It's been a few days since his birth and I finally got a few minutes to write everything down! Monday during the day I felt pretty normal and not much was going on. I had a hard time being at work because I was so tired, but I hardly had any contractions. I worked late to get some things finished up and then got a few contractions while driving home. Just for giggles, I started timing them, but I figured it was pointless. It was a waste of time, but I felt like doing it just to keep myself distracted. They were maybe 7-10 minutes apart, but not painful at all. I thought it was really strange that I started to get a migraine when I haven't had one in 6 months. I usually get hormonal migraines so I wondered if it meant labor was coming because of a hormone change...or maybe it was just stress from work b/c it was a crazy day.
Once I got home, the painless contractions (Braxton-Hicks) got slower and about 10-15 minutes apart. I kept recording, but didn't really think much of it. After dinner, Hubby spontaneously decided to make peanut butter cookies to munch on while we watched tv in bed.
The B-H stopped, but my migraine was raging so I went to bed. At around 10:30, I woke up to pee and noticed more mucus plug in the toilet. I went back to sleep and then saw even more around 11:30. I was having a hard time sleeping because I kept feeling something wet and had to keep getting up to check if it was mucus plug or my water breaking.
At 12:07, I had a really strong contraction and Hubby started to record their times while we laid in bed. They got painful really fast with tightening in my belly and feeling pain in my right thigh, butt, and hips. We recorded them at about 5 minutes apart while we hung out in bed for about an hour. We started questioning calling the doctor, but we decided to wait a little longer in case things slowed down like they did last Friday. I had a few minor contractions that made me question what was going on, but we figured we'd call the doctor. I talked to the doctor on call and she said to come in, but to try to walk around first to speed things up. I was pacing in the bedroom while Hubby took a shower and finished packing the necessities in our bag. Walking felt great and I started to wonder whether things were progressing enough to go. But since we were already ready to go, we figured we'd go anyway. On our way out the door, Kitty had a little explosion on the laundry room floor (with blood)...good timing, Kitty!
On the drive to the hospital, the contractions started to pick up and I had a hard time with the pain while driving on bumpy roads. As we drove, I started to realize this was really happening! I almost felt numb and didn't really know what emotions I was going through or how I felt about it. I wasn't scared yet, but I wasn't super excited either. I think I was still in shock and getting used to the reality of what was going on. When we got to the hospital at 3:30 am, the contractions got more and more painful. We ended up in a recovery room because all the labor & delivery rooms were full. Of course, on the tour, someone asked if that ever happened and the woman said, "Never!" The recovery room was just a bed with a curtain around it and very small, but luckily, we were the only ones in there. I was hoping someone would have a baby soon so we could get a real room and spread out.
The contractions started getting really strong when I got into bed and I started to cry from the pain. When my teeth started chattering and my legs were shaking uncontrollably, I got really freaked out. The pain was unbearable, but the shaking was so scary and it was using up all my energy. As much as I researched every aspect of pregnancy and labor, I never remembered reading that much about this, so it scared me! I only went pyscho on Hubby once and it was right then. I was getting frustrated that he wasn't comforting me enough, but we were fine a few minutes later. We waited for the doctor to come in and it took awhile because of all the patients that night. She asked some questions and then did an internal check and my water broke! The force of her doing the exam broke my water and I was 4 cm dilated! As soon as she said I was in active labor and my water was broken, I knew it was happening. She said, "You're leaving here with a baby!"
Contractions kept getting worse as time went on. They finally moved us to a real labor & delivery room where I got to rest in a more comfortable bed. I started to beg Hubby for the epidural ASAP when I remembered his friend telling me she had asked for one and then the hospital was too busy to give it to her and she never got it! After hearing that story, I was like, "Hell no, I am NOT going through what she did. I need it now!" While we waited for the epi, contractions got down to about 3 or 4 minutes apart and the shaking got even worse. I was getting nauseous and ended up throwing up my peanut butter cookies and dinner in the basin. (labor peanut butter cookies, perhaps?) Around 6:30-7 am, I got the epidural which was a lot less painful than I thought. People always talked about how it was the most horrible pain during the injection, but it was SO much less pain than the contractions.
Once the epi started to go through my body, it felt amazing! The tingly feeling started in my toes and moved its way up my legs, butt and hips. I was so happy to have some time to relax my body and catch my breath. The only downside was that I had a very itchy reaction to the meds. My whole body itched horribly and I got red scratches ALL over (even hours after it wore off). While we waited for things to progress, my mom came and we all rested in the room in the dark for a couple hours. I was way too crazy and my mind was racing so I couldn't sleep. At a little before 11:00, my doctor came in and said I'd probably start trying to push soon! My mom left so we could have a few minutes alone before our lives changed forever!
I didn't really know what to expect or how it would go so she explained everything ahead of time about what I would need to do. I loved that she went through everything so I would know what to expect and how to do it. By that time, the epidural completely took over and I couldn't feel a thing. At about 11:00, the nurse and the doctor got my bed set up and set up the stirrups for my feet. On my first try, I had no idea if I was even pushing because I felt nothing down there. I kept asking if I was actually doing anything and they said I was!
During the first few contractions, the doctor was watching the baby's heart rate that stayed around 120. But it started to go down to 80-90 and I started seeing her whisper to the nurse a little. There were a few nurses and doctors that would come in and out of the room and I lost track of who everyone was. But then all of a sudden, the doctor said the baby's heart rate was getting too low and they called in the neo-natal group to hurry in. There were people everywhere and I felt like the room was going to explode. Everyone was talking, running around, and medical terms were being thrown around the room. I was given an oxygen mask and was told to wear it to help give the baby more oxygen.
My doctor explained what was going on with the heart rate and gave us the possible scenarios of what would happen next. They would try to use the vacuum or forceps to try to get him out faster and into the neo-natal care unit or even consider a c-section. She asked what we would prefer and I decided to try to keep going and avoid the c-section if possible. As the neo-natal team got their things ready in the corner, I kept having contractions and pushing. She used the vaccuum once, but it ended up slipping off his head with a loud popping sound. Finally, his rate started to go up and the team left. That was the best feeling! I was so happy that he was going to be fine and we could continue to deliver "normally." They had to keep watching his heart rate while I pushed and it would go down and get a little scary, but it always went back up. The one thing that shocked me was that the pushing didn't hurt as much as I thought!
Once he started to get farther out, it DID start hurting more. Hubby sneaked a peek down there and said he could see the head and that really got me excited to finish up. The doctor and nurses were wonderful with encouraging me to keep pushing and doing my best. When they said I was really close (and I could feel the pressure of him coming out) I was begging to push even while we waited for the next contraction. I knew how close we were and I was dying to see him! When he finally came out, he wimpered a little but not a big cry like you always see on tv. I really thought I would be crying, but I think it still felt so surreal that I didn't know how to react!
One of the nurses took him to the side to get him cleaned off and Hubby took some photos. I rested in bed while the doctor delivered the placenta and stitched me up. I had a second degree tear and some swelling, but I couldn't feel a thing! Connor got weighed (6 lbs, 10 oz.) and he had his footprints done. They brought him right over to me to hold on my chest and it was such an amazing thing. I think I was still numb from all the emotions and action but it was just so cool to look at him and realize that we made him ourselves!
Our little smarty was already opening his mouth to nurse and he latched right on! I don't know if he actually got any colostrum, but he had an awesome latch and seemed very content. The nurses kept saying how great that was and I was pretty shocked that it was so easy! When we finished, Connor's little fan club came in to see him (both sets of grandparents & Aunt Julie). They all took turns holding him while I rested and took some photos.
Connor with his eye medication
Grandma
Grandma
Aunt Julie
Grandpa
Grandpa
Finally, it all started to hit me and I realized how tired I was. We'd been awake for almost 48 hours and my eyes were closing. All the people in and out were starting to be too much for me to handle. Our wonderful labor & delivery nurse Sandra moved us upstairs and took Connor to the nursery.
I finally got to get some rest in the recovery room while Hubby went to get food and Connor got his first bath and his medical exam.
It took some begging, but we finally found out his length (19.75 inches) and I took a few minutes to send some emails and update everyone on Facebook. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore and I kicked everyone out of the room so we could rest. The silence and peaceful feeling was glorious and I took some time to reflect on the day that changed my life forever.
Yay! Congratulations!
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