My due date was November 3, 2017. The date came and went but there was still no baby, apparently I had created a very comfy home for her. I went to my doctor and was scheduled to be induced on the morning of November 10th unless the baby decided to come before that. It was 8:00 AM on November 9th, I was up helping my husband get ready for work. As he left, I felt a little trickle and thought, "OMG, did I just pee myself?" I ran to the bathroom and took off my barely wet undies. As I changed, I thought it was very odd since I didn't even feel like I had to go pee.
I went on about my day and at around 10:00 AM my mom called to say she was coming over so we could go for a walk around the mall to try to get the baby out. My mom ended up getting to my house around 1:00 PM and I told her what happened in the morning, she also found it odd and we began to wonder if it could have been my water breaking. I called the doctor's office and they told me the only way to know for sure was to go to the labor and delivery ward. At around 3:00 PM, I decided it was worth checking out so I called my husband and put him on notice. At the hospital, they ran some tests and gave me the news, "yes, that was your water and you're staying here now." What?! I always imagined it like they do it in the movies, a dramatic rush of water spilling out and yelling, "OMG! The baby's coming!" It was nothing like that, it wasn't even that much liquid. I didn't even have my hospital bag because I didn't expect it to be my water so I called my husband and told him what was happening. I didn't have any cramps or contractions whatsoever so the nurses hooked me up to some IV bags and started me on Pitocin to induce labor. Wait, what? Why? Well, apparently since my water had ruptured early in the morning, I had to have the baby within a certain amount of time to avoid infection so things were getting real very quick.
My husband arrived and so did our families. I was given a delivery room and heard a woman wailing and screaming. My eyes widened and the nurse looked at me and said, "you hear her yelling and wasting all her energy. Don't do that, breathe through it and save your energy for the pushing." That was the best advice anyone could have given me. It literally saved me a ton of energy for what was a long night ahead. It was around 10:00 PM that the contractions started to get really bad. I had decided to have a natural and unmedicated birth so I said no every time they asked me if I wanted the epidural. My pain tolerance was definitely being put to the test. I wasn't dilating so they upped the Pitocin a couple of times and sent me for walks until I was finally at 5 CM. Holy crap, the pain got unbearable and had been going on for hours. I finally caved and told them I wanted the epidural. "Sorry hun, I have two girls ahead of you now but I'll come back for you as soon as I finish with them." Oh no! What have I done?! Now I have to wait and go through more pain! I was miserable and in so much pain but I remembered my coworker telling me, when those contractions get intense just think to yourself by this time tomorrow I will have my baby in my arms. I just kept repeating it in my head, "by this time tomorrow, by this time tomorrow!" My husband, mom and sister were with me during the worst of it. The wait for the anesthesiologist to come back with that epidural was eternal. It was actually only 20 minutes but it felt like hours. My husband was so helpful, he kept trying to find ways to make me feel better. I was sitting, then lying on one side or the other. Finally he helped me up and started to slow dance with me through each contraction and would you believe it actually helped? By some miracle I had gotten all the way to 10 CM in those 20 minutes. The anesthesiologist got back right after they had checked me and I decided to go on without the epidural because it was time to start pushing.
It was around 1:00 AM when they called my doctor and I did some practice pushes. I heard the nurse go back to the phone and call the doctor again, "yeah, come now, she's a good pusher." LOL it makes me laugh now but at the time I was pissed because I thought the doctor was probably at home in PJs waiting to see if I was worth driving over to yet. My mom and sister left the room when the doctor arrived and the hard work began. I remembered the advice the nurse gave me and tried my best not to yell and scream so I could save my energy for the pushing. There was a whole lot of grunting though LOL. I am so glad she gave me that advice because my baby was not in the optimal position for delivery. She had decided she couldn't wait to see what was on the outside and flipped face first so it was harder to get her out. The doctor told me what was happening, "I can't help you because of her position. If she were in the right position, I could help you with forceps or suction her out but I can't so you're going to have to do all the work." OMG, that was the hardest, most exhausting thing I have ever done in my entire life. Right before she came out, I felt my vag burning. Have you ever heard of the ring of fire? No, not the Johnny Cash song. When you give birth, your lady parts stretch to their maximum potential and that is when you feel it, your crotch literally just went to hell my friend! I've never felt anything like that but that was the last bit of pain I felt before she came out. On her way out, she gave me a third degree tear. You would think I would scream bloody murder but the truth is I didn't even feel it. I just felt heat and heard something like a snap or pop. Suddenly, after an hour and a half of pushing, they plopped my baby on my chest and there was no more pain. I almost didn't realize I had the baby until my husband turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, "we have a baby! OMG we have a baby!" I couldn't believe it, it was a surreal moment and I remember it as if it's just happening now. While I was soaking it all in I started to feel a pinching feeling downstairs... Remember that tear, yup they stitched me up right then and there with a little local anesthesia. So many things are happening all at once that you almost feel like you're having an out of body experience. Everyone has a different experience and this was mine. It was a powerful moment. I had conquered my biggest fear and gotten the best prize ever out of it, my little girl.
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