In Labor...

I'm pretty sure I'm in labor...I started having pretty strong contractions around 6:50 and they've only gotten stronger.  Timing isn't very consistent at this point, but the pain definitely is.  They're a 9-10 on the pain scale.

That's what I started writing the night of April 27th...and I was right.  At around 9:00 that night we called my mom to come pick up Peanut because I was pretty sure I was in early labor.


I was increasingly uncomfortable until about 11:30 and then the contractions became almost unbearable.  At 12:06 they started being 1-6 minutes apart and by 12:30 I told Ben to start loading the car for the hospital.  We took our time because I wanted to make sure they had been 1-6 minutes apart for at least an hour by the time we checked in to labor and delivery.  On the way, I had a 6 minute break and made Ben pull off in the Burger King parking lot because I wanted to make sure it was the real deal.  Once the next contraction came, we were on our way. 


At about 1:00 AM we parked in the hospitals parking garage and walked to triage.  They assigned us to a triage room and before I could get the gown on and get into bed, my Dr came into the room very excited that I had checked in.  I was so glad to see her!  I knew she was on call that weekend but thought she was on days, not nights.  Yay!  She didn't even bother hooking me up to the monitors, she checked me right away -- dilated to a three and zero station!  I was so relieved to hear her say, "you're being admitted!".  The nurse came in and hooked up the monitors for just a few minutes and saw a contraction.  Then we were taken to my labor and delivery room.


The nurse at labor and delivery was awesome.  She joked with us and was very friendly, made sure to answer all of our questions.  I labored until about 4:30 and then wanted the epidural.  I had the nurse check me to see how far I was dilated.  Only a 3 to a 4, I was really bummed.  However, my bag of waters had come right down instead of high and back like it had been.  She had told me that the epidural might slow progress down, so I was disappointed that I hadn't progressed more before asking.  The anesthesiologist inserted the epidural and the dr broke my water at 5:00 AM.  Shortly after that the baby's heart rate started decelerating and the nurse came in to the room to have me change position.  I was feeling pressure, so she checked me.  Sure enough, I had dilated to a 9!  We called our parents and told them to come in. 


Unfortunately, I stayed at a 9 for over an hour.  I was getting worried as the nurses were scheduled for a shift change at 7:30 and the drs at 8:00.  I so badly wanted my dr to be there when I delivered and time was running out!  Just before 7:30 I had finally dilated fully and they set up the room for pushing.  I pushed for an hour and at 8:30 AM the little guy was born!!  By 9:15 AM everything had been delivered and I was taken care of.  I had two minor tears and a second degree tear that required two kits of stitches.  Even though her shift had ended at 8:00, my dr had stayed until 9:15 and I am so grateful!


I couldn't have asked for a better labor - the whole experience was much, much different than the first time around!