Once in our L&D room I undressed out of the cute outfit I had planned in my "put together" frenzy that morning. I got situated in the hospital bed and began to prepare for the day ahead. RTB was already anxious but excited. The nurse came in and said she needed to start an IV to get me hydrated. Well let's just say it took 3 sticks and blood all over her, me, and the floor and she STILL wasn't able to get a vein. GEESH! I thought if this was a sign of how the day was going to go I was in for it! She called another nurse to try and get an IV started. I was trying to hold back from crying from the bruises the previous nurse left as well as maintain a pleasant demeanor when nurse #2 came in. Nurse #2 came in and I prayed a silent prayer that she would have more luck. She looked at my arms confused then quickly and easily got me all hooked up. WHEW! Thank goodness! She explained that they would wait until Dr. M came to check me to start pitocin. So there we were in the room watching the clock tick by...minutes passed like hours.
Around 8:30am, Dr. M waltzed in with his coffee and said "I can't believe you are STILL pregnant!" I laughed and said "Hopefully not for much longer!" Dr. M checked me and I got the same old "Well his head is still up in Charlottesville!" He said that they would get the pitocin started and he would be back in a few hours to break my water if that hadn't happened yet. Alright, here we go!! Ladies and gentlemen start your engines!
The nurse started me on pitocin and hooked me up to monitors to monitor my contractions and the baby's heart rate. Well I began feeling the contractions but it wasn't that bad. I would cringe a little bit but nothing that took my breath away and made me want to scream. Around 11am, Dr. M came back and decided it was time to break my water. HOLY MOLY.... I think that was the worst part! No details necessary but needless to say my water had been broken. Dr. M said he would be back around 2pm to check on my progress. Well I started to feel the contractions coming. I didn't scream because I didn't want to be "that pregnant lady" so I just breathed deeply, closed my eyes, and tried to relax through it. Around 1:30pm I was really feeling it and decided it was time for an epidural. As my mom says "We don't need a super hero". I was totally not going to be a super hero and wanted to not feel what I was feeling. So the epidural went in without a hitch and I was laying comfortably in the bed watching TV and responding to emails and RTB was playing Angry Birds on the tablet. Well 2pm came and went and no Dr. M... I was getting increasingly frustrated because he was NOT doing what he said! The nurse did come in and check me and no progress.....<insert MORE FRUSTRATION> Around 4:30pm Dr. M came in and checked me again..still not much progress and the baby's head was still in Charlottesville.
Dr. M referenced the little comment he had made the day before and asked if I had digested it and I said yes. He said well you can keep laboring if you want and see what happens or we can prepare you for a C-section.
Mind you, I had never planned for a c-section and did not want one but something told me that Dr. M was right. If I kept laboring I would still be in the same place tomorrow that I am in today...not much progress and still laboring. So Dr. M called for a nurse and said "Let's get her on the runway!" Apparently there were 2-3 C-sections in front of me so he said I would be taxi-ing on the runway for a little while until it was my turn. He explained that if my progress changed before it was time to go in that we would keep laboring.
So I called my parents and sister and told them what was going on. Within 30 minutes my parents were at the hospital and sitting in the L&D room with us. The time got closer and closer..... I became increasingly more anxious. The nurse finally came in and said it would probably be another 30 minutes. I was checked one more time just on the off chance that something had changed....no such luck. There we all were in the room....RTB, mom, dad, and me. I sat mostly in silence because I was scared if I talked too much I would start crying. I was shaking and trying not to think about them cutting my stomach in half but instead think about the outcome of a beautiful and healthy baby boy.
Finally.... it was go time!
I like setting goals and having a plan!
RTB...soon to be daddy
CGB.... soon to be mommy
Last picture as Bevan party of 2
In between contractions and feeling good!
Hey!! :) Love reading your Carter's birth story! Sounds similar, in ways, to ours. I had issues with my IV too, what is up with those nurses?! Mine actually fell out while getting the fluids for the epidural, luckily my day nurse gave me a numbing shot before putting the IV back in! And we did the c-section too, granted it was emergency for us so I didn't have a whole lot of time to sit and think about it. However, I will say in the long run, I'm so glad we did a c - I think my recovery from it has been a million times easier than recovery from an almost 9 pound baby coming out the old fashioned way ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney! I just have to say that you looked fabulous in all your hospital pictures, esp. your "soon to be mommy" picture! I hope I look half as good as you when I'm in labor :) Congrats to you and your hubby on your wonderful baby boy!
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