The nurse puts me in a wheel chair, which I told them was unnecessary since I could walk, but since my baby doesn't have much fluids, and it's protocol with most women to get wheeled... They insisted, and I wasn't going to argue twice (I'm pregnant). So... The doctor's office was next to the hospital, The cold wind is slapping us in the face as the nurse is wheeling me and my husband is right beside me, both making sure I am okay. We get to labor and delivery and they tell my husband he has to wait in the waiting room as they register me in the computer (which I thought was dumb, since he is my husband, but oh well). They placed the band around my wrist and it was official, I was admitted in to the hospital.
They placed me in my room, it was very nice and big. They told me to get in the shower and clean my lady parts. I looked at her like, are you trying to say something? Haha. "This is just protocol" - the nurse reassured me. "You don't have to wash your face (to take your makeup off)." My husband was blowing up my phone, and I told him him and his grandma could come now. They come in an hour later (12:00) and start the pitocin. Used to jump start labor. They also tell me, I can not eat until after giving birth. I almost threw up right then and there. I am starving. Chris (husband's father), my mom and 8 month old pregnant sister Des, my husband's sisters (S, E, & M) and all his grandparents show up at the beginning. I had more people than what was allowed, but she said as long as I stay calm, and my blood pressure doesn't go up, they can stay. But some leave anyways, knowing that this is going to be a long process, and the rest stays. I am good. No pain, watching TV, talking to everyone. The nurse checks up on me every 30 minutes to watch the contractions and make sure everything is going as planned. Eventually a couple of hours later, everyone is shocked at how well I am taking it. I am in no pain, and I'm like "hm, maybe I can actually give birth naturally" (like I would want to). The nurse asks me if I feel the contractions, and I told her not really, so she places some things inside my "lady part" to keep track of the contractions better. She even tells me that the pitocin is so high, that they normally don't even pass, I believe was 13ml, and I was at 24ml, so she's surprised that I have a high tolerance with pain.
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| James, Grandpa R, Chris, S, Mom & Des |
I am still starving, and they give me a cup of ice. They should at least give you some snow cones or something, because ice just doesn't cut it. My mom bought me a lollipop, but that is still forbidden, so we had to quickly hide it when someone came in the room. Apparently, it's because if they have to do a c-section, then you need to be empty? My husband was TRYING to tough it out of not eating along with me, but I told him it was okay, that he can go eat... So he left with his Grandpa R and went to eat, and that is when Dr. A comes in and tells me he's going to go ahead and break my water, but it shouldn't be a big deal since my baby barely has any fluids left. He asks for everyone to leave while he does this, and since James isn't here, my mom stays with me, holding my hand. "There is going to be a little bit of pressure" - he says, and breaks my water. And within one minute or less, I am fighting to hold tears back. My pain is so extreme that I feel like I won't make it through. Family starts to walk back in, and I tell my mom to tell them to get out. Dr. A is surprised saying their was barley any one that came out, even my mom said it looked like a couple of drops, but nothing major. I didn't care, because the pain I felt was like the opposite of whatever crap they were trying to tell me. James comes in the room and sees what happened, and knows I don't feel good. He holds my hand, rubbing his thumb on top and remains quiet. My mom is still with me, and asks the doctor if I can have the epidural now. You aren't supposed to get the epidural until after 4cm, and I was at a 3cm, but he knew I was in so much pain, that he went ahead and told the anesthesiologist to come and do it. They believed my pain was so bad, since I had been having the pitocin so high for a couple of hours, that I am now feeling all of it. They gave me some privacy, so I asked my mom if I could get up and lean over the hospital bed since who wants to just lay down and feel all the pain, helplessly. She said "yes, that you can do whatever is going to make me feel better." I am leaning over the hospital bed, butt is exposed from wearing this dumb hospital gown, but I don't even care. "Can I do anything", James asks feeling helpless. And I tell him, "no". He doesn't let go, and tears fall from my face as I am moaning and groaning in agony. My mom watches the contractions on the screen, and I had about 10-15 secs to catch my breath as another contraction hit me like a wave in a storm. She'd tell me every time it was coming, to embrace myself as she rubbed my back. I swear to God, it was never going to end.
I dealt with this for 30 minutes with barley any break of contraction, and finally GOD answered my prayers and the anesthesiologist comes in with the best present you could ever receive. They ask for James and my mom to leave. No one is allowed while they do the epidural. My nurse gets in front of me and tells me to place my hands on her shoulders for support. The anesthesiologist tells me that it will burn for a second, and I should feel the full effect of the epidural in less than an hour. The needle is about as long as your computer screen, but I didn't care because as he is talking and about to do this, I am still have terrible contractions. [depending on how I die, I am going to say this is the worst physical pain I'll ever go through] The nurse is telling me to take deep breaths, instead of holding my breath during the pain. So here we are doing the breathing technique you see on movies, haha. He does the epidural, and I was in so much pain that yes, it felt like a bee sting (I have never got stung by a bee, but I feel like that's how it'd feel), it burned, but I knew it was just something magical happening. I tell the nurse I only want my husband to come back.
As my husband is entering the room, they are placing a catheter in me since I will no longer be able to go to the bathroom until the epidural wears off. I am no longer in pain, and now I am just sleepy and hungry. We rest, while family is getting restless. They want to be in the room, but we are so tired, that we don't want to feel like we have to entertain others. Dr. A comes in and tells me he hasn't had a day off, so he's going home, and Dr. M is going to be here. But he doesn't feel like I am going to deliver until tomorrow morning. [Side note: IF you ever saw Knocked Up, I joked to a lot of people that that's my biggest fear of having a doctor be with me through my whole pregnancy and then BAM not be their during the birth] (He was wrong, but oh well...) Eventually my family (Chris, S, Grandpa R, Des & my mom) was tired, so (Chris, S, Des, and my mom) decided they were going to leave and come back. As they were telling their goodbyes, I told my mom I needed a bag to throw up in. I was super nauseous and apparently that meant the baby was coming. We asked the nurse if she could check if I was dilated enough to push, and I was at 7cm! Everyone left the room again, besides my husband and two nurses started to help me push. We aimed for 11 PM on the dot. I think it was about 10:30, haha. So we tried to make it a game. One nurse sat beside my leg holding a foot on the bed while another was between my legs, and James was holding my other leg/foot. Since I had the epidural, I couldn't feel anything. "You need to push like you're having a bowel movement, you will feel the pressure with pushing", one of the nurses told me. It was just completely awkward. I had to act like I was pooping in order for this baby to come in this world. At first, it was hard. They told me I was pushing all in my face, with no actions down there. We even tried one nurse hold a blanket, while I held the other end (tug of war) and hope that'd help with pushing down. (it didn't). Eventually I got the hang out it and my husband would tell me when it was all in my face and when I needed to push correctly. People have asked me two million times: Did you poop?
All I can say is not eating for 24 hours, helps. Of course something is going to eventually come with you practically forcing and straining. But (TMI) it was like the size of a marble or less (LMAO). I Promise!
They could all see the top of head appear, so I push for a little while more and they get the doctor. (I just want to praise nurses that they really do the hard work). She comes in, adjusts the hospital bed where my butt is pretty much no longer on the bed. She tells me we will push, I will get a 10 sec break, and then we will push again. I did it, and even with the epidural, I could feel the pressure of my baby's head squirming through, so that's when I don't do the break, and I continue to keep pushing down knowing she is making her way out in this world, and at 11:41 PM she does! Later, my husband tells me he wanted to hit the doctor, because they pulled her head to get her out and it was like stretching (LOL). They undo my gown and place her on me immediately and cover us up. It is surreal, she's beautiful and REAL. ;) They wipe her down as she's still on me. They then take her from me since she is breathing weird. I am worried, and they tell me it's okay, it just sounds like some fluids. My husband walks with them for them to pat her on the back and get the rest of the fluids from her throat and nose. The doctor is cleaning and pulling the yucky stuff from me, I watch as she pulls the string back up and down to stitch me up.
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| Angeline Alyse: born January 8, 2014 at 11:41PM. 6lbs, 14oz. 19 3/4 inches long. |
They told me they could bring me anything I wanted to eat, and I told them all I wanted was "sweet tea" which they didn't have, so they brought me water! Angeline Alyse was okay, and we got to hold her again and spend time with her. Family came in to see her before they left for the night, saying that she looks like me. (I didn't agree at the time, since she was just born and I didn't know who she looked like). They all said their goodbyes, and after an hour the nurse came back and told me I'd need to pee before I got moved to the maternity floor. They helped me walk to the bathroom, since the epidural was 100% gone. "It's scary but you can do it", the nurse encouraged me. She presented me with a squirt bottle with warm water and told me for a couple of weeks, I'll need to squirt the water as I pee. I tried, but it just felt weird. Something huge just happened to me, and I feel totally different. I couldn't. She then told me, if I didn't, she'd have to place the catheter back in. Pssssssss...... I peed. Everyone laughed, and it burned like ffnsflnsflgnfdndjkfng shit! It hurt so bad, that I wish I never had to pee again. They gave me the best comfortable pad in the world and the softest panties (because even though birth is over, you have the worst heavy flow of "period" for a couple of weeks to flush everything that's left) They rolled Angeline and I up to our maternity room, and that was the start of our life together...
What happened next... Next post coming soon!
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