Current mood:

giddy

He's here!
Jonathan's finally here!



So you probably remember how awful I felt for the last few weeks. It got to the point that I was having contractions constantly and not really going into labor. My doctor was starting to get concerned that I might go into labor again while he was not on call and then get stuck with a doctor who would be unwilling to do a VBAC, especially if my labor started to fizzle out again, so he suggested an induction on August 3rd. I was terrified of induction, but even more wanting to avoid a C-section (which many doctors would prefer to do than a VBAC) so I agreed.

I went shopping with my Mom the night before and we had a blast. I started feeling contractions, but big duh... I'd been feeling them for weeks so I didn't think anything of it. I set my alarm clock that night for 5:00 AM to go to the hospital for the induction and went to sleep.

Around 3 AM I woke up with really strong contractions. They were really not much stronger than ones I had already had, so I didn't expect them to amount to anything (or to last, for that matter.) I couldn't sleep so I got up and read a book. The contractions didn't speed up, but they didn't go away, either.

5:00 came around, and the hospital called -- they were busy so they didn't want me to come in for the induction that day. I asked the nurse if I should come in anyway since I was having contractions -- she said they had 1 bed left but suggested I hang out and wait to see if the contractions lasted.

7:00, I still had contractions. They were getting stronger but not closer together... definitely stronger and much more painful, though. It was getting to the point that I couldn't ignore them. I called my doctor to ask him if he thought I should go to the hospital. My doctor was out, so I talked to his partner. "Do you want to deliver this baby at home? Of course! They'll find you a bed!" he said. I still didn't feel like this was real labor... my labor had fizzled out twice before and I was reluctant to even hope this was it.

As soon as I got to the hospital, the nurse said I was dialated to just over 4 cm and well effaced; that they didn't have a bed for me but I definitely wasn't going home. I sat on the hard triage bed with my saline IV and tried to breathe through the contractions but they were coming hard and fast. She returned an hour later and moved me to a room.

My husband was an hour away with the kids and was on his way to meet me at the hospital. Like me, he thought this might be another false alarm, so he wasn't in a real hurry to get there. He and the kids had breakfast, gathered up toys to take to Grandma's, and took their time getting there. By the time he got to the hospital I was at 6cm and having really strong contractions -- no pitocin!!! I was laboring on my own!

I got the epidural at 7cm and my doctor decided to go ahead and perform the amniotomy (break the water). Labor picked up and I was pleased that the epidural allowed me to feel my contractions without being numb. I could tell that the contractions were really strong by the pressure, but I didn't feel the body-wracking pain that goes along with them. I could feel when it was time to push, and the baby was born in just 3 pushes! At 11:35 he greeted the world with a LOT of noise and by the time he was cleaned up, he was ready for lunch!

My mother-in-law had really wanted to be here for the birth, but couldn't make it due to a death in the family, so my husband called her on the cellphone and let her listen to his first cry. That was really cool, and I'm glad the doctor was OK with it.


Pics here:
http://mamallama.smugmug.com/gallery/710788/1