On Monday June 17th we went in for our 39 week checkup. My midwife informed us I was about 2.5 dilated and about 80% effaced, which was a little further along than the week before so we were pleased! I had read a little about having my membranes swept but wasn't planning on going that route until after my due date (June 22nd). But when it was offered, I knew there wasn't much risk associated with the procedure so I thought, why not! It hurt having it done but not much more than having your cervix checked. They say labor can start anytime after you have it done, but if it's going to work it'll be within 48 hrs- thinking about this made me have a mild panic attack! I wanted to meet our baby but felt really nervous about what was to come.
Monday night came and went and I was convinced the sweep didn't accomplish much. On Tuesday morning I still felt like there was a chance something could happen today. So I did what any logical women would do- I got as cute as possible- just in case I had to deliver a baby! Did my hair, got an appropriate amount of makeup on, jewelry, you know all the hospital essentials. (more to come about all the silly things I brought to the hospital with me and never touched).
I should note that my contractions were in my back the whole time. This sucked. Apparently a tilted uterus + posterior cervix makes for some painful back labor. When we arrived at l&d they hooked me up to the monitors and had me lay on my back on this super high, uncomfy, hospital "bed". WTF? I'm still pissed about this. As if I'm not in enough pain you want me to lay in the worst position possible and "stay still". HA! So, go figure, they couldn't get a good read on my contractions because I couldn't sit still. They checked my cervix and I was only at a 3. Frustrating that all the pain I had been feeling hadn't dilated me more than half a cm. They gave me an hour to walk around and they would check me again. Walking was better than laying but my contractions were getting more intense to the point where I would have to lean on the wall in the hallways of l&d every few minutes to get through them. I was still a little self conscious at this point, I mean I was writhing in pain in front of not just the nurses, but whoever was walking around visiting- I just felt awkward. Anyway, after an hour of all that fun I hadn't progressed AT ALL. Plus the nurse, who didn't seem super sympathetic, basically told me I wasn't having regular contractions. She kind of made me feel like I was imagining this all in my head! (BTW, since they weren't timing my contractions my husband was and they were down to about 3-4 min apart while we were there--but what do we know...)
So home we went... in tears. Well I was in tears. Eric was great through all this. It was hard for him to see me in so much pain and not get any relief. The most frustrating part was that we had no idea when to go back at this point. I mean, I can't check how dilated I am at home, all I can go by was my contractions. When we were leaving and I asked the nurse she said when they are 3 minutes apart and you can't talk through them... which is exactly how they were, and they were sending me away...??? Anyway, I took the lortab they gave me and hoped I could go home and sleep off these "braxton hicks" : P
We got home around 6 and the next 6 hours are such a blur. Like I mentioned- back labor is no joke. I literally tried every position, everything that was recommended in my childbirth classes and there was just no relief. Well, one thing temporarily helped- a hot shower. I took 3 over the course of a few hours...needless to say, all the work I put into being "cute" when I delivered was the LAST thing on my mind. Makeup all over, didn't even brush my hair after showering- I looked a hot mess! I did care, but physically could not do anything to fix it haha. By about 10 I was completely worn out. I could barely keep my eyes open and would try to sleep for a few minutes in between each contraction. If I was laying down when a contraction came on, I would literally wake up screaming from the pain..it was terrible. My two cats and my husband are probably just as traumatized as I am from watching me do this for hours...
After midnight we were convinced this wasn't going to stop tonight & that driving to the hospital and being turned down again wasn't as bad as doing this for the rest of the night. Eric told me after that he was ready to throw a fit and make them admit me or give me something for the pain. Right before we left my contractions quickened up drastically like 1-2 minutes apart all of a sudden. I had a few contractions in the car that were torture. I was in tears as we got to the hospital because I was preparing for a similar experience that we had earlier. The ladies in the ER were super sympathetic though & rushed me up to labor and delivery.
The nurse in the admit area didn't even hook me up to the monitors this time since it was clear I was having them so close together. When she checked my cervix I had progressed to a 6.5! So exciting. I had planned on seeing how the pain was before deciding whether I wanted an epidural or not. It was basically the first thing I asked for when I got there, and sure enough, they delivered very quickly. My nurse blew up my vein pretty bad putting my IV in. It made a huge mess- blood everywhere. I was really nervous about being stabbed in my spine... especially because you have to hold still through your contraction in order for them to do it correctly. It was pretty difficult but the relief was instant, I went from writhing in pain and crying to making jokes, and being in awe of how great I felt.
After getting my epidural I still progressed at a great rate. They checked me every hour or so, and I would add another cm to my dilation. I was fully dilated by about 4 am. Labor and delivery was really busy that night and I had to wait on my doctor to break my water. Eric got a quick nap in but I was just too excited to sleep!
When it came time to push, I told the nurse I was feeling a little more than pressure down in my crotch. I didn't want to up my epi medicine because I felt like it was important that I still feel the pressure in order to know when to push. My nurse was really great and seemed like she knew her stuff, she told me that she would recommend upping it before I push & that if I have the epi in I may as well not be feeling any pain. I was easily convinced and maxed that sucker out! I still felt enough to push, enough so that I could tell them when a contraction was coming and didn't have to wait to be told.
Going into the delivery I expected pushing to be worse than the contractions for some reason.. but pushing was easy! I only had to push for less than an hour, and that was with a good minute or so between groups of pushes. The last push was definitely the most intense but it still didn't hurt terribly.
They put little Alex right under my chin once he was out. All I remember about this part was feeling a huge relief that he was here & that I had really did it. I had prepared myself for him to be covered in nasty stuff but he was perfect and had his eyes wide open with curiosity. I remember looking up at Eric and it was probably the happiest I have ever seen him look. He had tears in his eyes so of course that set me over the edge and made me cry like a baby. And then they took Alex to be weighed and he cried like a baby! Actually screamed, the nurses were really impressed with his set of lungs. He got an apgar score of 9.9 which means he was super healthy and responsive. Eric even told me he got a grip on the measuring tape and ripped it!
I had a little bit of complications after he was out. A few stitches, and a placenta that wouldn't detach and had to be manually removed (this was just as fun as it sounds). Let's just say, an epidural can't help everything. The doctor kept asking if I was ok throughout this.. it was very painful but I didn't care because I could look over and watch my baby getting checked out by the nurses. I just wanted her to hurry and finish so I could hold him again.
Everyone tells you having a child changes your life, and there really is no way for you to imagine the way that you will change, it's like nothing else in this world. This first week has been a lot of work, extremely exhausting, but everyday when he does something new, or looks my direction with his big eyes it makes the 9 months of pregnancy, and pain of delivery, and frustration of not having a quick recovery worth every second.
