By 3:00am, they were now 5 minutes apart and they HURT! More so than ever before! And the biggest difference, was during each contraction, I could feel a small gush of liquid. However I had no idea if it was my water or not. I had always heard that it was either a slow trickle or a gush, and this was neither of them. I had been losing my plug and bloody show for days, so perhaps it was just more of that? Either way, I knew this was it!! As much as I had told J I wanted to labor at home for as long as possible, I also wanted to be sure this was it and was afraid it would move fast since it came out of nowhere. Time to wake up J and head to the hospital!
It took us about forty-five minutes to get everything and ourselves into the car. The contractions were still 5 minutes apart and when they hit, I was paralyzed in pain so it took quite some time to get dressed and add the last minute things to my bag. And the walk into the hospital was a long one. I didn't want to be in a wheelchair (I wasn't crippled!) so the walk was a slow one. And once we got inside, the guy at the information desk asked us if we knew where to go and I looked at him, looked down at my enormous belly, smiled and said "Yep". (what a dumb question to ask me! haha)
We were checked into a triage room and they hooked me up to monitor the baby's heartbeat and my contractions. Knowing how busy this hospital is with births, I asked if there were others here in labor tonight, well actually this morning since it was now 3:30am. She said there were a few, but she had just sent a couple home since the woman wasn't fully in labor. When she told me that, I looked at her and said if she sends me home, I'll die. And I was serious, I was here to stay and deliver this baby!
I informed the nurse about the small gushes I felt during contractions, so she decided to do a swab of the liquid to see if it was in fact amniotic fluid and not urine (though I was pretty sure I wasn't peeing my pants!). She came back 5 minutes later with the good news, my water broke! She checked my cervix and I was dilated to 4cm, I was officially in labor and not leaving this hospital without my baby! YEAH!! Time to check into our labor room!
It was now almost 5:00am and we were progressing well into labor. Contractions were really hurting and I wanted to really try and hold out on the epidural until I reached 5cm. I lasted a couple of hours but realized I wasn't able to fully relax, therefore hindering my progression. It was time for the epi. As much as we tried to nap, knowing it could be a long day, we just couldn't. We were so excited to meet this baby! Good thing the Olympics were on, as we watched ALOT of them throughout the morning and afternoon.
Skipping forward about ten hours, it was now almost 6pm and I was finally dilated to 10cm. It took quite a bit of pitocin to get me here, so thankful for that epi! Due to the fact I had AFib, they were cautious to have me start pushing too early, as to not put extra stress on my heart. They really wanted baby to drop down further before we started pushing. An hour later, we all agreed I could start pushing. It was now 7pm and I was STARVING and we were both exhausted after waiting and waiting all day with no sleep. The OB told me that it could take 1-3 hours of pushing but I looked right at her and said "oh, it won't take that long". I was determined to meet this baby sooner than later.
They turned down my epidural so I could feel the contractions and push. J was an awesome coach and kept me motivated. The first few pushes felt like I was getting nowhere until suddenly the OB excitedly announced that Baby B had alot of dark hair! She grabbed my hand so I was able to reach down and feel the top of Baby B's head crowning. I felt the hair and began to sob. I was getting closer! I calmed myself down and really put all of my focus into pushing. Once Baby B had full crowned, the OB made the decision to make a cut to help me out. I was in quite a bit of pain and felt as though the baby was stuck. And after that, I pushed a few more times and the head was out! The shoulders and body were so much easier knowing I was so close to meeting our miracle! And then I heard it, The Cry. Per our wishes, they immediately put the baby on my chest and I was sobbing harder than I've ever cried before.
Our baby was here!! I was in LOVE. And then I realized, was it a boy or a girl?!? J was also so wrapped up in the moment that he didn't realize it either. He took a peek and then made the announcement. A GIRL!!! A very healthy, 9lb 11oz baby girl with a ton of dark hair. She couldn't be more perfect.
And as much as J wanted a boy, he was now a VERY proud daddy and as he said "already screwed".
What an amazing birth story! She is beautiful!! Love that the moment when she was placed on your chest wast captured! Those are moments that you can never get back!
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