn't time. He was a nervous wreck... (to be fair, our first child came in only 5 hours. I was 9cm by the time we got to the hospital, so I understand why he was nervous. He didn't want to deliver our baby, LOL! And our hospital is about 40mins away.) So to put his mind at ease, at least a little, I told him I'd call Labor & Delivery. They didn't seem to think it was crucial for me to come yet. I told him that and he said the nurse was dumb. I held out.
Ok, so finally, by 8 or 8:30pm... the contractions were coming about 5mins apart, and strong enough that I decided to sit down, LOL! But I was just so scared that I was going to go into L&D with my 3rd child and they were going to tell me that it was false labor, haha!
By now... my poor husband was practically begging me to go to the hospital. Nope. I told him that it wasn't time yet, and I didn't want to be stuck in an uncomfortable hospital bed any longer than I had to be, thank you. He informed me that I'm stubborn and hard-headed.
By 9:30... I was feeling way uncomfortable, and having to breath through the contractions. They were still about 5 mins apart, but getting stronger. I told The Hubs "We'll go soon. But not yet".
At 10pm... I called my mom: "Can you come over and stay with the boys? We need to go to the hospital." The Hubs let out a huge sigh of relief.
Mom gets up to the house, I kiss my boys goodbye and off we go. By now (10:20pm) the contractions are pretty bad. 3 mins apart. I cannot stand up at all during one anymore, and I'm REALLY breathing. We get to the hospital in record time. We get out of the truck, and start across the parking lot. I'm walking. Then a massive contraction hits and I double over in pain. Poor husband. He thinks I'm collapsing and goes to catch me. I breath through it, and he grabs me a wheelchair that got left in the lot.
It's nighttime, so we have to enter through the ER and go up to L&D. Once we get there, admissions finds my record, and tells L&D nurse over the phone that I appear to be 'active'. So the nurse comes out... See's the way I'm breathing and agrees. They did not waste time putting me into an exam room or labor room. They brought be straight to delivery. While they are putting all my info in the computer, a mid-wife does an internal exam. I am already between 4-5 cm dilated. Do I want pain control? Yes please! What? The anesthesiologist is doing a C-section, I have to wait. In the meantime they put something in my IV to 'take the edge off'.
An hour and a half and one Facebook status update later... I get my epidural. Oh. My. Gosh. THANK YOU GOD for epidurals!!!!!!
Epidural got put in kind of sideways though, so my left side got SUPER numb... right side, not so numb, LOL!
A little while later, another exam shows me to be 9cm. It's about 11:30pm. So, we wait. And The Hubs and I drift in and out of restless sleep.
(It's Thursday, July 15th now!) FINALLY around 2:30am, I am 10cm. Let's do a push on the next contraction to see how it goes. So, I push. Nurse tells me that even though I'm 10cm, baby hasn't gotten low enough in the birth canal for pushing yet. Let's wait a while.
About 3:30am, I tell the nurse that I need to have the baby before sunrise. She agrees that it's time to try pushing again. And so we push through about 3 contractions. Hard work.
Baby is stubborn. She will not drop lower. She also appears to be a little 'sideways'. Probably the reason why she's not descending. So, here's the fun part. I have to push on my side. So, they help roll me (I can't roll myself, I'm numb!) onto my left side. And I push through 3 contractions. Then, they help roll me onto my right side, 3 more contractions. Back onto my back... baby seems to have straightened out. Push again. She's finally making her way down!!!!
At this point, the nurse 'calls for backup'. A few more nurses arrive. I keep pushing with each contraction. The OB finally arrives and the fun begins. So I huff, and I puff and I... oh wait... Ok,so I push and push. Little Lady is finally making an appearance, I'm crowning. So more pushing finally her head starts to emerge. They are saying that she doesn't have much hair. More pushing. Almost there! Keep going! Ok, her head will be out on the next push. WHAT?!?!? She's 'sunnyside up' (for those that don't know... babies come out 'face down'. Looking at the floor. She was looking at the ceiling). No wonder it didn't seem like she had much hair... that was her forehead!
A few more pushes to go... and SHE'S HERE!!!!
So, after about 2 hours of pushing, my bundle of joy arrives. She is 7lbs 2oz. Born at 5:05am on July 15th. What a relief! I cried happy tears.
(There's more to tell... coming soon!!!)
