Birth story

I know you guys have been waiting for this. Nick, you might not want to read this post! ;-)

On Monday, I woke up with contractions about 4am. They were about 8 minutes apart, and not too bad. I'd had contractions before, so I figured they would go away. I just laid in bed until 6, which is when Ken's alarm went off. By this time they were about 5 minutes apart and getting stronger, so I told him that I thought today was the day. I took a shower and got dressed, and we went downstairs and watched Along Came Polly (it was on TV), while Ken timed the contractions. At 7am, they were getting stronger, still about 5 minutes apart, so we called doctor's answering service number. They paged the doctor, and she called me back. She told me to call her back when they were about 3 minutes apart. So they kept getting closer together, and around 10am they were 3 minutes apart and getting pretty strong. We called her and she told us to come into the office for a "labor check." I didn't know what that was, but we went. We got there, another doctor checked me and said I was 3 cm dilated, and thought that this was the "early real thing." So he sent me up to triage on the labor and delivery floor. They monitored the baby and contractions for 30 minutes, then had us walk around the floor for an hour. By this time the contractions were about 2 minutes apart, and very strong. I had to stop and lean on Ken every time I had one, and use the breathing/relaxation techniques we had learned in class. After several laps, at 1:30 they checked me and said I was 5 cm dilated. So we were excited! It hadn't been that bad so far either. The nurse told me that "today was the day!" and sent me upstairs to a regular room. The labor and delivery rooms were amazing. They had a whirlpool tub, bathroom, a comfortable bed, a big flat screen tv, and some comfortable chairs for Ken. Also, they had everything for the baby right there in the room so she never had to leave. So the doctor ordered that I be on the monitor for 15 minutes out of every hour, and the rest of the time I could walk around, get in the tub, try different positions, etc. So after they monitored us for another 15 minutes, I got in the tub and turned on the jets. That helped me so much. Ken and I started praying during each contraction. He'd either say Hail Marys until it was over, or we'd pray for a specific intention on our list. That was the most amazing part of the actual labor. By this time I was in a lot of pain and it was awesome to be able to offer up the pain for each specific intention. And Ken was the best coach I could ever imagine.
At about 5pm, the doctor came and checked me again, and I was still at 5 cm. (All that pain and no progression!) So she suggested that she break my water and that would speed things up. I was warned that it would also make the pain intensify. So I let her do that, and almost immediately the contractions were coming every minute, I was getting sick, and it was the worst pain I'd ever felt. I lasted like that for 2 hours, and they checked me again and I was only 7 cm. They said they expected about 3 more hours of labor. I couldn't take it anymore, so I did end up getting an epidural. I was a little disappointed, but I was still proud of myself for lasting 15 hours with no drugs. After I got the epidural, I felt GREAT. I called my mom and had her come sit with us. She brought Ken a sandwich and some Advil because he had a headache and no one could give him anything. We just hung out in the room - Ken watched TV and my mom and I just talked - it was so great. They also had given me a little pitocin because I was progressing so slowly, and at 9:30 they checked me, said I was 10 cm and the baby's head was right there. They said we would try to push and see how I did. I asked mom to go out into the hall. The doctor and nurse and Ken were the only ones in there. I could tell when I was having a contraction, and I held my legs back and pushed - about 3 pushes with each contraction. They put a mirror down at the end of the bed, and I was really surprised because I could see her head right from the beginning! She had a lot of hair! I pushed for about 15 minutes, and then her head came halfway out! The doctor wasn't even ready, so I had to hold her in while she got her gown and gloves and everything ready. Then they realized that I was in a postpartum bed instead of a labor and delivery bed - so she sat on the edge of the bed and delivered her. She came out on the next push at 9:50pm - and she was making noises before she was even out! She came out and they put her right on my chest and she looked right into my eyes. She was so beautiful and cried right away. They took her and cleaned her and stitched me up - I had a second degree tear. After I delivered the placenta and got covered up again, mom got to come in and meet her new granddaughter - and also found out what her name was and that we had named her middle name Margaret after her! She said the next day that that was the most special thing in her life - seeing her baby girl with her baby girl.

So the entire thing lasted 18 hours. And I'd do it again in a second. Even during the worst contractions, Ken asked "How many kids do you want to have?" And I still said 10 ;-)

I think I could have done it naturally, if it hadn't been SO long... I was just too exhausted after 15 hours of labor. And I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed the last two hours and pushing her out. I will probably try to do it without drugs next time, but I'll see how it goes. I still got a beautiful, healthy baby girl, so it was all worth it.