Our Labor Story...

On March 16th, I woke up feeling nauseated as usual, but started to vomit profusely over and over. My anti-nausea medications weren't helping and I couldn't even keep in water. I was sick and throwing up throughout my entire pregnancy, but this was one of my really bad days. After talking with my doctor on the phone, she advised me to get to labor and delivery as soon as possible so I could be rehydrated and have the baby monitored. I assumed I'd be going home as soon as I was hydrated, since this is what usually happened in the past. So, I drove myself and left all the hospital bags at home. Silly me...

After 5 hours in the hospital hooked up to an IV pole, they decided to check my amniotic fluid levels because I was borderline low to begin with. Brian barely made it, just in time to hear that I went from an 8 to a 4.3 overnight! Oh my goodness, poor baby boy. I was freaking out! The doctor told me there was no way I could go home and that her guess was the baby would have to come out by Saturday, which was only 3 days away! She told me I would stay the night with continuous IV fluids and that I could be rechecked the next day. If it went up to an 8 again, I'd be able to go home. If not, we'd have to start talking about induction.

So, the next morning bright and early, they wheeled me down to the ultrasound room. As the ultrasound tech searched and searched... she finally found 2 small pockets of fluid. They added up to 6.4. I was relieved to hear that it had gone up, but instantly got butterflies the second I realized I wasn't at an 8, not even close. For a few hours, we anxiously waited back in my room for the doctor to come in and talk with us. When she finally came in, the topic of induction was brought up very quickly. They gave us the option of being induced on either Friday or Saturday.

We chose Saturday for a few reasons, but mostly because it would put me at exactly 37 weeks and it would give me an extra day of IV fluids to be as well hydrated and rested for labor. After we made our decision and finalized all the details with the doctor, Brian went home and grabbed our bags. We spent that night and the next day enjoying our time together. I never imagined our last two nights of alone time together would be spent with me stuck in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV pole. But, Brian managed to make them special anyway, bringing in dinner and some movies and helping me put together my labor CD! What a wonderful husband I have.

Saturday morning on March 19th, I woke up at 5am to prepare myself for a long day of being in labor, making sure I had everything I needed in my bag. At 5:30, my nurse came in to take me from my postpartum room where I had been staying, into my labor and delivery room. Once we got there, I changed into my gown and settled in my bed as the nurses started a new IV line for my pitocin and went over all the paperwork. Before I knew it, it was 7:00 and I was being induced. My labor progressed slowly as they increased my pitocin levels by 2 every 30 minutes. After 5 hours with no progression, they decided to break my water. Wow, was that uncomfortable!! At this time, they also decided to insert an internal contraction monitor, measuring the intensity of each contraction to ensure that they were strong enough to change my cervix.

My sister told us she had to leave to meet her banker, as they were buying a house. 30 minutes later she came back with a surprise; my beautiful mom! She had flown in early to be there for Brody's birth. I was so excited to see her and have her there. It was another 6 hours of having contractions every two minutes before I was able to have an epidural placed. During this time, Brian would hold my hand and my mom would brush my hair and help me breathe through the incredible pain. Finally, I was 4cm! The anesthesiologist came in and from then on, the pain was gone! That is until I started feeling pressure with every contraction and this odd feeling to have a bowel movement. Gross. After 12 hours and only being 4cm, I expected the nurse to say I was at a 5. But, when she came in to check me 40 minutes later, I had jumped to 8cm! They started prepping my room with the delivery table and called my doctor. As soon as she arrived, I was checked again. This time I was 10cm and ready to push!!! Holy cow, this was it, the moment I had been waiting for. My baby boy was finally coming and I began to cry tears of happiness.

They talked me through the pushing and how to breathe as they prepared us for a few more hours of labor. And, then it was time to push through my first contraction. The doctor was in shock! Brody had dropped so low, very quickly. She estimated I'd only be pushing another 15 minutes. So, she scrubbed up and sure enough, 4 contractions later, with tears in my eyes, I was holding my little boy. It was the most perfect labor and delivery and I had all the people there that meant the most to help me through every second.

My day started out like this...

And, it ended with my perfect, little family.

And, a perfect, little boy.

BEST DAY EVER.