7.16.10
On Friday I knew she was coming soon. I went to work that morning feeling fine. Went to the doctors and found out I was dilated to a 4. They scheduled an induction for Monday morning, but the doctor said I would probably not last until Monday.
Then off to go visiting teaching during which I had a few contractions. Nothing more than I had been feeling the past month.
Chuck came home around 8 and the contractions were progressively getting worse. Blake came over to stay the night and we went for some Chinese food. It was SO good!
Once home, I took a bath for some pain relief and then tried to sleep. It was around 11pm and neither of us were sleeping. Chuck started timing the contractions and they were about 5 minutes apart.
Off to the hospital we went.
They checked us into Triage and said I was dilated to a 5. YEAH! I was so ready for this baby to come.
We went to Labor and Delivery and they put in an IV line - after three tries (which hurt more than the epidural). Then we went to the soaking tub which was really more like a huge bathtub in a spa-like room. It provided some relief and felt nice.
I was at a 5 for a while so they started pitocin to aid the contractions along. Next time they checked I was at a 6 and feeling contractions stronger and more painful. I was at a 7 when I decided it was time for an epidural.
Needles are not my favorite thing and after the IV line I was nervous, but tried to be optimistic about the whole thing.
7.17.10
I was prepped for the epi and they tried twice before it went in. Chuck was watching them place the needle and started feeling nauseous then threw up in the trash can. After that he was fine. I still had full function of both legs we realized it had not been correctly placed. I wanted to cry! How many times could they poke me?
Around 8am the anesthesiologist came in and talked me into trying a third time, but this time he would personally set it. It was over and I started feeling pretty good.
Around 10am I was fully dilated and effaced and my awesome labor nurse Tara said it was time to start pushing. My doc was luckily the one on-call that weekend and ready for the delivery.
Chuck was nervous about his part, but the nurse just told him what to do. They each held one of my legs while I pushed. About 15 minutes into pushing, the nurse helped me feel her head as she was crowning. It was a bit weird, but totally thrilling moment. Then after 32 minutes of pushing she was out.
Chuck and I had both bet on time and weight of her delivery and he won both. I thought she would be born around noon and weight closer to 8 pounds. He thought she would be born around 11 and weight close to 7 pounds. I guess Daddy does know best.
