Labor & Delivery

They hooked me up to the pitocin and labor started right away. It was like bad menstrual cramps, and I told my mom that I could handle this--no problem, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Dumb statement. My process started at 1:30p.m. My husband and mom were there and really helped me to focus, get excited, and stay calm. My husband rubbed my hands with lotion, brought me tons of ice chips, my mom bought me every flavor of gum they had in the gift shop, since I was allowed to have that at least. I surprised myself that I was handling everything well. Then the contractions really picked up in intensity. I started to really break down and didn't know how to deal. They kept reminding me to breathe deeply and slowly, but it was so hard to do. I would forget to breathe, and it just made it that much harder. I started asking about the epidural, and they said within the hour. That guy could not come fast enough with it. I begged for nubane, or whatever it's called, because it was so intense and bad. Finally the anesthesiologist came, and I again surprised myself at how calmly and relaxed I was in order to get the epidural. I just wanted relief. I would have done jumping jacks if that's what was required to get the relief.

It didn't kick in right away, but it did soon enough. It didn't take away all feeling like I worried it would. I felt pressure down in my bottom, the feeling of needing to go to the bathroom, but that was all I really felt. That never went away, and just got stronger. They checked my dilation after this, and I thought my doctor was joking when he said I was at 7 centimeters!! Unbelievable! I had been at 3 cm only 45 minutes prior. All of the sudden, the c-section talk ended, and it seemed like I was going to go faster than anyone had originally thought. I was thrilled! We called the family and told everyone, and Phil and Mom started getting really excited. My baby was doing her part, moving her way down the birth canal. Amazing!

It was around 6 o'clock, I think when they checked me again and I was 9cm. They said I would be pushing soon. After this, the pressure got more intense and I was hoping to get more drugs to deal. No such luck. When Phil was out in the hallway asking the nurse to up my dosage on the epidural, I looked at my mom and said "I think I need to push". All of the sudden, she went in the hall to announce this to Phil and the docs, and the room was suddenly filled with people, my doc, the resident, my labor nurse, and Phil and Mom were at my sides. I tried to be calm, but again it was really hard to breathe. I was hyperventilating a little bit, but trying to focus. Everyone was helping to calm me down and have me focus on the task at hand. I had four contractions and four rounds of pushing. I had no idea how effective my attempts at pushing were, but I didn't think I was "doing it right" I kept my eyes closed the whole time. Then after 20 minutes of pushing, everyone got excited and said "she's here, she's here!", and my husband was overcome with emotion and happiness. I was so relieved and so full of awe of this little being that they lay on my chest. She was so warm and sweet. I couldn't believe how big she looked, and how much hair, and how good her coloring was. I was expecting her to look gray, but she was pink. My doc and the other people said how great I did and how perfect she was. The one issue they had was that the cord was wrapped around her neck 3 TIMES! They said, she's wearing necklaces! They said it was unusual for it to wrap that many times. But it wasn't tight around her neck, so she was okay.

I had an episiotomy which was not too bad. I was aware of it, but still numb from the epidural. Delivering the placenta was a little painful, but a big relief when it was over. Overall, I felt very blessed with the way the delivery worked out. I thought I got extremely lucky that it went fast and that she was ready to come, even though she was 3 weeks early. She did amazingly well and scored 9s on the Apgar test. Her name is Julia Marie, and I am absolutely in love. Phil and I both never imagined how in love we would feel and how magical this really is. I am grateful to the docs and nurses who all helped me through. I had total faith in them, and I was so glad my actual doctor was there and not someone else. My labor nurse was no-nonsense and I appreciated that. She wasn't going to lie to me or butter me up. She always let me know what to expect. Overall it was the absolute best day of my life, and I will never forget it.