That evening I began having contractions. Nothing really regular, but more than before. We went for a walk after dinner in hopes of making something happen, but nothing really did. H had taken off the rest of the week for work, and I was worried that it was for nothing. I went to bed, and didn't have any more contractions that I could feel anyway. I'm a pretty heavy sleeper.
I woke up at 7am Tuesday and had another contraction. Then another around 7:30. M woke up so I got up also. We got dressed and went for another walk. I had fairly regular contractions during the walk, but I wasn't timing them. When we got back home, H was waking up. He asked if anything was happening, and I said maybe. I went ahead and took a shower, washed my hair, and began getting dressed. I had some pretty decent contractions the whole time. I got out the balance ball to help me through them. M didn't really get it...she just wanted to play with the ball. H was timing the contractions with an iPhone app. As I was putting on my makeup, they were 7-8 minutes apart, lasting about a minute each. I tried laying in the bed in some sort of position from the Bradley Method book. The balance ball worked better. I called my mom to tell her that today might be the day, just to give her a heads up. When I was straightening my hair, they were getting closer, about 6 minutes apart, and hurting more in my back. I was really working to get through them. I made H go vacuum my car and install the car seat. All the while, I was still contracting, getting worse and a little closer together. After he was finished, he came back inside and he timed them some more, while we watched The Price is Right. My BFF, Brittney, called, and I let her know what was going on. Several contractions later, all coming about 5 minutes apart for about 1 minute 20 seconds or so, I decided it was time to go to the hospital. H called my aunt and let her know, so she came over to watch M. I also called Brittney (she had volunteered to be my coach) and told her that we were leaving and asked her to meet me there. I was having a hard time even walking out to the car. We got all packed up and left for the hospital. On the way there, I called the labor unit to let them know that I was coming. The ride over there was very uncomfortable...it takes 30 minutes to get there.
The nurses and scrub tech were waiting for us when we got there. I put on the gown and got settled in the bed. The nurse, Glenda, checked me and I was 6-7 cm and fully effaced. Yay! So they went ahead and admitted me, and hooked me up to the monitors. That stupid toco monitor was really uncomfortable, and the FHR monitor kept losing the heart rate. Shortly afterward, Brittney arrived. She was great at helping me relax, as I was trying for an epidural-free birth. Eventually, the contractions were so bad that nothing I did brought relief. I broke down and asked for an epidural. The time between then and when the anesthesiologist got there was the longest 30 minutes ever. I was about 8 cm dilated when I got the epidural. After that, things were so much better. I do not regret that decision at all. I could still tell when I was having a contraction, but it was not as painful. The started a low dose of pitocin, so as not to slow things down. After that there was barely any time between contractions, and I was getting more uncomfortable. The called the anesthesiologist back to bolus me again. Things were better after that. I was fully dilated, but didn't feel any urge to push, so they just let me labor down for a bit. Then we went through a few practice pushes before calling in Dr. T for the big show. Dr. T arrived, and the nurses and scrub techs got everything ready. H and B helped hold my legs back during the pushing. After about 20 minutes of pushing, Ian Alexander entered the world at 4:56 pm. He was a whopping 8 lbs. 10 ounces and 19 3/4 inches long. He is so perfect. He looks a lot like his older sister when she was born. (pictures will be posted soon)
I had a great birth experience. I really wanted to go into labor on my own and get as far as I could without an epidural. I'm so glad that happened. I don't regret the epi at all. I'm proud of myself for making it as far as I did without one.
Happy Birthday, Ian! I love you so much!
