So, as promised (and just a bit overdue, but hey - babies work on their own time-table too!), here is my take on labor and delivery :)
WARNING - MY STORY IS NOT "NORMAL"
As we neared the end of my pregnancy with Kate, I was finding myself thankful that I had gestational diabetes. You see, my doctor told me that she would not let me go past my due date! So, with Kate, I was induced on my due date (well, the night before) :) (Jenna was another story!).
I was told to call into the hospital at 6:30am, and that they would then "put me on the list" and call me when I could come to the hospital. Let me tell you, that day was the longest day of my entire pregnancy! When they FINALLY called at 8:00pm, I was ecstatic! We eagerly drove the 45 minutes to the hospital, checked in and waited some more. Finally, at 11pm I was given cytotec (to "ripen" my cervix - how's that for TMI?!) and told that I would get that every 4 hours until they had seen sufficient progress; then I would be switched to pitocin to bring on labor.
David and I decided that we would do our best to get as much sleep as we could (although we were VERY excited). Around 2:30am I woke up; feeling something strange. Decided I must just need to go to the bathroom, got up and realized that strange feeling had been my water breaking - decided to go back to sleep, because I could. At 3:00am I woke up, unable to sleep through the contractions anymore. So, we got up and used all of the things we learned in our birthing classes. Around 4:00am, I realized that this could go on for a very long time (most first babies are 10+ hours in labor) - and I wasn't so sure I could go through with my no medication plan. So, I had David tell the nurse that I wanted something to take the edge off. The very next contraction, I looked at the nurse and told her "I know you're going to tell me it's not time - but I feel like I need to push." She immediately had me get into the bed so she could check my progress and told me that there were going to be no pain meds in my future - I was going to push on the next contraction! So, I pushed for a couple contractions and then was told that I had to wait because the doctor was not in the room to catch the baby. I waited as best I could through several contractions (that is VERY hard to do, by the way) - then asked the nurse if the doctor was ever going to come, because I just couldn't do that anymore. (She later told us that she was just about to push the "code" button when the dr arrived). Well, the doctor FINALLY arrived, thinking that she'd have some time before our baby was ready - the nurse told her to get ready as fast as humanly possible - this baby is coming - NOW!
At 4:28am, our little princess came into the world and changed our lives forever. We were now parents to this little 8 pound 2 ounce, 21.5 inch angel (who is now 4 - HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!). What a difference a few hours made!
The next morning the nurse who checked me in came to say hi and see how we were doing - every staff member who came into my room talked of how very fast Kate came and how they were all surprised and amazed that I did it all without medication.
You know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!!
Next time: carseats (be warned, this is a topic of passion of mine)
