To celebrate the first day of school and taking one last family-of-three date (we didn't realize just how last time it was actually going to be!) we went up and tried out Spot On Yogurt. Also swung by Petco to pick up a few things. I started having some contractions but just figured it was the end of the day, we were walking a lot, I was tired...the same old contractions I'd been having for the last six weeks.
The nurse had told me on Tuesday that if I was having contractions to lay down on my side. If they went away it wasn't labor.
So when we got home I stretched out on the couch. Bob bathed Etta and I started reading her books to get her ready for bed. Well, the contractions did NOT stop. They started increasing in intensity. To the point that I could barely read through them. Bob was again being super husband; bathing the dogs, putting toys away, getting annoyed with me when I wasn't doing anything...I started asking at about 8:00, "What minute does your watch say?" After three times asking he finally snapped. "Do you just want me to GIVE you my stupid watch?" (Remember, it was the first day of school!)
I called my friend Michelle who promptly said, "I am NOT the one that you should be on the phone with!" So I called labor and delivery to tell them the contractions were 7 minutes apart. "Call us back when they are 3-5." Next call to Christine. She picked up and immediately said, "Are you okay? Is it time? I'm coming over right now!" And hung up.
While waiting for her to come over I decided to get up and walk around. Again, they didn't stop. Christine called Cathy to fill her in on the situation. She said, "Yes, it would probably be good for you guys to come down and pick her [Etta] up right now." And a little voice called out from her room, "YES! I'm all packed up!!" Etta was ready to go!
By the time we got that all straightened out the contractions were 5 minutes apart and we headed in to the hospital. We walked into labor and delivery and the first nurse we saw said, "You aren't here to have a baby are you?! We have TEN babies on the floor and two other women already in active labor!" I tell you what - I was not leaving.
After an incredibly slow start - like so slow that they wanted to send me home - they finally decided to admit me at 2:00 a.m. At that point I decided to take a jacuzzi. I had the shakes horribly and was freezing. That was the best/worst (???) decision all night. Good in the sense that it dilated me two centimeters in about three contractions and bad in the sense that it dilated me....well, you get the point. I was the SCREAMING woman at the hospital that night!
Since I had gone in to natural labor there was some question whether or not I would be able to have an epidural. Thanks be to God that they decided it was safe. At 4:00 a.m. I got my pain drugs and felt MUCH better. But even through all of that my water still hadn't broken.
At about 6:30 the OB came. I was dilated to a ten and had "bulging waters". She broke my water and we waited - more. The nurse kept asking if I felt like pushing. "Nope. Not really. I think that I'm good." Christine finally said, firmly, "How about we just try pushing on the next contraction?" I got in three good pushes on that contraction. The nurse said, under her breath, "This may take awhile..." Second contraction, pushed once, pushed twice and the nurse said, NOT under her breath, "Stop pushing!! I have to get the doctor!!!" Then there was much rushing around while everything was prepared. The doctor got in place, I gave one more good push and there she came...
This labor went so much better than Etta's. Less painful, not any bleeding and no baby distress. Therefor I got to hold Mae, skin to skin, right away. For over an hour. It was truly magical.
Overall it was a truly incredible experience. I will be putting up big sister/little sister pics in a future post. Must try to go and see if Mae will wake up for at least a few minutes to eat. She sleeps a lot! (Isn't there a "like" button or something for comments like that?!)
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