When J and I started trying for a family, I would spend hours scouring the blog world reading birth stories. I loved knowing that women like me had gone through an amazing miracle and would share their stories with the world. I found so many to be helpful and educational, as well as inspiring and hopeful. Maybe my story will be remembered by some other mother-to-be.
Around 1:00 in the morning I was woken up by an 'odd' feeling. In my sleep induced state, I assumed I needed to use the restroom so I began my '9 month pregnancy rock' to scoot me to the edge of the bed. As quick as the feeling came, it ended, so I just fell back asleep. This happened a few more times before I finally woke up enough to realize that something was going on. I grabbed my phone off the night stand and started tracking my contractions. By the 4th contraction I realized that we may be in for the long haul. One whole week early!!
Saturday November, 29th
I felt my first contraction. On a pain scale of 1 to 10, they topped out at maybe a 1.5. When I would get up and walk around, the contractions would end and I felt fine. A few hours after they started, they were over. False Labor it was! J was at a Carroll College football game and I waited to tell him I was experiencing false labor until he got home. The rest of the evening we spent relaxing and I went to bed not feeling another one.
Now - to backtrack some here. J and I were being very careful up until Thanksgiving that we wouldn't do anything that could possibly jump start labor. Being constantly told we were going to go early had us on high alert until after the holiday. I was excited that the first sign of any progress showed up the Saturday after Thanksgiving :)
Sunday November 30th
That evening, false labor came back. Once again the sporadic and inconsistent contractions would end if I got up and walked around. Just a few hours after they began, they ended. I had my 39 week appointment Wednesday, December 3rd and I was excited that I had finally felt a contractions so I could have my Dr check to see if I was making any progress, though I still believed my baby wouldn't arrive until closer to December 10th.
Tuesday night December 2nd
Wednesday December 3rd
J and I had dinner and headed to bed a little early. Then we ended up staying up later than expected talking about the future and all of the possible changes. I finally fell asleep around 10:30. J fell asleep at 11:45.
Wednesday December 3rd
Around 1:00 in the morning I was woken up by an 'odd' feeling. In my sleep induced state, I assumed I needed to use the restroom so I began my '9 month pregnancy rock' to scoot me to the edge of the bed. As quick as the feeling came, it ended, so I just fell back asleep. This happened a few more times before I finally woke up enough to realize that something was going on. I grabbed my phone off the night stand and started tracking my contractions. By the 4th contraction I realized that we may be in for the long haul. One whole week early!!
In an effort to let J sleep longer, I headed to the family room to watch some TV and pass the time. I barely made it an hour before I started to become concerned. The pain was only a 3, but they were coming 3 minutes apart for 45 seconds.
Knowing that my Dr wanted us to head to the hospital at 5-1-1 (5 minutes apart, one minute long, for one hour) and I was almost at 3-1-1, it was time to start thinking about heading to the hospital. I was still in denial that "real" labor was starting so I decided to hop in the shower to see if my labor would slow down or maybe stop. I woke J up just after 2 AM to let him know that I was contracting and going to shower. After 30 minutes of standing in the hot water and contractions were not slowing but intensifying, I decided I might as well wash up and get ready to head to the hospital. J came in at this time to check on me and agreed that we needed to load up the hospital bag.
At 3:30 in the morning we pulled up at the hospital and checked in. I was thinking I was at least at 3 cm dilated because I was hovering around a 4 on the pain scale. When I was checked I was only 1.5 cm dilated so the nurse recommended we walk the halls for an hour and get re-checked. (hello party of wimp) While J and I were walking I would pull him in front of me and put my head in the middle of his chest and grip his arms. He would then zip his jacket back up once we started walking. After the third time doing this, and ripping his jacket zipper back down so I didn't head butt it, I finally growled at him mid-contraction. "Leave your damn zipper alone!". I did apologize once baby arrived. :)
After an hour of walking the halls I was checked and had made no progress. (according to that nurse. Our delivery nurse, Orpha, told us she saw us leave that morning and knew I'd be back in that morning, I was laboring fast.) With a "pep talk" from the nurse saying 'Labor is a marathon, not a sprint' (said in your most annoying voice) I felt defeated. I knew that I was exhausted from no sleep and couldn't walk the halls for another hour. The contractions were stronger and I was losing the ability to talk through them. I asked J to take me home to labor for a while hoping I could rest between them and maybe even catch a little sleep. We got home around 6 AM and I tried to nap on the couch but contracting every 2-3 minutes didn't give me much of a break. So J ran me a hot bath and the sweet guy pulled in all of the blankets from the living room so he could lay on the floor next to me while I was in pain.
As much as I appreciated his concern, I told J to head to bed because I really needed him to get some sleep before the show really got going. I was going to be leaning on him for my strength and if he was exhausted it wouldn't do either of us any good. He reluctantly headed to bed and set his alarm for 20 minutes to come check on me. The hot bath did WONDERS for the pain and I was finally able to close my eyes for just a few minutes. Then THE contraction hit. I went from a 3/4 on the pain scale to a 7. I swear I was climbing the shower wall. The next 15 minutes were a blur of me trying to put my clothes back on in the middle of much more intense contractions and then trying to find a comfortable position to labor in. I was afraid if we headed back to the hospital I wouldn't have made much progress and I couldn't be admitted. J saw how much pain I was in and encouraged me to hit the road. This time, there was no way I could sit in the front seat. I COULD NOT labor sitting down. So instead I climbed into the very back of the Jeep and rocked back and forth on my hands and knees until we arrived.
**Contractions are NO JOKE!**
At the hospital I was in so much pain that I wouldn't let J stop at the admitting desk on the main floor. Instead I headed straight to the elevator to go to the Woman and Children's floor. When we walked to the main desk full of nurses at 9:30 in the morning J announces ' She was at a 5 earlier, but she's at an 8 now.' I was in the middle of a contraction I couldn't breathe through and the nurses jumped to life at his announcement. Once I could breathe, I informed them '8 on the pain scale.' That brought out a few laughs! Turns out, J wasn't far off.
Our most amazing nurse, Orpha, took us to a room and checked me. Less than 3 hours after we left the hospital at 1.5 cm dilated, I was 7 cm dilated and beginning transition. As soon as she made the announcement I yelped out "Epidural! I want one now!'. I was suddenly scared that if an epidural wasn't administered soon, I would end up delivering with out pain meds. That sent me into slight hysterics. I was in excruciating pain, my back would not stop hurting and contractions were coming 2-2 1/2 minutes a part and lasting for a minute or longer. For someone who's never had menstrual cramps, this was a whole new experience and one I was not mentally prepared for.
The next hour was a blur of nurses putting in an IV (which I don't remember at all. J said I put my arm behind me, buried my face in the side of the bed and groaned through contractions), running blood work and having Orpha massage my back while J let me attempt to break his fingers.
Side note - I had no clue I am able to grip that tightly. I don't even remember holding his hands that hard! He had to take off his wedding ring between contractions because I was causing him pain.
Once the anesthesiologist arrived, I was hopeful that I would make it. I had gotten inside my head that the pain was never going to end but I refused to announce that 'I can't do this'. I refused to have a C-Section if I could help it and I was mentally struggling with my capabilities. J on the other hand, was a rock. I knew that putting my strength in him was going to get me through the next few contractions before the epidural kicked in. The epidural process was quick and painless.
Once the epidural kicked in, it was a whole different world. My super awesome Dr had arrived during my contractions, but I was in so much pain I hadn't noticed. I finally saw her and was excited that this was really it! Our baby is coming!! At 11:00 she checked me and said I was at a 9 and she asked to break my water. I was ok with it and thankfully it was clear. That gave me the go-ahead to nap for a little over an hour before I started pushing. Orpha hung out in our room the whole time prepping for the baby and finishing admitting paperwork with J.
At 12:30 my Dr came back and checked me again, She said baby's head was already coming through the birth canal and I could start pushing at anytime. Orpha prepped the bed and J and I were giddy with excitement. The best part of my epidural was that I could still feel my lower legs and I could feel some pressure when I was having a contraction. I felt like I had some control during my pushes. The downside to my epidural was my contractions had slowed down to 4 minutes apart. After Orpha walked me through a few different pushing techniques and had me do some practice pushes, we began the real deal. I honestly loved every minute of pushing. J, my Dr and our nurse had a blast between contractions. We were cracking jokes and debating baby's sex and birth weight. Every time I laughed the baby made more progress too! Who knew laughing would help push the baby out?!
1 1/2 hours after I started pushing, the baby's head was out and I felt time freeze as I stared at J's face. I knew that the next words he said were going to tell me if I had a son or a daughter. Once the baby was fully out, J's eyes filled with excitement and he said ' It's a boy!'. I couldn't believe him and asked him to repeat himself. 'It's a boy!' he tearfully chocked out and we both started crying. #wiggydiggy was put on my chest for skin to skin and J and I stared at him in awe. I was totally oblivious to everything else in the room. My Dr was stitching up my minor tear and delivering my placenta. Our nurse and the baby's nurse were cleaning up the room and checking #wiggydiggy's stats. Our hospital is amazing and does everything with the baby on momma's chest, so #wiggydiggy and I weren't separated until that evening when they weighed and measured him. All the while J and I were staring teary eyed at our little boy. Our son.
At 2:25 PM on Wednesday December 3rd, our son was born. He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.
J and I are over the moon with our little man and couldn't be happier to be a family of three. This chapter of our lives is going to be the greatest one yet.
Knowing that my Dr wanted us to head to the hospital at 5-1-1 (5 minutes apart, one minute long, for one hour) and I was almost at 3-1-1, it was time to start thinking about heading to the hospital. I was still in denial that "real" labor was starting so I decided to hop in the shower to see if my labor would slow down or maybe stop. I woke J up just after 2 AM to let him know that I was contracting and going to shower. After 30 minutes of standing in the hot water and contractions were not slowing but intensifying, I decided I might as well wash up and get ready to head to the hospital. J came in at this time to check on me and agreed that we needed to load up the hospital bag.
At 3:30 in the morning we pulled up at the hospital and checked in. I was thinking I was at least at 3 cm dilated because I was hovering around a 4 on the pain scale. When I was checked I was only 1.5 cm dilated so the nurse recommended we walk the halls for an hour and get re-checked. (hello party of wimp) While J and I were walking I would pull him in front of me and put my head in the middle of his chest and grip his arms. He would then zip his jacket back up once we started walking. After the third time doing this, and ripping his jacket zipper back down so I didn't head butt it, I finally growled at him mid-contraction. "Leave your damn zipper alone!". I did apologize once baby arrived. :)
After an hour of walking the halls I was checked and had made no progress. (according to that nurse. Our delivery nurse, Orpha, told us she saw us leave that morning and knew I'd be back in that morning, I was laboring fast.) With a "pep talk" from the nurse saying 'Labor is a marathon, not a sprint' (said in your most annoying voice) I felt defeated. I knew that I was exhausted from no sleep and couldn't walk the halls for another hour. The contractions were stronger and I was losing the ability to talk through them. I asked J to take me home to labor for a while hoping I could rest between them and maybe even catch a little sleep. We got home around 6 AM and I tried to nap on the couch but contracting every 2-3 minutes didn't give me much of a break. So J ran me a hot bath and the sweet guy pulled in all of the blankets from the living room so he could lay on the floor next to me while I was in pain.
As much as I appreciated his concern, I told J to head to bed because I really needed him to get some sleep before the show really got going. I was going to be leaning on him for my strength and if he was exhausted it wouldn't do either of us any good. He reluctantly headed to bed and set his alarm for 20 minutes to come check on me. The hot bath did WONDERS for the pain and I was finally able to close my eyes for just a few minutes. Then THE contraction hit. I went from a 3/4 on the pain scale to a 7. I swear I was climbing the shower wall. The next 15 minutes were a blur of me trying to put my clothes back on in the middle of much more intense contractions and then trying to find a comfortable position to labor in. I was afraid if we headed back to the hospital I wouldn't have made much progress and I couldn't be admitted. J saw how much pain I was in and encouraged me to hit the road. This time, there was no way I could sit in the front seat. I COULD NOT labor sitting down. So instead I climbed into the very back of the Jeep and rocked back and forth on my hands and knees until we arrived.
**Contractions are NO JOKE!**
At the hospital I was in so much pain that I wouldn't let J stop at the admitting desk on the main floor. Instead I headed straight to the elevator to go to the Woman and Children's floor. When we walked to the main desk full of nurses at 9:30 in the morning J announces ' She was at a 5 earlier, but she's at an 8 now.' I was in the middle of a contraction I couldn't breathe through and the nurses jumped to life at his announcement. Once I could breathe, I informed them '8 on the pain scale.' That brought out a few laughs! Turns out, J wasn't far off.
Our most amazing nurse, Orpha, took us to a room and checked me. Less than 3 hours after we left the hospital at 1.5 cm dilated, I was 7 cm dilated and beginning transition. As soon as she made the announcement I yelped out "Epidural! I want one now!'. I was suddenly scared that if an epidural wasn't administered soon, I would end up delivering with out pain meds. That sent me into slight hysterics. I was in excruciating pain, my back would not stop hurting and contractions were coming 2-2 1/2 minutes a part and lasting for a minute or longer. For someone who's never had menstrual cramps, this was a whole new experience and one I was not mentally prepared for.
The next hour was a blur of nurses putting in an IV (which I don't remember at all. J said I put my arm behind me, buried my face in the side of the bed and groaned through contractions), running blood work and having Orpha massage my back while J let me attempt to break his fingers.
Side note - I had no clue I am able to grip that tightly. I don't even remember holding his hands that hard! He had to take off his wedding ring between contractions because I was causing him pain.
Once the anesthesiologist arrived, I was hopeful that I would make it. I had gotten inside my head that the pain was never going to end but I refused to announce that 'I can't do this'. I refused to have a C-Section if I could help it and I was mentally struggling with my capabilities. J on the other hand, was a rock. I knew that putting my strength in him was going to get me through the next few contractions before the epidural kicked in. The epidural process was quick and painless.
Once the epidural kicked in, it was a whole different world. My super awesome Dr had arrived during my contractions, but I was in so much pain I hadn't noticed. I finally saw her and was excited that this was really it! Our baby is coming!! At 11:00 she checked me and said I was at a 9 and she asked to break my water. I was ok with it and thankfully it was clear. That gave me the go-ahead to nap for a little over an hour before I started pushing. Orpha hung out in our room the whole time prepping for the baby and finishing admitting paperwork with J.
 |
| The only pre-birth photo. Epidural was a success! |
1 1/2 hours after I started pushing, the baby's head was out and I felt time freeze as I stared at J's face. I knew that the next words he said were going to tell me if I had a son or a daughter. Once the baby was fully out, J's eyes filled with excitement and he said ' It's a boy!'. I couldn't believe him and asked him to repeat himself. 'It's a boy!' he tearfully chocked out and we both started crying. #wiggydiggy was put on my chest for skin to skin and J and I stared at him in awe. I was totally oblivious to everything else in the room. My Dr was stitching up my minor tear and delivering my placenta. Our nurse and the baby's nurse were cleaning up the room and checking #wiggydiggy's stats. Our hospital is amazing and does everything with the baby on momma's chest, so #wiggydiggy and I weren't separated until that evening when they weighed and measured him. All the while J and I were staring teary eyed at our little boy. Our son.
At 2:25 PM on Wednesday December 3rd, our son was born. He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.
J and I are over the moon with our little man and couldn't be happier to be a family of three. This chapter of our lives is going to be the greatest one yet.
So far my recovery has been a breeze and we are navigating nursing. Our lactation consultant was amazing and #wiggydiggy is plumping up nicely :). Now if only J would let me change a diaper!
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