** There might be an over share of information on this post, but I want to remember this for myself and since this has become a sort of baby book for BB I want to have it here in one location for memories sake!  So if you don’t want to read then please don’t! **

*** Also this post is going to be super long and probably really wordy, again this is more for me than anything else ***

The quick run down:

I was laboring in the hospital for 32 hours

I pushed for just short of an hour

We were there for 4 shift changes for nurses

BB was born at 5:59 a.m.

The full story:

Sunday night around 11:00 p.m. D and I headed to the hospital and had no intent on going home without our baby girl! That day we had a really fun relaxing day. We went on a long walk (something we had been doing a lot to help BB arrive), then we went to a movie, that was most likely followed by a nap but who knows, and we ate at the Lumberyard for dinner. Most of the day I had been having very slight contractions but it was not anything I thought much of. When we got home the contractions got harder but I still wasn’t thinking much of them. When it was time for bed I realized that the contractions were coming a lot more often than they ever had before so I decided to start timing them. They were regularly coming every 3-5 minutes and they were moderately strong. While I didn’t think much of it D was determined not to have a baby at home (thank heavens for that!) and so we headed to the hospital. They got me hooked up to some monitors and we waited for a couple hours. During this time we waited and watched my contractions. Around 1 or 2 in the morning the nurse came in and said that the contractions were steady enough and she talked to my doctor and they thought that I should get comfy and ready to have this baby.

That night D and I probably walked 10 miles up and down their halls. The contractions started to get more painful the more we walked and I was excited to think that things were moving along! Around 6 am they checked everything and the contractions had pretty much stopped and things were slowing down. At this point they gave us the choice, we could use drugs to get things going a little faster or we could go home and wait it out. Since we went into this whole birthing experience with open minds and we figured we were already there and so why nat stick it out and have this baby we agreed to take Pitocin to get things headed back in the right direction. With the Pitocin I was restricted the amount of walking we were allowed to do but we still did as much as we could. We were exhausted from not sleeping the night before and so occasionally we would stop and try to take a nap here and there. My mom brought us chicken salad sandwiches for lunch and we visited for a while. D’s parents also brought us by some snacks and drinks to help get us through the night. Thank you parents for keeping us well fed!

By 5 p.m. there still was very little progress. My Dr. came to visit and see how things were going and at this point we decided to break my water. Once my water was broken the intensity definitely increased. My contractions almost instantly went from manageable to something I had to consciously focus on getting through. I remember D’s dad coming by shortly after them breaking my water to delivery our snacks and having to use all of my strength to keep it together while he was there during contractions. Given that we didn’t have a real set in plan I was also not very equipped with ways to cope with my contractions. Additionally BB was a very wiggly baby and they had a really hard time keeping the monitors on her and so I had limited options to what I could or couldn’t do. I tried my hardest to breath through and use the few techniques I had to get through the contractions. I was counting on the warm bath being my saving grace as I did really want to try to not get an epidural. When I didn’t think I could make it any longer I tried to get in the  tub to ride out the rest of my contractions. That was a fail. Not only did it take almost 10 minutes just to walk to 10 feet to the bathroom and another 10 or more back but I spent just 5 minutes in the bath before I decided that it was in no way helping me. Once I made it back and got situated I requested an epidural. Might I add during this time D and I were watching a football game. I can’t remember who was playing and I am sure D didn’t get to watch much of it because we was attending to me but I do remember there being a football game on.

This is D’s favorite part to relive. During each contraction the best way I could get through them and basically could will myself to keep breathing was to ask please. I was begging the nurse for the Dr. to get that epidural. Every contraction I would just repeat please begging for it to stop and for the Dr. to get there. Once the Dr. arrived he asked me a couple questions to which I am sure I responded very sarcastically. I do remember him asking me if I knew what the epidural would do or what it was and I just said it makes it better. It’s funny how pain can really numb your mind and can dissolve any filters you have! Once he was all ready he asked me to sit in a certain position so he could do his thing. I remember feeling like I was going to pass out during this and feeling like it took 30 minutes the 1-2 minutes it really took. However, almost instantly the relief was amazing. The doctor asked how my legs felt and was asking a lot of questions about how everything felt and I remember telling him it felt like I had just shaved my legs. That my friends is what my epidural made my legs feel like. Freshly shaved legs sliding in under the covers.

At this point we were exhausted so we decided to try and get some sleep. D fell asleep and although probably didn’t sleep that well seemed to be able to get a little rest. After about 3-4 hours the epidural had worn off enough that I was not even sure it was still there. I asked the nurse to see if I could get more medicine and she called the Dr. back in. He gave me another dose and made sure that everything was all set. Around 5 a.m. I felt the strong need to push.

The nurse that was on duty was great. She walked me through everything and was very quick to get things all set up. At a point she went to check on things and seemed a bit surprised at how ready BB was to join our family outside the womb. She called the Dr. and I remember feeling really stressed that I was going to have BB without the Dr. present. Little did I know the Dr. really is just there for the final like 4 pushes and to catch the baby! Boy was I misinformed. The nurse would help my by telling me to push and have D count to 10 then tell me to stop pushing. D says I was bossy when I would respond “No, I still need to push” or something along those lines when she would tell me to stop pushing. Thank goodness for good nurses! She was so kind and would tell me to just listen to my body but reminded me to take breaks in between. D was great counting for me and making sure I had everything I needed. When it was go time I remember just a couple pushes and BB was born.

As soon as the Dr. held her up for me to see I immediately asked why she was blue. I was frantic because in movies (the only time I had ever seen what I thought was a newly born baby) they are always pink or red or at least not blue. The Dr. reassured me that she was okay and D cut the cord and she was placed on my chest. I cuddled her while she cried a couple times and then just cuddled me back. Apparently she felt comfortable because within the 5-10 minutes she was on my chest she pooped on me!

They took her away to weigh her and do their tests. D went with her and I knew that our lives would never be the same. She was perfect to us and we loved her more than she would ever understand, we still do.

The first day in the hospital was full of joy and a lot of excitement. I was surprised that we got quite a bit of alone time as our little family. The first night, however, was a tough one. BB wanted to eat all night and I was exhausted and pretty sore from the day. Apart from having no idea what I was doing I fell into the trap of worrying she wasn’t getting enough food and asked for formula for her so that she would be able to settle down for the night. They encouraged me to try to keep nursing her and so I did. I do remember that every time they would take her out of the room for a test she would always come back swaddled and sleeping. They have magic dust in their swaddles I am sure and for those 2 short periods of sleep I am forever grateful! We left the hospital the following morning and things settled down a ton after that!

And the rest is history!