Tuesday Evening...

About dinner time, I was still only about 4-5cm and still feeling some pain in my lower back.  Thanks the heavens for my nurse at that time!  She thought that the little one was facing backward and putting the pressure on my spine that I was feeling. Her suggestion was to lay on my side with a leg up for a while to give room in the pelvis area and help things along.  Very shortly after I started this I began to feel some pressure and was pretty sure things were starting to kick into gear.  I remember staying this way for about an hour or at least until Wheel of Fortune on TV.  The pressure wasn't great enough that I couldn't keep trying to solve the puzzles.  Well, when the nurse checked me again...BAM...I was at 9cm and ready to start pushing!  She quickly alerted my doctor that we were underway.  Again I was really thankful that it was my OB on call that night to work with me.  I think I surprised her quite a bit my jumping ahead so quickly.

Well, if I don't remember much else, I do remember I started the active pushing process with the beginning of Jeopardy!  Though, by this time I don't remember contributing many of the answers.  The pain was there still in my lower back and had begun to hit me in the front as well.

With each contraction I was beginning to push with Mom and Brian there to hep along.  My nurse had changed again too, to the night shift.  Thankfully, this nurse was just as awesome as the previous one.  She really tried to get me to focus and slow my breathing.  

I never thought that mothers could "nap" or relax between contractions, but one definitely can and does!  It is so nice to have that brief space of non-pain.  I know that it eventually became very painful as the contractions increased in inten

sity and I began to feel them sharply.  At some point, I know I was losing focus on just about everything from pushing, to breathing, to baby.  Brian was tremendous help because he was right there trying to calm me down and reminding me to take deep "singer" breaths.  Since his was the only male voice in the room it made it easier for me to focus in on him among all the other voices.  And, for sure, the grip of a woman in labor is pretty freakin' intense according to Brian (especially if she grabs your nipple/chest hair by accident).    I vaguely remember the doctor leaving to hunt down the anesthesiologist to give me more of the epidoral. It seemed like forever before she arrived to help with the pain.   Once the pain started to subside, I could focus again on breathing and pushing our little guy into the real world.  I had asked for a mirror and was grateful to see what was going on and what I was working toward.  Our boy had a ton of dark hair that could be seen with every intense push.  Two steps forward, one step back I kept reminding myself as I would see the baby move and recede.  It seemed to be taking forever.  All I could think of is breathe, push, breath, rest. 

So after two hours of this pushing process, my brilliant nurse asks if I want to tug on a towel to help focus my efforts.  All I can say is give this woman a raise!  She held one end of a rolled towel and I held the other, tugging and pushing.  It was this method that really pushed our little guy out into the world naturally and not via a C-section.  It was quite an amazing sight to see and even now brings tears to my eyes (if you aren't squeamish).  Within moments, the nurse had him up on my chest for me to hold and begin to love.

Tuesday before Active Labor

In the morning, around 6:30-7:00, ob/gyn visited.  It was so great to see a familiar face and knowing that she was monitoring me at the office throughout the day.  I just wanted to give here a hug already and we hadn't really even started having the baby yet!  She said that all was going well so far and that I looked good and my bp was still doing okay.  She then "broke my water" by rupturing the amniotic sac.  I'm fairly glad I didn't have to watch this, but she sticks a thin hook up there like a knitting needle.  All I feel is a poke and then a warm leaking feeling.  This is when they started me on the Pitocin (my 2nd drug).  This drug was to help start contractions and further dilate my cervix.  This drug entered through the IV and was monitored every 30 minutes.  The dosage was slowly brought up to help make the contractions slowly but progressively stronger.

Mom and Shelly came back and I filled them in on how things were going...which was slowly.

The morning nurse was . . . brisk.  She had two patients to check on  (the most they have at a time).  She was often a little slow stopping in to check on me and didn't really want to spend the time explaining anything to me or family.  Luckily, I only had her with me for a few hours because her second patient kicked into labor quickly.  My second day nurse was a ton better.  Around mid morning I definitely was feeling contraction still low across my pelvic area and back.  They weren't horribly strong or sharp, but noticeable.  With time, they became more painful across my lower back then the font.  No yelling or screaming yet, and no pain drugs yet.  Mom kept checking the monitor to watch the contractions and see if I was feeling them too.  I was getting quieter and speaking less with more focus on breathing from moment to moment.  Brian was doing well giving me support as we went along.  I often tried sitting up in bed or standing to help alleviate some of the pain.

By noonish or so, I was still only about 3-4cm, but the pain had kicked up a notch. Now the contractions had an edge to them and still hurt quite a bit across my back. I caved and called for some drug relief.  I had them go ahead and start an epidural drip.  This meant they stuck a hollow needle in my lower spine and linked it to a drip so that it was a continual numbness.  Oh, blessed day.  I was pretty numb from belly button to knees and I didn't feel anymore contractions.  This also meant that it shouldn't "wear off" and they could up the dosage if needed.  The downside was that I was no-longer allowed to leave the bed (duh...cause I would fall down).    The next few hours went really well and I took a blessed nap to save up energy for the night ahead.  I still wasn't entirely sure what I was in for and I kept holding my abdomen to feel our little guy. I still couldn't quite believe that soon...very soon...he would be on this side of the world and in our arms.  I also kept reminding myself that women had been doing this for eons of time and I was just one more in a long line of Eve.  

Birth details...The beginning

So, our little one is sleeping currently and I'm going to try to update the blog for my own record at least of what last week was like...

Even though we all had hoped for an early natural birth, our little guy was stubborn and wouldn't arrive on Halloween, or the full moon, or on the Friday, or on the weekend..

.but waited until the induction.  Mom, Dale, and Shelly all arrive on Monday to prepare with us for heading to the hospital.  We headed down to the hospital for our appointment at 7:30pm.  Our Dr. had hope to start the induction late so we could get a decent amount of sleep that night.  When we got there, we parked and then walked to the emergency room for admittance...which was a gazillion miles through the maze of a hospital.  Once at the emergency room, the attendant told as to HEAD BACK to the baby floor.  Well, the upside is that all that walking was good for me and kept my mind off things to come.  I had a good idea of what was to go on, but didn't really know about the pain or where it would hurt the most.  I thought I had been having some contractions that weekend, but they were sporadic, low, and across my back.

Anyway, we get to the right floor and they have a room all ready for me.  Here all the birth rooms are singles with their own bathrooms and pull out sleeper couches.  I'm not looking forward to being hooked to an IV for the rest of the duration, but I liked the idea that we could watch tv.  The bed itself was a bit uncomfortable, but what did I expect?  The fun thing was that they had a white board in the corner so that you could write the nurse's name, dr's name, and family names in case you forgot.  Also on the board was a place for goals...Of course, we had to write "have a baby"! At first it seemed a bit awkward in the room with me, Brian, Shelly, mom and Dale but it was also great to know that they were all there for support in this adventure.  

My first nurse (they changed every 12 hours) was sweet, but had a bugger of a time putting the IV in.  It didn't go in until the third try (ouch).  First drug into the body was oxytocin to help dilate my cervix...I started at about 2-3cm.  They also hooked me up to the fetal heart rate monitor and contraction monitor.  It was very similar to the NST we had at the dr's.  Then...we waited.  Mom and Shelly were anxious for things to start rolling, but I was pretty sure I was in for a long slow night before active labor kicked in.  At the beginning, it was hard not to just watch the baby's heart beat increase and decrease as he moved around and then also to watch to see if I was feeling any contractions (I wasn't).  I did get to watch "Over the Hedge" and "Chicken Little" while lying there.  Eventually, Mom and Shelly went home to sleep and Dale zonked in the waiting room and Brian on the pull-out sleeper.  I got a second drug dose around midnight...but still very few contractions actually felt.  I did start to feel crampy...which the nurses took as a good sign. I did sleep pretty well, however. The biggest problem was turning to the side and having the fetal monitor loose the baby's heartbeat.

Voting Day

Get out and Rock the Vote!

Good things to know...

Nope...no baby yet

Sorry that I haven't updated in a while...and no it is not because I've had our little one early :-) It was my break week from school and took much needed r & r.

As to how things are going:

• My blood pressure is down, nearly to a normal range
• We had our last sonogram, and the kiddo looks great
• Our little guy seems to be big (7lbs, 4 oz.) and has a full head of hair already...unfortunately the radar is in black-and-white, so we don't know what color of hair.
• My weight is holding steady...but my ankles are swelling again if I stand or sit too long.
• The baby is dropping. I feel way more lower back aches and his hiccups seem to be coming from near my pelvic bone.
• If he doesn't make an appearance on his own, my ob/gyn is planning to induce around November 14, my 39th week.
• Brian has begun "nesting" and not me. He managed to build a bench and bookcases this weekend, as well as clean the basement. Me...my only urge is to sit on the couch with my feet up :-)

So...let's start taking bets on when he'll be out to say hello to everyone!