Since many of you have asked - I figured I should let you know how labor went. We went to the hospital at 6pm on Saturday night 5/16. When we left the house, my contractions were about 3 minutes apart and getting stronger. But then, I got into the car and they were 7 minutes apart. By the time they hooked me up to the machines at the hospital, they were 9 minutes apart.
But, they wanted me to stay and be monitored. At about 8pm, the nurse told us Benjamin's heart rate was staying too level - it wasn't spiking the way they wanted it to with stimulation. So, we had to have a sonogram to see what was going on in there. The technician said he was running out of amniotic fluid. So, they said I was staying.
At 9pm I was put into a room and pitocin was started. The contractions got a lot stronger over the next few hours. At 1am I was in active labor and was having a very bad contraction. I asked Eric to rub my back and as he touched my back we both felt/heard a loud pop. We thought he had popped my back - until I felt it... my water broke. I'll never forget that feeling, and neither will Eric ;)
That's when things really heated up. The contractions really started to hurt and were progressing. At 2am I was finally 4 cm dilated and they said it was time for the epidural... thank the lord ;) The epi went great - I didn't have a contraction through the entire process. And, I even talked about the next child with the doctor - which he laughed at!!
My family showed up shortly after and I got to talk to them, then Eric's parents showed up and chatted for a bit. And, we even got a nap.
At 5am the nurse came in and checked me and I was 9 cm. It was about time to push. Eric thought it would be great to take a picture before I pushed - and I guess I'll share:
At 5:15am - they told me to begin pushing. I pushed for 45 minutes - Benjamin James was born at 5:59am. At first - I wasn't too happy about the pitocin, but I'm glad I didn't have to stretch that labor out and go through it all at home!! We decided to do the Baby First program and had Benjamin in our room with just the two of us for the first hour. That time was amazing!!
And - here's a picture of the end result: Benjamin!!
Yeah, Abbie! You already told me this story, but it's still fun to read. The end result of everything makes it all worthwhile. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you did great. Laboring all night and pitocin contractions are 2 things I don't consider to be a fun time! Keep enjoying your little guy. He's going to grow so fast. Take care!