This is long. And probably boring, but I at least wanted it documented.
Because I was "overdue" by one day, I went in Friday morning, June 27th, for a Non-stress Test to monitor the baby's heart beat along with my contractions. At the time, they were nothing more than Braxton Hicks contractions - barely noticeable. The nurse hooked me up to the machine, strapping two different monitors across my watermelon-like belly. She then handed me what appeared to be a game-show buzzer that I was supposed to "buzz" whenever I felt the baby move. So, there I sat for 30 minutes, watching Heidi Montag on Regis and Kelly, playing my own version of buzz-when-the-baby-moves.
After my time was up, the nurse looked at the print-outs and said they looked good. She left the room to run them by the doctor while I got my belongings together (my purse and a book). She returned shortly thereafter. The following conversation ensued:
Nurse: "Well, you may get what you want a little sooner than next Wednesday.
Me: "What?! TODAY?! Should I call my husband?"
Nurse: "Yes, probably..."
So, with my heart racing, I turned to leave the office to walk over to L&D - which is fortunately only a long, windy corridor away from my doctor's office - and proceeded to walk right into the cleaning closet. The nurse laughed and said that many mothers have done the exact same thing.
With shaking hands, I speed-dialed B. And couldn't get ahold of him. Figures, I thought, considering he'd been "on-call" for the past month anxiously awaiting a call such as this. After finally getting ahold of him, I could tell how shaken he was. "Wait!" he said, "Repeat that again. I only got as far as decelleration!" (He was writing all this down.) I explained that they were going to monitor me at L&D and they might induce me.
We got off the phone and the doctor from my practice that was on-call reviewed the papers that had been faxed from the office. "Yeah, I don't really want to sit on this. You're a day late anyway. Nurse, do we have open beds?" he asked. "We do!" she cheerfully replied.
Tears. That's what happened next. I was having a baby! Today! And B wasn't there yet! The nurse hugged me and we started toward what would soon be the room where Baby B was delivered.
I called B back. "They're inducing me. You need to get here. Now."
And he was on his way. It was kind of like a movie now that I think about it. All exciting and everything, considering I was in no way prepared to have a baby on June 27th. Like I said, I had my purse, a book, and no husband. It was all kind of ironic considering the bags had been sitting, packed, for the past two months, and B and I just kept thinking that everyday would be the day.
So there I sat, gowned and prepped, all alone. My phone was attached to my ear, calling family and friends to tell them that this was it. I was having this baby today!
Fortunately, Katie A. was to the rescue, as we were supposed to go mall-walking. She immediately came to the hospital and sat with me until B arrived. Thank goodness for friends!
B finally arrived around 11am, followed by both our families. The delivery room quickly became packed, and I began to feel the contractions that the pitocin promised. By 3pm, the contractions were intensifying and we asked that the majority of the spectators to leave, with the exceptions of our mothers. I had dilated to 6 cm.
Determined to have this baby sans drugs, I labored a bit longer, and the contractions became unbearable. B was amazing, rubbing my shoulder and letting me grab (i.e. practually break) his hand. His you-can-do-this attitude was terrific, but it was nothing that could soothe the intense pain of each contraction. I could tell I was getting ready to get mean, and asked our moms to leave. At this point, I knew that the epidural would be my saving grace.
My contractions were going from 0 to 85 in a matter of seconds and I literally thought I was going to fly off of the bed. If you've ever seen The Exorcist where the girl's head spins and she goes crazy, that was me. I remember screaming in pain, thinking I think I just gobbled like a turkey. It was an out-of-body experience. I can't even begin to describe the pain.
B did get the nurse to tell her I was requesting the epidural and she returned to find that I was complete - I was dilated 10 cm. After assuring her that I DID NOT WANT TO PUSH and that I WANTED THE EPIDURAL NOW and that I DID NOT WANT TO GO NATURAL ANYMORE, the anesthesiologist made her way to our room and B briefly left while they put the epidural in.
**I have to take a sec to say how incredible B was during labor, delivery, and recovery. He was and is an awesome husband and father. He took such good care of me and I truly couldn't have done it without him. **We spent another day and a half in the hospital before coming home on Sunday, June 29th.
2 comments:
Beautiful story. Beautiful baby. Love this post. Def made me cry.
I was trying to figure out how old your toddler was & came across reading your birth story. BEAUTIFUL! This is so sweet! ♥
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