My due date was July 29th. July 29th I felt nothing, I was 9 months pregnant hot, uncomfortable and ready to meet this baby!! Yet nothing, no contractions, nothing. I was not willing to be overdue and the doctor wanted to induce me if I hadn't had her by the 1st. (I wanted a July baby and DID NOT want to be induced damn it!) So July 29th I spent my day walking, 9 months pregnant I took one dog at at time. Bosco and I walked to one crossroad then back to the house, then I switched dogs and Bandit went walking off in the other direction until we reached the other cross road. I repeated this until I put in 5 miles, I was exhausted, sweaty and huge. I could barely move to take my shoes off when I finished. I was determined to evict this child. I followed up my walk with some serious pineapple eating which I had been doing for days (Its one of those wives tales about going into labor, I don't know if it holds any truth, but I know I love pineapple). I was so exhausted and "just didn't feel right", I was a little crampy but figured it was just from overdoing it on my walk so I went to bed early I think it was 8 or 9 pm.
I kept waking up, which was totally normal for a 9 month pregnant, impossible to sleep comfortably body. At 4am I woke up thinking that I was possibly having contractions cause the cramps seemed to come and go. I have never been pregnant, I have never had contractions, I have no clue if this is what contractions feel like. So I lie in bed for about an hour timing them, 9 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins, 12mins, 6 mins. Definitely contractions and starting to get worse. I was happy at this point for the "contraction timer" that I had downloaded on my blackberry to be keeping the time for me, what a smart idea! I got out of bed around 5 and decided to try and chill out in the tub. If you know me you have probably heard discuss the ineptness of my bath tub. It is HUGE, DEEP and Cast Iron...which means COLD to the touch...even in July. You may also have heard me discuss the ineptness of my too small water heater when filling said cold tub. So basically I soaked my huge watermelon belly in about 6 inches of lukewarm water...not all that relaxing. But sitting in the tub was one of the few places that I found comfort in the last 3 months of pregnancy because my legs were incredibly restless. I stayed in the tub for close to an hour then made my way to the couch and "tried" to watch tv to pass the time. I knew I was for sure in labor, I also knew that I was supposed to wait for contractions to be 5 mins apart before heading to the hospital. They were 5 mins apart by this time, but they were also 9 mins, 4mins, 2 mins, 10mins, 8mins. Nothing was consistent so I was determined to wait cause there was no way in hell they were going to send me back home if I went to the hospital before my time!
So I waited and I waited and I waited, hoping my husband who was enjoying sleeping in would wake up and keep me company but not wanting to wake him up and have him freaking out about my contractions along with myself. Around noon I was having a hard time being able to sit through the contractions, they were like the worst kind of knock you to your knees cramps that lasted around 30-90 seconds. So I finally went and woke Tony up (who sleeps till noon anyway!?), Said you might want to wake up, we may need to be going to the hospital soon. He had the same what if they send you back home attitude which made me second guess myself and decided I would wait a little longer. My contractions never made it to consistant intervals I would constantly go from 2 mins to 9 mins, from 3 mins to 8 mins. Finally at around 2:30 I couldn't stand it any longer and said we need to go.
We got to the maternity floor around 3:30 and they took me to a triage room and hooked me up to all the monitors, they had a nurse midwife come check me and said I was somewhere around a 5. but my contractions had slowed down from all the excitement of a trip to the hospital I guess so they shut off the lights left us there in the triage room for around an hour before finally coming back when I thought my contractions were going to snap my back in half (OH, the bed gripping pain!) She finally said that they were going to admit me and take me to a delivery room. So we finally were able to call Tony's mom and let her know we we're going to have a baby today so she could start her almost 6 hour drive from outside of Pittsburgh to Michigan. We also called my mom and step dad, and my dad to let them know we were being admitted.
They had me waddle my way down to our delivery room and immediately things got crazy, there were people all over doing things. 2 of the old lady's I have no idea the true job title they have came in to get our information in the computer for us to be admitted, they asked us all of our normal information and double checked to make sure that my husband was also in fact the baby's father. The actual question was "so you're the husband and the father?" I laughed and asked if she was serious. To which she replied you would be surprised. There were 2 or 3 nurses in the room at this time also, one was putting in my catheter the other setting up the IV pump. They called for the anesthesiologist (AKA: GOD) to come place my epidural.
The anesthetist came down and kicked Tony out of the room to put in the epidural, she was awesome, and I say this even after she had to try a second time cause she missed the first time. She was super nice and I'm absolutely unsure why people who aren't trying for a natural birth don't get them. (and why people try for a natural birth baffles my mind, no thanks I'll take the epidural!) My contractions were 50 times worse than that little poke & burn of the caine (I don't know what they used I assume bupivicaine). The worse part was sitting still through the contractions that I was still feeling. Within seconds of it being placed and turned on, wholly amazingness, I could feel nothing contractionwise but my stomach muscles tightening when I had a contraction all of the pain I was feeling, gone.
While the anesthetist was in the room doing her thing I met Dr. Farhat who was not my OB doctor but who was on call on the rotation for the night. He is a tall lanky white man, he walked into the delivery room and announced that he would be doing the delivery and that he was Dr. Scott's (my Doctor) brother. (Doctor Scott is a large black man) So, he's a funny man. He let me know that it was me and 2 other women in labor for the night. Not that I cared. Then Tony came back and the waiting began.
It was around 7 by the time the room calmed down and we had time to just wait. I remember talking about how wonderful the epidural was, I do not regret it one single bit. We heard music ring signaling a baby being born, Tony watched the Tigers game on the tiny little TV and the doctor checked in on me a few times joking that I hadn't had that baby yet. Mom, Larry, Sam & Cassie came in said hi and went to the waiting room to wait for news, Dad and Gail showed up around 8 or 9. Close to 9:30-10 the nurse checked me and said that I was at a 8 and my epidural was turned off. I slowly started to be able to feel my contractions again and she told me that when I felt like I could to push to let her know...more waiting and I told her I felt like I could push. Sometime after 10 she checked me, said let me know when you HAVE to push, so we reached that point at about 10:40. Pam (Tony's mom) made it to the hospital about this time so we didn't say hi to her before Addison came, she only got Tony yelling from bedside at my mom and Pam to "get outta here" when they were attempting to come check on us. So with the nurse coaching and pushing, pushing, pushing, I only whispered "f*ck that hurts" only once to Tony. (I really shocked myself with my niceness throughout the whole thing.) The nurse had Tony help hold a leg and I remember being more concerned that he would pass out than about my own problems at the time! After about 20 mins of pushing it was finally time to call in the doctor. Nurse says okay she's ready and it felt like the swarm of 1000's people entered the room. People to take care of the baby, nurses, nurses, nurses and the doctor. It was crazy and a complete blur of action. They tell you not to push at this point when all you want to do is push...not pushing was horrible.
By the time the doctor was ready for me to push she was ready to come out! Just a few pushes and Addison was born at 11:23pm (or 23:23 military time, which I thought was kind of cool). The doctor said you barely let me get my gloves on to catch her...puh-leeze! Tony cut the umbilical cord and I got to admire her for a few seconds before they took her off to clean/weigh/measure. she whimpered some but was only incredibly pissed off when they stamped her feet for footprints.
As long as it seems on paper, the whole day was a blur and seemed to go by so quickly in the moment. Within 10 mins of her birth I'm pretty sure I told Tony "that was nothing I could definitely do it again". When they gave her back to us we spent about 10 mins with her just the two of us and some nurses before the flood of grandparents got to meet her. She was so alert and didn't fuss a bit while she was passed around from person to person.
We were all moved to our room sometime after 12:30 and new nurses did their checks on me and on Addison and by 1:30am I finally got to relax/pass the heck for the first time since I had woke up that day.
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| 6 Min Addison |
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| 6 Month Addison |
That was such a good story! I've always wondered about what it's like, now I know first hand! I feel like I was there (lol)! :)
ReplyDeleteAww great story! She's beautiful!
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