A labor story...

May 13, 2013

8AM - up, eating breakfast, sitting on chouch
8:20AM - up to go pee, sneazed, "peed" on self. Oh wait, that's a LOT of pee. Crap! Did my water just break?! Cautiously excited
8:23AM - call to doc. come on in for check
8:24AM - shower; Rocky, pack me and you; run around frantically; situate dog, throw carseat in back of car, clean additional fluid running down leg...go!
9:15AM - arrived a doc's office, get on table with a big gush, YEP, that's the stuff! It's go-time! Still 3-4cm, 100% effaced, -2 position I think
10AM - driving to St Mary's b/c that's where mid-wife already is; call parents, text a few others, still no contractions
10:30AM - in L&D room, chilling. They plan to start a slow dose of pitocin after my penicillin doses are complete
11:15AM - I've felt a couple mild contractions, "I can handle this." Rocky and I venture into the hallway and HOLY HELL, that's a contraction?! They come every fifteen minutes or so.
12PM ish - "Are you ready for an epidural?" "Neh, I'm okay."
1PMish - back in hall, contractions stopping me in my steps, having to do "the dance" with Rocky and breathing thru them. Dr Allen is there, gives me a back rub, says I can make it without an epidural, especially if I'm already dilated to 8 or so (we haven't checked since the doc office). No thanks, Doc!
1:15pm - "I'm ready for that epidural please!"

I'm not sure exactly what time I got the epidural but I think it was about two hours after the hard contractions started and that was plenty for me! It was awesome. I remember a cold feeling coming over my back or legs or something. I could still feel and move my legs. I could feel the tightness of the contractions without the pain. It was great. I loved that I wasn't hurting but that I also didn't feel like a paraplegic.

They checked me after the epidural and I was only at a 5 so I was very glad I chose to get that sucker! The next couple of hours were chill. I was texting some I think and eating ice cubes I'm sure. Around 3:30pm they checked me again and I was fully dilated! Bam! They wanted me to hang out a bit longer before we started pushing...no need to just push longer when I could let her descend more on her own. Sounded good to me!

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At 4:30pm she was lower and we were ready to push. I think they told me I would probably push 45minutes to an hour. Sounded great. So far, this labor thing had progressed fantastically and we didn't anticipate that changing at all :)

4:30pm - 5:45pm - push three, 10 second counts with each contractions. Learning how to push, where to push, etc in the beginning. Feeling like I would pop I was pushing so hard.

5:45 - 7pm (ish) - We were getting no where, so time to "labor down" which I learned meant to chill out on my side in hopes Olivia would turn over and descend...she was face up and needed to be face down. It was here that I also learned that my epidural didn't work (or didn't work very well) when I was on my side...lots of moaning and groaning. I think I got a bolus thru my epidural at this point. Or maybe it was the next "laboring down" phase. Either way, it helped but didn't last.

7pm-8pm (ish) - pushing again. Lots of hands up in me! Olivia finally facing down but not really getting out!

8pm - 11:30 (pm) - more rest/laboring down/pain from laying on my side. I was supposed to just rest for an hour but 2 sections got called and I got post-poned. Honestly, I wasn't complaining.

I should interject here that we had so many wonderful friends and family who'd been waiting outside for several long hours...the Threadgills, the Swingle clan, mom, Shawn, Holly (who ended up being "leg holder/coach/life-saver"). Around 10:30pm, I think, most left but my Mom and Holly. Also, Helen Snyder came by somewhere around this point and sat next to me while I puked. She was like Florence Nightgale's ghost. A silent angel. That's kind of all I remember about that saint.

(I'm not sure exactly when I typed all of the above, but I'm finishing it 13 months after having Olivia.  My memory fails me on many details, not that I ever remembered them that clearly!, but here goes nothing...)

Between 1130pm and Mid-night, my midwife, Rhonda, came back in and checked me. She was concerned. I can't remember exactly why, other than the fact that I'd pushed on and off for almost 8 hours, as I was just in a sort of determined daze. My doctor, Dr Allen, was in house due to several other complicated labors/c-sections so at some point around 12am, Rhonda asked her to come in. I'm very thankful for that!

After a while of pushing with Dr Allen at the reigns, she grew more serious and her faced changed a bit. This is when she recommended we do one more round of pushing, through three more contractions. She asked if I was okay with her using suctioning. I wanted to know the risks. I mean, was I in any state to make decisions like this? Apparently so. I allowed it knowing she would only use it for three pushes (or maybe it was less). It was implied, but I don't think anyone ever actually stated, that a c-section would be performed if this round of pushing didn't work. I do remember this being when the fear of Olivia not making it started to creep up on me. A little panic, I'd say.

8 lbs, 9 oz and 19 inches of sweetness!

I'm not sure when or where all the ripping and cutting took place. I just know during this last round, my "coach" Holly almost fainted due to the site so my mom stepped in to hold my leg. When I saw her face as she saw the "site" I knew it was bad. She made it clear to everyone that she was freaking out and not pleased at all with this entire labor story. Thanks, Mom! ;)

Anyway, at that point ALL I wanted was my baby to be safe and, well, to GET OUT! And, thank the Lord, she did!!! At just a few minutes of 1AM the room was thrilled, and I was honestly too shocked and relieved and anemic to respond much, as my sweet girl emerged.

I had looked forward to that "moment" after birth for months and months. It's really the only part of labor I'd envisioned. The "moment" when exhausted, yet ecstatic new mom takes crying, bloody baby to her chest and holds and nurses her with tears flowing down her cheeks and love welling up in her heart. You know, THE moment. Well, yeah, that's for story books. Or birthing class videos. Or other people. But, whatever, she was alive and I could see her. She was gorgeous and after a little suctioning, a pause in both her parents hearts, she started wailing. GLORY!

Once that wailing began, my mind suddenly thought, for perhaps the first time, "I might die." It was then that I remembered things were not good "down below" and I noticed the Dr and mid-wife still working on me, sewing, hunting, whispering, mmm hmming, ahhh ha-ing, sewing, sewing, talking about blood loss, hunting, handing me my placenta so I could feel it (so cool! liver-esque), sewing, whispering, ahhh ha-ing...

Around 2am, I was stable and sewn back together and my sweet baby WAS finally laying on my chest, trying to nurse (she was a darn good latcher from the get-go). My mom finally went home (drove all the way to back to Carrollton) and Rocky was just a few minutes to sound asleep.

Oh, that sweet baby. She's 13 months now, asleep in the other room and my heart still fills beyond measure each time I hold her to my chest.

Worth every second!

*Rocky, the self-proclaimed hospital-hater and passer-outer-at-the-sight-of-blood was by my side the entire time. Initially walking me in the halls, then at my bed side then at the head of the bed once things got a little too bloody for him. I think he left once to update the crew we had waiting. He was the first to hold Olivia's hand and touch her. It was love at first site. He rocked it. Funny story though, a few hours in to all this pushing stuff, Rocky looks up and kind of says to none, "Man, I'm tired..." The looks he got from the nurses and mid-wife. Ha! Priceless :)

**I must also give a huge shout-out to the other person in the room who did the second most work and didn't get in a single picture (because she was taking them, as well as, videoing, holding my leg, encouraging me, keeping the fort "safe" and almost passing out! Holly Bowie is that selfless, strong, amazing, life-giver of a friend and cousin-in-law everyone should have!