"We are going to have a baby."
"Yeah? When did they say?" (He knew there was the possibility of induction.)
"Today."
"REALLY!?"
He was so excited. He texted me right after that saying so and telling me how much he loved me and Sadie. Such a sweet daddy! My mom and I went and met my sister and cousin for lunch in Cleveland, since it was my sister's birthday. We are at Dairy Queen but I could hardly eat a bite! I had several people tell me "Eat like it's your last time for a week!" I was just wondering how I could down a French fry. I was so nervous and excited- eating was the farthest thing from my mind. I managed to down about half of what I ordered though, and I'm glad I did.
Mom and I ran a couple more errands, and she then took me home so I could get everything ready to be at the hospital by 4:30. I showered, washed my hair, and unpacked and repacked our hospital bag. Jack got home at about 3:30 and immediately ran to our room and grabbed me in to the biggest hug ever. I felt his tears on my shoulder and pulled back to find him weeping. It was so sweet. He said he had cried the whole way home!
I called Labor and Delivery to confirm our time, only for them to tell me to wait until 6:30. Mother/Baby was full and they needed to clear out space for us first. So instead of rushing down to the hospital, we stopped by my parents' house for my sister's birthday dinner. I forced myself to shovel down some Brunswick stew and barbecue. Again, glad I did that! We got halfway to Gainesville and our fuel light came on. Jack said "oh I will leave the hospital and go grab some gas one day." Pretty sure the look he got from me told him he would do nothing of the sort, so we stopped at the RaceTrac off of 365 to fill up. As we pulled in, I snapped this picture of a rainbow. It made me smile and put me at ease that everything would be fine with our baby girl and her delivery.
We got to the hospital and got checked in. I am so so SO lucky that my friend Courtney was on the schedule. She and I used to work together at Banks County Middle, and she has since returned to school and received her RN license. So proud of her! She got my iv and all the fun stuff started. They inserted a balloon into my cervix to help it dilate and hooked me up to all the baby monitors. The balloon made me pretty crampy, so I spent a lot of time bouncing on the yoga ball and sitting in the tub.
We were able to get some sleep that night, and at 5am Courtney started the Pitocin to give me contractions. My mom and sister arrived as well and we all were ready to meet this baby soon! The pitocin was pretty smooth at first. I was contracting regularly, but it wasn't so bad. I was actually kind of surprised at myself and how well (I feel) I tolerated the contractions. Courtney left at 7am, as it was the end of her shift but she was to be notified of any progress so she could hurry back and be a part of the delivery. After they removed the balloon and broke my water it was about the same, except now I could no longer lay in the tub due to risks of infection. I was dilated to a 4 though! Yay! I was able to get in a shower, and boy did that feel GOOD. The hot water was as soothing as a touch from Jesus himself. Such relief... Briefly. My nurse came in and said that the shower water was messing up Sadie's monitor and that I needed to get back in bed. I couldn't walk around because of my high blood pressure. So, I begrudgingly crawled back in bed.
My poor crew froze to death because I had the air as low as it would go. It was probably 55 degrees in that delivery room. No joke. I took this picture of them because to me, they looked absolutely crazy. The nurse must have thought it was cold too, because she kept bringing THEM warmed blankets. #WussStatus
Kelly Wood was the midwife on call. She was the one who broke my water earlier that morning, and at noon she checked me again only to inform me that I was dilated to a 4. Whomp whomp. My contractions were getting a good bit stronger, as the Pitocin was being upped every so often. By 3pm I was maxed out on my Pitocin dosage and still laboring away. We tried using a "peanut" which is a yoga ball shaped like a peanut. (Because, duh.) The peanut caused me some intense contractions and I just wanted to sit up. I hated laboring while laying down! When I sat up a while, my nurse came rushing in to make me lay BACK down because Sadie's heart rate was going all funky. The "laying down" contractions mentally just broke me, and then I was even more defeated when they again checked me, only to find I was still at a 4. I relented and asked for an epidural. My mind and body were exhausted, and I wanted to be present in ALL aspects once my baby was born. Within five minutes I had my epidural in place.
My true rock throughout labor. Just before they made me get on my back.
They told me I had to lay on my back for thirty minutes after the epidural was placed in order for the medicine to spread out like it should. When they did this, I was OUT. I guess I was just SO exhausted that my body gave out and went into a deep sleep. When I woke up, I was on my side with my leg resting in a stirrup. (I honestly don't remember them putting it up. That's how out of it I was!) I was feeling some pressure in my stomach, as if the contractions were coming back. I told my nurse this, and she immediately called Kelly. When she checked me, I was at an 8! An 8! Finally- PROGRESS! It was about 6:55, so Courtney was just clocking in for her night shift with me again. All of a sudden the pressure I felt before got way more intense. You can see our conversation here.
She came rushing in at 7 on the dot, and grabbed gloves. At this point I was wide awake and shaking all over. The pressure in my stomach was so intense, but not really painful. She checked me and said "you're complete, her head is RIGHT THERE. Do NOT push!"
Oh. Boy.
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