Well, I wanted to write out the story of Hayden's birth from my perspective. I was due on January 28th (based on my calculations due to my ovulation date), but the doctor's office had me due on January 24th. Anyway, I went to my appointment on Friday, January 4th (yes I remember all the dates very clearly!), when I was 36 weeks 4 days and was 2 centimeters dilated. The doctor said she thought I'd have him in the next week. I didn't really believe her because I just didn't feel like anything was happening. I made it to my next appointment the following Friday on January 11th when I was 37 weeks 4 days. She checked me and said I was 4 cm dilated! She asked if I had been feeling anything - I said no - and she asked if I was sure - because 4 cm is considered "active" labor and most women are in pain by the time they get to 4 cm! I said I was sure I hadn't felt a thing and she said she was positive I'd have him by the end of the weekend. She told me to go get checked at the birth center that night and she would "meet me there." And she said if for some reason I didn't have him by Monday to call and make another appointment to see her.
Well, I still didn't really believe her that he was coming anytime soon - I hadn't felt anything! I went home and told Brandon what she thought - and he immediately built the changing table (haha). I wasn't really sure what I should do - so I called the birth center, told them my doctor wanted me to come get checked, but I wasn't sure if I should because I wasn't feeling anything. They said that 4 cm was definitely pointing to my body gearing up to deliver, but that if I wasn't actively contracting when I came in then they would just send me home. So, I opted not to go get "checked" by the birth center that night. I woke up the next morning (Saturday) feeling fine and normal. I sat on the couch eating purple m&m's and reading Harry Potter. That night Brandon and I watched a movie in bed, then I decided I wanted to go to sleep. Brandon started another movie. I kept getting up every 20-30 minutes thinking I had to go to the bathroom (#2), but just couldn't go. I had noticed some blood all day long, but chalked it up to my exam the day prior. About 2 AM, right before Brandon was going to go to sleep I had him come look at the blood - it was more than it had been and was in bigger clots. We thought maybe I should call the birth center. So, I called, told them I was bleeding (tried to explain how much it was but wasn't very successful lol), and they said I should come in to get checked. Brandon wasn't too happy since he was just about to go to sleep! Anyway, we figured we'd probably be sent home anyway, so we quickly got ready and then drove over there.
I think we got there about 3 AM or so (I don't remember the exact time). But we got out of the car, only to find that the "main entrance" is closed at night and we had to go through the ER to get to the birthing center. I remember when we were walking back to the car to drive around to the ER entrance (which was on the complete opposite side!) that I got a really bad "cramp" and had to literally stop walking for a minute. Brandon didn't say anything, but he told me later that he was like "Yep she's in labor!" I think I was so intent on getting inside that I didn't realize what it was, but afterwards, I realized that it was definitely a contraction - I couldn't walk for crying out loud!
When we got inside they made the security guy take me up in a wheel chair (talk about embarrassing!) and checked me in, I got changed, they put the fetal monitor on - and yep I was having contractions every 1-2 minutes that were lasting about 45 seconds each! The nurse checked me and I was EIGHT cm dilated!! How the heck did I get to an 8 and I still really wasn't feeling any pain?! They put in an IV - which the first nurse tried several times and was unable to place it. She sprayed my blood all over the place (and on her) and it was painful. They finally got the head nurse in there and she placed it the first try. They said I was dehydrated since my blood was so black (I had no clue). They said I was there to stay until I had a baby :) I still wasn't in much pain for the most part or really feeling the contractions at all, but by 5 AM I was definitely IN PAIN! I think around 5:30 or 6:00 AM was when I realized that this labor business is hard core! They offered to give me a dose of pain medication to "take the edge" off and I said ok. I think it lasted about 20 minutes and then I was right back to feeling the pain full throttle. I refused the epidural. Around 7:30 the doctor on-call came in and broke my water, and by 7:50 or so I was fully dilated and ready to push. The nurse (who I really did not like) said I could start pushing as soon as I felt like it. My mom I think had just shown up at this point (it's a 2 hr drive from her house so she barely made it! I had called my parents at 4 or 5 to let them know I was in the hospital to have a baby. I do remember also that I was thinking I'd rather die than go through that pain any longer - it was by far the worst pain I'd ever been in! Plus I'd been up all night long and was pretty dang tired. My dad said that when he came in to see me I basically told him to get the heck away from me lol (I don't remember this but he does!). So, I started pushing at about 8 AM. They called the doctor pretty soon before he was born (maybe around when he was crowning?) and the doctor did an episiotomy. I really did not want one beforehand, but I remember that at that point I didn't care what the heck they did to me - I just wanted him out! He was born at 8:48 AM on Sunday January 13th, weighing 7 lbs 3 oz and 19 inches long, and I remember having just a profound sense of relief the minute he came out of my body. One thing I did not expect was that it would hurt delivering the placenta - but it did, I think because I was already so sore. The doctor stitched me up, and that was that. We got to leave the hospital the next day on Monday. My doctor was right - I didn't make it through the weekend without delivering :) Which is why I think that once I personally get to 4-5 cm, delivery is probably right around the corner (within a couple days) for me.
Here's some pictures (I look pretty rough in a few of these...):
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| Look at his long toes! |
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