Counting, barfing, shaking and finally a baby!

I think I went into labor last Sunday ... the process is not like how it is in the movies at all! Here's how it happened. Sunday afternoon I noticed something "gross" in the toilet after I went pee (since I already told you all about my monster poo, who cares about a little pee, right?). I figured it was nothing, maybe a little left-over "something" from Greg that I didn't notice before. We then went to my mom's house for tacos and on our way home I noticed some cramping and felt my stomach tightening. It wasn't that horrible, but it wasn't comfortable either.

Later that night the "crampy-tight" feeling that I had felt before intensified and when I went to the bathroom, something else happened to fall out of me when I went pee pee... I determined that it must have been my mucus plug and thought "that was gross, but at least it's out and it's overwith." That night I breathed through the contractions while Greg counted them on the computer.

When I woke up the next morning, the contractions had pretty much stopped and were only happening every 40 minutes to an hour. I decided to go to school because I didn't want to waste any of my absences if I wasn't actually going to have the baby. Classes started at 3:30 and around 4:30 my contractions began again. I don't think I learned anythign that night, I just kept hoping that my water wouldn't break while I was in class!

When I got home around 8:30 on Monday night I went to the bathroom again and noticed something incredibly disgusting ... it was officially my mucus plug and it looked like a big pile of dirty camping boogers. My contractions then got closer and more intense, but still not regular enough to head to the hospital, so we counted ... we spent the whole night counting and falling in and out of sleep. Every 6 1/2 - 7 minutes we'd wake up, I'd practice breathing and Greg would try and hit the space bar on our internet contraction counter. To entertain us during the process we searched for goats in trees on youtube (it's a long story, but basically we were trying to prove that goats actually do go in trees). Here's what we watched to make us laugh ... make sure you listen/watch all the way to the end. Click here.


Tuesday was my due date, so I had a doctor's appointment that morning. I was trying not to get my hopes up. I wanted them to say "go to the hospital, you're ready to have your baby", but I didn't want to jinx it, so I stayed quiet. Our appointment got pushed back another hour and my contractions continued to intensify. Greg and I walked to starbucks, breathing and counting.



At 11:00am we went to the doctor's. She checked my cervix and was finally dilated. She said I was almost three centimeters, which was a huge improvement from our previous appointment. Then she asked me about BHR's movement and since I hadn't been feeling him move around as much as I was before, she wanted to do an ultra sound where she measured the fluid around the baby. He was measuring low, so she sent us off to the hospital. If everything was normal there, they would send me home, if not, she said we'd be having BHR that day.



I was somewhat scared. I felt a bit selfish because I really wanted to him to arrive that day, I didn't want to go home and sit and count more contractions, I wanted to stay at the hospital, but at the same time, I didn't want anything to be wrong with him.



We got to the hospital, got admitted and hooked up to the machines to measure what was going on ... The ultra sound showed that my fluid levels were normal and after an hour or so the nurse came in, measured my cervix again and I was just 3 centimeters. I told her I didnt' want to go home and so she and the doctor decided to admit me ... I was going to meet BHR!

We were then put in a large labor and delivery room and I was given pitocin. My contractions got closer together and much much stronger than before. I felt okay, but nervous. Greg helped me breathe through the pain and my family entertained me while I bounced around on a birthing ball. As the pitocin increased so did my contractions. I had it my head that I was going to make it 5 centimeters before getting an epidural, but at 4 I was over that plan and I wanted drugs.

After the epidural I couldn't feel any contractions and the next thing I new it was time to push. It had been about 12hours since I was admitted and I was dilated to 10 centimeters. I tried pushing for about 2 1/2 hours. During this time, I threw up several times and started shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't lay on my back without shaking and still I felt nothing ... no baby.

After 2 1/2 hours the doctor told me that BHR wasn't going to fit through my pelvis and she recommended that I have C-section. She began telling me what that would mean and all I cared about was meeting my baby. I didn't care about anything else ... I had waited 40 weeks and nothing was going to stop me from finally welcoming BHR.

The problem with the C-section was that it required me to lie down on my back ... this is what was making me throw up and shake. I remember being wheeled down the hall and going into the operating room, but everything else was a blur. I was so thankful that Greg and my mom were able to be there...I was not doing well,I couldn't get the shaking to stop and I was freaking Greg out.

I remember the doctor's asking me if I wanted to see my baby. They lowered the curtain/wall and I remember seeing slimy little boy and then my head fell back down. This was not how I pictured it. I imagined them handing me my baby and Greg and I ooing and aahing over our new bundle of joy. Instead I was too sick and shaky. My face and my legs were itchy from the anesthesia and my throat was raw from all of the barfing ...

I don't remember when I finally got to hold my baby. I remember looking at him in his clear bassinet that was going to be his bed for the next 4 days. I remember thinking how small and how sweet he looked ... it didn't feel real.

The point is this ... the labor and delivery of baby Noah wasn't what I expected. It wasn't easy and nothing could have prepared me for how I would react and what happened. The memories of the bad stuff are fading quickly and when asked if I would do it all over again the answer is a definite yes.

I look at Noah and even though I'm scared and nervous that I'm doing something wrong or that I can't do "this" I know that it's completely worth it. The four days that we stayed in the hospital seem so long ago ... the days and nights blended together and with each day I felt closer and more attached Noah. I can't wait to experience life through Noah's eyes and until then I can't wait to find words that better explain how much I love him.