A few weeks ago I was talking to a woman who was due around the time I was and who was also 3 cm dilated and had been having contractions. I said my worst nightmare was to not get to the hospital in time to have the baby- she said hers was getting there but not in time for an epidural. I was like, thanks, hadn't even thought of that one, but should have taken note.
Tuesday I was scheduled for an 8 a.m. induction. At 4:30 a contraction woke me up- no big deal, I had been having them for weeks, but since I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep decided to take a shower. I had another one when I was done with the shower and it was intense enough I decided to wake Jeff. He asked if he should get my mom up and I wasn't sure. But they were 10 minutes apart so I figured we should to give her and Jeff time to shower "just in case" this wasn't a false alarm.
They both went to shower and my contractions went from every 10 to 6 to 5 minutes in that time and I grabbed a popsicle and told my mom actually, we should go. (Before her shower I had said we should wait til they were every 5 minutes for an hour but they went from 5 to 3 minutes apart immediately.) Nathan was asleep and I figured we'd have time for my mom to drop me off and Jeff to get Nathan up and fed before she drove them back and dropped Jeff off. That way my mom and Nathan would have the car all morning and also she drives much faster than Jeff.
By the time we got to the hospital I was feeling the urge to push.At the ER checkin I was glad they had my file ready and they wheeled me off to Labor and Delivery. The nurse there handed me a gown and as I got up to change I told her I thought I had to poop (sorry, but I did) which are apparently the magic words to freak everyone in L&D out- they whisked me to a labor and delivery room and about 8 nurses all swarmed in to get me changed and assessed. I still thought things would take a while so I sent my mom back to get Jeff (this was around 5:45.)
As it turns out I was fully dilated and the baby was at a +1 station. I asked, "Does this mean I don't get an epidural?" The nurse informed me that I wasn't getting anything. (I kind of hated her right then but she did seem sorry to tell me that.) They told me not to push while they tried to reach the doctor on call.
The nurse who I had seen when I thought my water had broken showed up and I was so relieved to see a familiar face. It became apparent that the doctor, who was still 10 minutes or so away, was not going to make it and I couldn't stop from pushing any more. So I did, and two pushes later, that nurse had delivered a ginormous (8 lbs, 7 oz) blond baby, James Aaron- about 15 minutes after I arrived at the hospital. I know many people who have had and enjoyed natural childbirth, but unlike, say, when I ran a 5K, my first thought was not, "I want to do that again!" but, "THANK GOD THAT IS OVER NEVER AGAIN."
Jeff showed up as the doctor was stitching me up and at first thought he had the wrong room when he saw James in the warmer. He and my mother both felt very bad about not being there- if we'd known, obviously we'd have done things differently, but honestly, all they really missed was 15 minutes of very loud screaming. My doctor later told me that was why he wanted to induce- he feared it would go fast and wanted to make sure things were controlled- and to be fair to him he did WARN me labor would go fast if it happened on its own since the early part had already happened.
James is an angel- he has taken to eating and sleeping like a champ, and is as mellow as Nathan was furious as a newborn. The hospital stay was.. interesting. The hospital was overcrowded, so I was in a shared room with a 16 year old second time mother, and I was glad to only stay one night. Although the nurses at Providence Holy Cross are amazing, despite the fact they clearly had too many patients. Unlike at Cedars I never felt ignored or like I was bothering them when I needed something- they were the high point of the stay.
We got home last night and Nathan was thrilled to see me when he woke up this morning. He asked where the baby was before he got out of the crib and has been so cute all day- he does NOT want me to put James down on a blanket, ever (apparently he remembers that when he was a baby he liked to be held?) and instead of being jealous of James' binky, as I feared, wants to make sure James has it at all times. Him kissing James on the head is the cutest thing ever and sitting in a chair with both of them, reading a story? Too much fun. James appears to be one of the sleeping variety of newborn which may go a long way to my forgiving him for not getting that epidural.
Congratulations and what a story! I went to a different hospital with my third than with my first and second and I felt the same way as you - I really felt like those nurses were angels. It makes me want to be one, except I am never going to school again. I hope you all settle in beautifully!
Posted by: Joanne | June 26, 2009 at 10:43 AM