Announcing...

Wednesday, March 5th started like most of the others that I had spent at home- wallowing in uncertainty and trying to distract myself from, well, myself. I had an appointment with Dr. Jones at 11:00 that morning, and had asked Ryan to accompany me, for support and to ask for a scheduled induction date, in the event that I couldn't get the request out amidst my pitiful tears.

I met Ryan at the office, and after the exam, found I was 2 cm. dilated and 50% effaced. Some progress, yes, but obviously nothing close to crowning. Yes, I was a little bummed- but was able to get out my request for a scheduled induction- the next Monday, March 10th. Yes! An end was in sight! I was off to celebrate with Abby by doing a little shopping and hanging out :)

Abby and I decided to grab a bite to eat at Steak 'n Shake (a grilled cheese and fries for me!) before we were off to peruse. I was feeling a little funny at lunch, but figured all the pregnancy hormones were causing my "indigestion." We headed to Macy's to find an Easter dress for baby-to-be, and afterwards, I was pooped and ready to be home. As we were leaving, I started wondering if the way I was feeling was some "sign." We got home and it was about that time that I thought maybe I should start timing what I thought could be real contractions. It was a pretty nice day, a bit unseasonably warm, so Abby and I took a walk around the neighborhood while I kept the stopwatch going. After 30 minutes of walking, and the contractions not subsiding, I had Abby call Ryan and ask him to come home in case we needed to go to the hospital. At this point, I had been having contractions since about 2:00 in the afternoon.

Ryan came home, and after much persuasion, I convinced him that I felt much different and that this could possibly be "it." He threw together an overnight bag, and we were off. We arrived around 7:00, and were admitted to an "observation" room where I was hooked up to monitors and checked. My contractions were coming about every 3-4 minutes, but I was still 2 cm. dilated, but more like 70% effaced. The nurse suggested we walk for a half hour. So, we walked. Ryan wanted to scope out the cafeteria, and I just wanted things to progress. 30 minutes later and I was almost 3 cm. and 90%. Soooo....was this the real thing? Our nurse couldn't tell us until the doctor on call was able to assess the situation. 9:00, and after a visit from Dr. Womack...we were golden! We were finally admitted, and the calls to the parents went out. We were moved to a birthing room, and 20 minutes and an IV later, my water was broken to augment labor.

I didn't notice the contractions get too terribly bad (as I had read they soon would). I was soon dilated to a 3 and completely effaced. I had developed some coping mechanisms for the difficult contractions...(Fill up the one,1,2,3,4, empty the one, 1,2,3,4 and so on). I know it didn't make much sense, but I was able to relax my body and make it through the terrible feeling of those contractions. I tried the birthing ball, something I really enjoyed in Lamaze, but unfortunately, the monitor wouldn't stay on baby and her heart rate kept dropping off the monitor. Obviously, the nurses were concerned about this. I ended up staying in bed, sitting up, continuing with my breathing routine. Our parents (and Abby and Marye) showed up around 10:45, snuck into the room to say hello, then set up camp in the waiting room for one long night...

At midnight, the contractions had gotten pretty uncomfortable. Not unbearable, but with each contraction I felt like I was going to throw up. I tried a lollipop, a frozen popsicle, and a wet washcloth to get through those tough ones, but I was really struggling. Around 12:45 I decided that I wanted to give the epidural a try. At this point, I was unable to relax, which was probably hindering any progress my body was trying to make. Mentally, I was having a hard time, and physically, I was tired. By the time the anesthesiologist made it to the room, he couldn't set up fast enough. My contractions were pretty close together, and unfortunately, he had to give me the epidural during some pretty rough ones...needless to say, it's rather difficult to "relax" when you feel like your going to vomit.

Once the epidural was in (about 1:15), it didn't take long for numbness to take over the lower half of my body. My left side immediately went numb, however, my right side wasn't taking. After some adjustments, everything was fine, and I was immediately able to relax. We got another quick visit from the fam (who were quite concerned with the shaking...which apparently is pretty normal) who gave us there love and best wishes. It was so good to know they were there! Before I knew it, I was 5 cm. dilated and much more comfortable. So much so that I was able to fall asleep for an hour and a half (while Ryan stayed up and graded papers!).

At 5 am. our nurse came in and said that we'd be ready to push within the hour (at which point Ryan refilled his coffee cup). After a slight delay, we set up for pushing and began around 5:45. I'll tell you- it was difficult to push when I couldn't feel a thing below my waist, but I was soon able to get the hang of it. Dr. Womack, our nurse, and Ryan were so very helpful- despite only getting 1 1/2 hours of sleep, I felt confident and ready. I kept pushing, and soon Dr. Womack said she was able to see her head, and lots of hair! Ahhhh! A few more pushes later, and her head was out, and before the Dr. could tell me that I needed one more big push- she was delivered! After 40 minutes of pushing, she was here! We heard her sweet whimper as they placed her on my chest, and I couldn't help but bawl. She was absolutely perfect, and so much more than I could ever have imagined. Ryan cut the cord, and they washed her up and cleaned her before letting me nurse her. I can not articulate the overwhelming emotions that flooded me as I held our daughter- but I knew exactly was love at first sight felt like.