I went to work on Monday (Oct. 15th) and started having what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions from the moment I sat down at my desk. They continued to get closer and closer together and by the time I was leaving work, the contractions were about 5-7 minutes apart. I called Ben on my way home and let him know that I thought I was really in labor.
I got home and Ben was a little panic-y. He went and got us dinner, I hopped in the shower and we prepared to head to the hospital. I did call the nurse at my OBGYN's office. She told me to lie down for about 30 minutes and see if the contractions stopped. I did lie down for about 3 minutes--when the pain got worse, we headed out the door.
We got to hospital at about 8:00 pm and sat in the waiting room approximately 1 hour. I remember working at one of my old jobs and letting laboring women sit in our waiting room for hours on end. I hadn't ever thought much about it until it was me sitting there!
We were taken to a L&D room and assesed. We were told during our hospital tour months before that we'd check in and go to a "triage area". The night nurse said they never had the staff to keep the triage part open in the evenings, so we went directly to a real room. The nurse put me on the monitor and told us we may, or may not be staying the night.
About an hour went by and they rechecked me. I had progressed and the on call physician agreed that we should stay. I got some IV pain meds before resorting to the epidural. I had horror stories of this procedure but didn't think it was bad at all. The epidural (and my nerves) made me so shaky! The nurses said it was normal and it was just the medicine; however, I felt like it was all my nerves. I even made Ben lie on me (like those "Thunder Shirts" they sell on TV for dogs) to help calm me down. Laugh if you want, but it worked!
The rest of the time frame is a bit blurry. Around 1:00 or 2:00 (I think), the nurse and 3 additional nurses came in. I had been asleep and my heart rate and the baby's had dropped significantly. My water had broken and there was some talk about a possible nuchal cord. They'd get the heart rate up and leave, and about an hour or two later, the same thing would happen again. The doctor came in at about 4:00 am (?), and said they'd keep watching me. Around 5:00 or 6:00, I was fully dilated and we tried to push. He couldn't keep his heart rate up and the doctor was doing continuous scalp stimulation without much success. She then decided it'd be best to do a C-Section.
Ben's parents got to Southaven sometime around 4:00 am I believe. My parents waited until that time to leave their house! When I told dad I was in Trendelenburg with a bolus infusing, I think he actually believed I was about to deliver. They actually timed it perfectly though. By the time we got back from recovery, my dad had just gotten to the hospital.
Sweet Michael Harvey was born at 7:11 am on October 16th. He weighed 7lbs 1oz and was 19.5 inches long. I don't remember much of the c-section other than it was fast. The meds made me really shaky, and I wasn't able to hold him for a while.
First picture after his birth.
In recovery.
Lots more to come!
