I am going to write about my most recent pregnancy because my previous one was 12 years ago and I cant remember much from that one.( See moms we do forget all the pain afterwards!)
Ok so everyone including my doctor had me convinced that my son would be born early, not premature early but 37-38 weeks kind of thing...needless to say my son had his own itinerary! At my 39 week appointment I expressed to my doctor that I thought he was moving less, she was sure that it was just because it was starting to be very tight quarters in there but to be safe sent me for a Non Stress test where they basically strap you to a machine which monitors heart rate of the baby and any contractions I might have been having, and when you feel the baby move you press a button after an hour they assured me everything was fine and if ever I felt he wasnt moving again I could come back in for another test...at that time I was 2 cm dilated.
Now here came my 40 week appointment and still no baby...oh and I wanted to mention to all your pregnant moms that when I was checked at 36 weeks, which was my first internal exam the doctor did not forewarn me that I could have some bleeding, she didn't tell me to bring pads or anything and after having a miscarriage previous to this pregnancy the sight of blood terrified me, so just know that after your internal exam its completely normal to have some bleeding so always keep a pad in your purse just in case!
Ok so where was I ....oh yes 40 week appointment and still no baby, doctor checked me and I was at 3cm so I was moving forward but not very fast, at that point I was so uncomfortable and achy that she said we would schedule an induction for a week later. Light at the end of the tunnel! I wouldn't be pregnant forever!!
Well 5 days later my labor started midnight on Saturday, small little uncomfortable cramps at first, so we watched the end of the UFC and went to bed, in my mind he was only coming out on induction day anyway so these pains would go away.
I managed to get a decent nights sleep only waking a few times with cramps and was able to go right back to sleep. I woke the next morning ( mother's day) at 8 am contractions were now 10 minutes apart...wait how did that happen? lol
I woke up Mike and told him they were 10 minutes apart and handed him my laptop where I had downloaded a program to time contractions. All day they varied between 20 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart I never really had a steady pattern. By 6 pm that night they were staying at an average of 3 to 10 minutes. Now I know the hospital says come when they are 5 to 7 minutes apart but I never really had those numbers steadily.
Mike was starting to think it would be best for us to head over to the hospital just in case, we live about 30 minutes from the hospital. So I called the maternity ward told them my situation and said that I was already past 40 weeks in fact I would be 41 weeks the next day and I was scheduled to be induced on Wednesday, they told me to slowly make my way down. I swear I felt every pebble we hit on the way there.
I was praying they wouldn't send me home, when we got there it was deserted I think I was the only patient in the ward, that was around 6 pm.
They got me settled into my room and strapped me to monitors and told me a doctor would be in soon to check me, I knew if I was only at 3 cm they were sending me home, 4 was the magic number I needed to at least stay and be monitored....
In strolls this little boy...( what I mean by that is he was an intern but he looked 12) he tells me he wants to ask me some medical questions he must have asked about 100 questions about my family medical history and questions about my pregnancy...can I just say that maybe that is not the time to be doing that quiz? I had to stop and brace for a contraction every second question, could that not be done when I had pre-registered?
Anyway next strolls in this other Doogie Houser guy not much older looking then the previous guy and tells me he is going to check me...uncomfortable much? Having a guy who looks like hes 18 check me? At that point I didnt care!
So here was the drumroll....I was 4 cm! Woohoo!! Looks like we are havig a baby!
I was in the mind frame during my pregnancy that I would hold off on the epidural until I felt I could not stand it anymore...I really didnt like the thought of a needle in my spine. Every nurse that checked on me though asked if I wanted the epidural, and when I said no they would either roll their eyes or chuckle...I guess after working there for many years you learn that most women come in saying that and end up getting it..lol
I walked around the ward for a few hours with my sister ( who by the way wouldnt let me walk all the way down the hall because we would pass the OR where they did c-sections and she thought it was scary...lol)
The intensity of the contractions were getting a little more intense but I was able to breath through them. Finally it was the moment at 6 cms where I had to decide what I was going to do about the epidural, if I waited any longer I might not be able to get it at all..As Mike and I sat and discussed the pros and cons of getting it I had one MAJOR contraction...it was as if my body was saying "get the epidural". At that moment I decided to get it, after all nobody gets a trophy for not getting it!
With my epidural, catheter ( most uncomfortable thing ever) and my IV in there was no going back. I was now isolated to my bed and needed help even to just change sides.
It was 3 am when I got my epidural, and with only 2 of the worlds most uncomfortable chairs for my sister and mike to sit in nobody got any sleep.
Everytime they checked me I was further along which at least gave me some hope, and finally after being check a million times by a million different people it was time to push! 8 am...
They told me his head was still quite high and I would just be practice pushing to get the hang of it. So with a great nurse at my side we started to practice...lets just say practice came to a quick halt when all of a sudden my nurse said Uh oh I see the head...I felt the panic set in when I was having these uncontrollable urges to push it was almost an out of body experience! There was nothing I could do to stop! The nurse kept saying dont push! Dont push! Yeah right easier said then done, there was no doctor around since I was only supposed to be "practice" pushing....The nurse turns to Mike and says Please go find a doctor...the color left Mikes face as he ran into the hall, it turns out the doctor they were paging was the wrong doctor, that doctor was in a C-section surgery. Mike was losing his mind as he went to the front desk and explained the situation,,, all they said was" Sir, please calm down the doctor will be there shortly" lol can you imagine...
So with no doctor coming the nurse took things into her own hands and safely delivered my son with 4 pushes! I will always be grateful for Esther ( who thankfully used to be a midwife) she saved the day ! Moments after the doctor walked in...figures...
My son who was a whopping 9.5 lbs was healthy and finally here!
Although not the perfect calm and by the book delivery, everything turned out great!
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