Monday October 19, I went for my last OB checkup. The doctor said I was ~4cm and 50% effaced, great progress for a first time mom. I found out after the fact that the nurse & doctor believed I'd have a baby in the next 24 hours!
That night, contractions started but very mild & sporadic. Since they were all in my back and not really worse than the back pain I'd been dealing with for months, we didn't really pay attention.
We finally got in bed after midnight and turned out the lights around 1ish. At 1:30, it was unmistakable…my water broke! I bolted out of bed faster than I'd moved in weeks. Adam rushed to the bathroom to find me laughing 😂 not sure why that reaction other than OMG, we're really truly having a baby - and soon! I texted the on-call doctor letting him know what happened. Typically your water breaking doesn't mean you need to head in right away and since I hadn't been contracting regularly, I was in no hurry. I knew I could get an epidural as soon as I got to the hospital so why rush? Plus I was determined to take a shower since who knew how long I'd be in labor.
Well those contractions started basically immediately, and they came fast & furious. I took a quick shower and since it was cold out insisted on blow drying my hair. My poor husband, who hates to see me hurting, was watching me stop the dryer every couple minutes to breathe, sway, squat, every damn thing we learned in birthing class. Well none of that shit works, just so you know! Sweating from the pain, I walked out of the house in summer clothes & we left for the longest 8 minute drive ever.
Doc had told L&D I'd be in eventually with a broken water bag, but they weren't expecting me so soon (about 3am). Once the monitors were hooked up, they understood why - my contractions were every two minutes, lasting a minute. It didn't take long to get an iv started and thankfully, middle of the night = anesthesiology wasn't busy. By about 4, I had my epidural. Nothing gets you past the fear of a giant needle going into your spine quite like labor contractions! I didn't even notice that it had to be done twice because it wasn't in the right spot at first. It was hard to think of anything but the pain.
Once my epidural kicked in, there wasn't much to do but wait. I got the shakes pretty bad, a normal side effect, so I wasn't really able to sleep much. We'd decided not to have anyone else at the hospital with us also, a decision I'm still happy with. It was an amazing bonding time for Adam and I.
Around 11am, my nurse checked to find me 9cm. It was almost time! With no idea what to expect, I was nervous, scared, and excited. An hour later I started pushing. Pushing is hard work! The epidural was wearing off a little and after a few contractions, I knew when to push without checking the monitor. I had a nurse on one side and Adam on the other. I can't praise my husband enough for his role in my entire labor. He was loving, encouraging, attentive, determined, everything I wanted and needed. He was my strength.
After two hours, my doctor offered me a break. Take 15 minutes or so to rest, gather some strength to finish pushing and bring our son into the world. She also mentioned that if things didn't start progressing more, we might have to discuss other options. Well, that did it for me. No way were they cutting my baby out of me if I could help it! At 2:57pm, time ceased to exist. Everything stopped. Adam told me to look down, and there he was. My son.
I wish the next part was about our first skin-to-skin and maybe even feeding, but it's not. When baby's head delivered, his cord was wrapped twice around his neck. Doctor quickly cut it, but the stress of struggling for air & poor blood flow already affected LT. His adrenaline kicked in and that threw off his blood sugars. My sweet perfect baby boy was taken to the NICU. It was a few hours before I could see him and have that skin-to-skin and a few more before he was released & could stay in the room with us, but we were just glad he was ok!
Overall, minus the cord scare and NICU stay, I'm happy with our birth story. The doctor I work for in-office delivered for us, the nurse was amazing, and my husband was perfect. And now, we're three 💙 and I love my little family more than words could ever say. Every single thing you read about birth, motherhood, the maternal bond, unconditional love…it doesn't even scratch the surface. When my little man looks up at me with his big dark eyes - I am overwhelmed with emotion.
Parenting is hard, but this little guy truly is our greatest adventure. And we can handle anything when we handle it together ❤️
