Birth

WARNING!!! This is the longest post in history. It is really mostly for me to have a document of Luke's birth! :)

In the wee hours of the morning on April 27th I woke up feeling cramps in my lower abdomen. I didn't think much of it because I had been having these pains for the past week on and off. I went to the bathroom and tried to go back to sleep, but 20 minutes later (at 3:22 am) I felt them again. They were quite painful and I had to sit up to endure the pain. Dan was sleeping on the couch because I had a terrible cold and was extremely uncomfortable from being so pregnant. I turned on my little DVD player and tried to sleep, but every 15-20 minutes I was having contractions and had to jump out of bed. Finally, around 4 am I told Dan we needed to switch places. I thought about not telling him about the contractions, but I did and he told me to start timing them. So, I got out my handy worksheet and started keeping track of the time. They were about 15 minutes apart, but I still didn't think I was in labor.

I tried to sleep during those 10 minute breaks, but my efforts were futile. Dan left for work around 7:30 am and I told him not to worry and that it was probably just false labor. It was my friends birthday and I had promised her breakfast, so I showered and made her french toast all while having contractions about every 10-15 minutes. As the morning progressed Dan was texting and calling me every other minute. He finally left work around 9:30 am to come be with me. The contractions were definitely getting more painful and more frequent, but not 5 minutes apart yet. Everyone kept telling us to walk, so we went to Costco and walked around for about an hour. As we were walking around the store the contractions were becoming more frequent and more painful. I would have to stop and brace myself during some of them.

I was so hungry so we stopped at Subway and grabbed some lunch on the way home. It felt so good to eat. (little did I know that would be the last food I would eat until 3:30 am the next morning!!) I had a OB appointment scheduled for that day at 3:00 pm. I told myself that if the contractions kept getting closer together that I would call Labor and Delivery at 2:00 pm to see what they had to say. I told Dan to take a nap (he also had a terrible cold with sore throat, body aches and cough) so he could have some energy for later. I sat on the couch and continued to time the contractions. They were about 5 minutes apart at this point and getting very painful. At 2:00 pm I decided to call Labor and Delivery and they told me to come on in. Dan heard me on the phone and I told him it was time to go!! He was so cute and rushed around the house putting last minute things in suitcases and loading everything in the car. I was in too much pain to be excited or scared. I just wanted to get to the hospital. I do remember thinking as I locked the door to the apartment that the next time I came home I would most likely have a baby with me.

We were so lucky to have no traffic on the way to the hospital and Dan even asked me if I wanted him to drive faster. (He is someone who always obeys the speed limit!) We arrived and headed down the long hallway to the Labor and Delivery entrance. They checked me and sent me to triage. Before they checked my cervix the nurse had to ask me all sorts of questions and put the monitors on me. She even had the guts to tell me that I might have to go walk for an hour. When she said this I literally had to hold back the tears. I had already walked around Costco for an hour. I was just hoping that they weren't going to send me away. Finally the midwife came in and checked me. She had good news!! I was dilated 5 cm and had won a ticket to be admitted!

We were admitted and led to room seven! This was a very lucky sign to us. We love the number seven. Dan was born on the 7th and we were married on the 7th. I was very happy at this point and I was also very happy to find out that I could get the epidural whenever I wanted. We got situated in our spacious room, got hooked up to an IV and waited for the anesthesiologist. While we were waiting my sister arrived with some beautiful flowers and she was joining us for our journey through labor and delivery. I was a little nervous about getting the epidural, but Dan was sitting in front of me and I didn't have to see the needle so I survived. The worst part was enduring the contractions while having to hold so still. As soon as that epidural kicked in I was a HAPPY camper! I don't know how anyone would endure labor without medication. I hope that I never have to. As you can see in the picture, I LOVE the epidural!

I got the epidural around 5:00 pm and was feeling much better. Dan and Marci took turns getting some dinner and I munched on my ice chips. I was hot and had the air conditioning cranked in the room. Marci and Dan were wearing their coats and covering up in blankets all night. We watched the news, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Ratatouille, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Survivor and The Holiday.

The epidural was definitely working and definitely felt strange. It was working more on my left side and I couldn't even lift my own leg it was so numb. It was a very strange sensation, but definitely better than the pain I was feeling before. My progress definitely slowed down a bit after the epidural. Then around 11:20 pm I started feeling the contractions in my uterus. I was dilated 10 cm, but he wasn't down low enough yet. I did a trial push around 11:30 pm, but I was so numb that I couldn't push effectively. They told me not to push the button for the epidural anymore so that I would be able to feel when I needed to push. I tried to rest, but I started feeling the contractions really intensely around 12:45 am. It hurt so bad! I was so tired and sick . I had slept about 4 hours the night before and the night before that it wasn't much more. I had a cold and I was exhausted at this point. I didn't know how I was going to make it. Finally, Marci and Dan got the nurse and told her that I needed to start pushing or I needed more pain medication.

So, we started pushing around 1:15 am. After the first push I started to cry and I said, "I can't do it. I'm too tired". Everyone told me that I could do it and with God's help I was able to start pushing. With every push I was thinking, "Please help me Jesus. Help me push this baby out. I can't do it on my own." I started getting some good pushes in. Marci was counting while I pushed and holding one leg and Dan was holding my other leg and encouraging me. I can't even tell you how helpful they both were. I could not have done it without both of them there by my side. When they started to see the head their excitement made me want to push more. They started to see some muconium so the nurse told me that some extra people would come in when he was delivered and that I wouldn't hear him cry until they suctioned him out. I was so exhausted that I didn't even notice extra people come on the room. At this point I was pushing with all my might. On one push I pushed a little too hard and totally gagged and puked a little bit. As 2:30 am approached I knew he was getting close. I got to reach down and touch his head. That did it. I was getting this baby out! I can't even describe the sensation as he slipped out of me. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world. I didn't really get to see him because they wanted to suction him out quickly. I just remember saying, my baby, my baby. I told Dan to go over by the baby while they delivered my placenta.

Then came the cry! I looked over at the little table and there was my baby boy crying! It was such a relief to hear him cry. I started to cry and after Daddy cut the cord, they brought him to me and I cried more as I held my baby boy. It was so wonderful to hold him next to my skin and to feel that little body that had been growing inside of me. It was worth every push and pain that I felt. He was moving his hands all around and grabbing at my face and it just felt so wonderful to hold him. I didn't even know that as all this was happening the midwife was sewing up my second degree tears!!

I got to hold him for a bit and then they weighed him, bathed him, vitamin K and eye gooped him. They also brought me a box lunch and that sandwich and cranberry juice tasted so amazing!! I already felt great not being pregnant. It felt amazing to have the baby in my arms instead of in my stomach. He weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces and 21 inches.

Here is Luke with my amazing labor buddies! Marci and Dan were so amazing. They were tired and cold and Dan was so sick, but they stuck it out with me and I couldn't have done it without their encouragement and help.

Around 4 am Marci headed for home, the nurses and doctors left and there we were with a baby boy. As we put him in his little cart and tried to get a few minutes of shut eye I heard the birds chirping outside. It was finally over. It was about 23 hours that I was in labor. Definitely worth it! Definitely hard! Definitely the best reward I have ever received!