My due date was Sunday August 13th, 2006. We had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby girl for what felt like forever! At 36 weeks my doctor began checking to see if I was dilated and since this was my first baby, as expected, I was not. If I remember right, I dilated to about 1 1/2 cm by my 37 week appointment and then stayed that way until labor began. At my 38 week and 39 week appointment I had convinced my OB to perform a procedure called membrane stripping to nudge labor along. I had done a fair amount of research on it and was hopeful it would get things started. It did not...either time. During this procedure the doctor will insert a finger into the cervix and use a sweeping motion to circle the opening between the cervix and bag of waters to sort of separate the two. Doing this triggers the body to start releasing a natural hormone that will induce contractions and hopefully labor. One of the facts about membrane stripping is that if your body is getting ready naturally it can speed things up. If your body isn't ready yet, it won't help at all...unless your water breaks during the process which can happen. Well, I guess I just wasn't ready because it didn't do a thing.
Disappointed, I continued through the final days of my pregnancy doing everything I normally would. Physically this pregnancy was wonderful. I was healthy, fit, and most importantly felt great. I was very lucky not to have any pregnancy side effects, not even morning sickness. Mentally on the other hand, I was a bit of a mess. I think having those extra "girl" hormones running through my body really did a number on me. I was SO emotional, very,very sensitive and downright mean to a few of my closest people...(and I am so, so sorry). Overall I gained 29 lbs which was just about right for my size, it felt like a lot of course but it was the right amount for me.
On Friday August 11th I was ready to be done. I was 2 days shy of my due date and I was over being pregnant. I couldn't wait to meet my little girl. I can remember telling everyone at work that day that I would not be back. I was due on Sunday and if I had to come back to work on Monday...still pregnant...someone would have to drag me in. I guess a mother's intuition starts before you are actually a mother!
Saturday was a busy day. I remember I was in full on nesting mode. The baby room was ready, the car seat was in and my bags had been packed for weeks. But this day, I had a to do list a mile long and I was determined to get it all done. I ran to Target, I went grocery shopping, I mowed the lawn, I vacuumed the house and did laundry, got a pedicure and then I helped my husband clean the garage. It was while cleaning the garage that I started feeling something unfamiliar. An odd stomach cramp that came and went, in nice clean intervals. It didn't hurt. I remember that it didn't hurt really at all (at first). But something about it got my attention immediately...every single time. We continued cleaning the garage and then decided to go to dinner at restaurant near our home, Lindey's Steakhouse. I had mentioned to Jeff that I thought this could be it, I might be in labor...but I wasn't sure. We considered skipping eating dinner out just in case but I felt comfortable going as I still needed to eat either way and if we needed to leave, we would just leave.
So we finished up the garage, showered and headed out to dinner. It was while we were waiting for our food that things started to intensify. I was now almost certain that I was in labor, so much so that started writing down each contraction. I had always read that they would be somewhat consistent and gradually get closer but mine were all over the place. They went from 15 minutes apart to 3 to 7 to 5 and then back to 15. It didn't make sense at all from all we had learned so my husband was doubtful that I really was in labor. He thought it would be another week or so and I was just getting all excited because my due date was the next day. I don't think he knew what kind of danger he would be in if he kept it up. You shouldn't mess with a woman in labor. And I was. We ate and went home. By the time we got home, he believed me...
The next few hours were a blur. I tried to relax and fall asleep, but couldn't. Jeff took a shower and fell asleep watching Saturday Night Live with me while I watched the clock. As the contractions intensified I paced and cleaned what I could, really the house was spotless after my day. I can still remember how painful those next few hours were. My palms were covered in red dents from my fingernails pressing in while balling my fists in pain. The contractions were getting stronger and stronger and longer and longer...but still not consistently closer together. I hated every show on the TV, they all made me anxious and irritated. I called the clinic and told them what my contractions were doing. They told me to wait until they were consistently 3-5 minutes apart and 60 seconds long. I was so frustrated when I got off the phone, but did as they said. Another hour went by and I would have 2 or 3 contractions back to back without hardly a breath in between and then it would be 11 minutes until my next one. It was exhausting and confusing. I wasn't sure I could take much more.
At about 1:30 in the morning I called the hospital back and lied. I told them the contractions were close and they told us to come. I was so relieved...and a little scared. What if we got all the way there and they send us back home! I couldn't even imagine it. I woke up Jeff and we were on the way. One funny detail was how mad I got at him in the car on the way to the hospital. I had just gotten a new car a month prior and was still getting used to having heated seats. And it was August so needless to say I hadn't used them at all yet. Anyway, I was so angry that my seat was so hot, it didn't register why as I was up to my eyeballs in contractions. I couldn't even put on my seat belt because I was hanging by the handle on the ceiling most of the time trying to get through the pain. But when I did finally have a free minute or two without being in pain...that seat was so damn hot. I finally realized that when he got in the car he put his water bottle in a place that clicked the heated seats on. Man, I was mad. Again, don't mess with a woman in labor. After what felt like an eternity because of middle of the night road construction we made it to Woodwinds. Finally.
We got checked in and brought into my room. Before they would officially admit me they had to check to see how far I was dilated and monitor my contractions for a while. Just as I feared, as soon as they started timing my contractions they got one that was like 10 minutes from the previous one. They weren't convinced I should be admitted just yet. Then the nurse came in to check me and I was only dilated to a 2 1/2 or 3, still not enough of a reason to admit me. BUT my bag of waters was putting so much pressure on my cervix the nurse said I probably wouldn't make it home before my water broke. So they admitted me. Yippee!!! I was so relieved,and excited. It was time, it was real!
I got settled in and they asked if I wanted to try out the bathtub for awhile. I did, and it felt so nice...but it slowed my contractions down a little so I didn't stay in long. Once I was back in the bed they got me hooked up to my IV and started pitocin to keep the labor moving along. In a very short time the contractions intensified to the point I really needed the epidural. I was nervous about getting it, I really hoped it worked. I will tell you that it worked like a charm. I will never understand a woman who chooses to endure labor pain when they don't have to. I love epidurals. Love them. I. love. them.
Once it kicked in I couldn't feel a thing, it was wonderful. I remember falling into a fit of the giggles and I couldn't stop. The feeling of not feeling, especially after the pain I was in, was just so surreal. I was able to watch each contraction on the screen, it was the only way I even knew that I was having them. The nurse told us to get some sleep, it was about 4:00 in the morning and she thought we should be able to get a good amount of rest. Over the next 2 hours I fell in and out of sleep while my husband slept in the chair next to my bed. The epidural was funny in that if I laid on my side, gravity would pull the numbness from one side to the other and I would wake up with half of my body tingling. I would have to buzz the nurses and they would turn me to my other side, I couldn't move to do it myself. Then I would feel so much better and fall back asleep.
At about 6:00 AM I woke up feeling a lot of pressure down low, it was a very different feeling and I was sure something was wrong. I again buzzed the nurse. The shift had just changed and I had a new nurse, she was super young and her name was McKenzie. We loved her, she was so fun and energetic and full of life. She realized that the monitors on my belly weren't reading the contractions any longer and started adjusting them. She started to get nervous because she couldn't find our baby's heartbeat either. That made my husband really start to get nervous. I wasn't worried, I just calmly told McKenzie that I had a feeling my baby was on her way out and probably wasn't in the same spot she as before. Sure enough, she found her heartbeat much lower than it was before. She decided to check me to see where I was at. With excitement she squealed that I was fully dilated, at a 10 and my bag of water was partially out already. She grabbed my hand and let me feel it and then called the doctor on call into prep me for delivery!!!
Dr. Toppin, the primary physician at my clinic was on call to deliver my baby. It is worth noting that she is very tall. At least 6 feet. Seriously. I assume most doctors will sit down to deliver a baby...Dr. Toppin had the bed raised up high to bring me to her level. As Dr. Toppin was setting up to deliver our baby I heard McKenzie ask if my baby could be delivered in her water bag, that she had never seen it before. I was entertained by the conversation, as a first time mom I didn't know what to expect. I did assume though that by Dr. Toppin's quick and firm response of "absolutely not" that maybe our young eager nurse maybe should have kept that suggestion to herself. Oh well. I think it would have been fun too, why not! Well Dr. Toppin went ahead and broke my water while McKenzie wheeled in a mirror which she placed at the foot of the bed behind Dr. Toppin so I could watch my delivery. It was happening fast and pretty surreal. I was so excited and thanks to the epidural, in no pain at all.
Prior to the delivery Jeff and I had discussed his involvement in the labor. Ideally he would have preferred to wait in the lobby with all of the other soon to be dad from the 1950's smoking cigars and waiting to hear if they had a girl or a boy. But...that was not an option. I did respect his choice to stay near my head and not be involved with what was happening from the waist down during delivery. I think I mentioned before that Dr. Toppin is a tall woman, with a big presence. When we were in the final stages of getting ready to push she told Jeff to hold my leg. He looked at her a bit stunned, deer in the headlights if you will. He told her he preferred to sit in the chair near my head and watch. She said no, you will hold her leg while she pushes. And he did. I loved it. I LOVED IT. She made him do it.
So back to the pushing part, I had zero control over my legs when it was time to push. Jeff and McKenzie had to physically lift each leg and put it into position for me to push, they may as well have been wet noodles. The nurses also had to tell me when to push, I had no clue when I was even having a contraction. It was lovely. I pushed through 2 contractions and she was on her way out. Dr. Toppin told me she was going to give me a small episiotomy and she would be out. In the meantime she had me reach down and feel my baby's hair, it was surreal. There she was, it wouldn't be long now! Dr. Toppin made a quick small snip before my next contraction built and then told me to give it one more push. She was out, 3 pushes!!!
I can still remember the very first thing I said. " Ohhhh, that feels better!" The pressure was gone and Paige was on my chest before I knew it. She was absolutely perfect. Oh, and for the record..Jeff didn't want to cut the cord either but Dr. Toppin made him do it.
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