Saturday, February 25, 2017

The Birth Story: Part Three

Upon realizing that my water had broken I had a huge rush of adrenaline.  "Oh no...oh... crap...why???  Now??  REALLY???  I'm only 36 weeks!  This is the worst timing EVER!!"  But I knew that none of that mattered now.  I was so surprised because I hadn't been having any contractions.  At least nothing that woke me up.  And I certainly knew what to look for this time because I had been having braxton hicks contractions for weeks.  

I immediately found Dave on the couch and calmly told him "Uh...hey.  Sorry to wake you, but my water just broke."  He shot up off of the couch faster than anything I'd ever seen. Probably not the most peaceful way to be waking up.  Haha.  

It was 5:00 am Sunday morning.  I was so glad that it wasn't in the middle of the night.  Thankfully I had started packing the hospital bag the day prior, but "started" constituted a take home outfit for baby and some items I thought I might like for labor.  No clothes for me or Dave, no toiletries...I quickly got dressed and stuffed a bunch of crap in the hospital bag.  Dave woke up Trey (poor thing) and called his parents, who thankfully were able to meet us at the hospital.  Our drive to the hospital was pretty uneventful.  I had a few contractions here and there, but nothing too painful and I could certainly talk through them.  I called my parents (4:00 am Mesquite time)... and with a little chuckle told my mom that my water had broke.  So much for waiting for them to get home from their trip to have the baby.  

We arrived to the hospital at about 5:40 am.  When we drove up to park, Trey was wide awake and remarked "NO...I don't want to go to Walmart!"  Haha.  He wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he was happy to see "ama Jo".  We said goodbye to our little boy and headed up to labor and delivery.  Once in triage, we found out that I was dilated to a four and having consistent contractions.  I got all changed in my *awesome* hospital nightgown...hate those things, and tried my best to prepare myself mentally for labor.  Contractions were coming every 3 to 5 minutes at this point and were definitely uncomfortable.  I couldn't believe how different it was from my labor with Trey.

My doctor was out of town...yay...so they contacted the on call doctor and got me all set up in my labor and delivery room.  I'm not quite sure, but I believe it was about 7:00 am by this time.  I knew I was gbs positive so I had to be put on antibiotics during labor.  Once the iv was set I was able to be off the bed which brought huge relief to me.  Laying down during labor was by far the most painful position for me.  They asked if I wanted an epidural but I knew that I wanted to go without any pain medication.   And just like that it was like "Ok...we're actually doing this.  Hopefully all these months of preparation will pay off."  

I spent the majority of my labor standing up and pacing the room.  Each time a contraction came, I would just bury my face in Dave's chest and focus on my breathing.  I had read over and over how important it was to stay relaxed and not tense up during contractions, so that's all I could think about.  It's definitely easier said than done, but that's what got me through it.  Dave was so great and supportive. We had been in our labor and delivery room for about an hour when the nurse returned to hook me up to the monitors again.  At this point, I was seriously doubting myself.  I remember thinking "Oh my goodness, I was only four centimeters when we got here, and it's only been one hour!...I can't possibly do this." I could not get comfortable and it seemed like the contractions were coming one on top of the other.  After hooking me back up to the monitors, the nurse left and I. was. done.  The next contraction came and I just leaned across the bed and cried.  I tried so hard to breathe through them but it seemed impossible and I was exhausted.  I am so grateful for Dave.  He was so kind and would calmly just whisper to me that I WAS doing it and that it would be over soon.

All of a sudden I felt like I was going to be sick.  I knew I was getting close.  I had relied on Dave so much through each contraction, but at this point I was like "STOP!  Don't touch me."  Haha.  I felt so bad, but it was seriously like I was having an out of body experience.  The next thing I knew, I was on my hands and knees on the hospital floor telling Dave that he needed to get the nurse because I HAD to push.  I'm not sure how long it took (Dave would tell you too long)...but the nurse finally came in and was like "Oh my...you should not be on the floor!"  Dave helped me up on the bed and the nurse checked me and calmly said "Oh yeah, you're ready."  I remember thinking "Yeah, no shit I'm ready.  She's coming. Like now."  (After the fact, Dave remarked to me that he couldn't believe she even checked me because the baby was CLEARLY coming.  Lol.)

They called the on-call doctor, but there was no way that he was going to make it.  My body was having this baby.  I could not NOT push.  I remember being so annoyed because the nurses were all calm and like "Oh sweetie...don't push.  Just breath."  I was ACTIVELY trying not to push, but it was just not working.  A doctor finally walked in and literally right when he sat down, she was born.  It was so surreal.  No one was expecting it to go that fast.  It was definitely a dramatic few hours.  She was born at 8:44 am, less than 4 hours after my water had broken that morning.  


6 lbs 7 oz 19.5 inches long

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