Saturday January 15th was a pretty normal day. I went to the thrift shop with my mom and sister, came home and had lunch, and then went to my mom’s house where I was going to meet a photographer friend to take some outdoor maternity photos. It was really cold outside, but I wanted some good photos of my belly before the baby arrived. It was still 10 days before my due date. My sister Emily came along on the photo shoot, and by the end of it I was rolling around in the snow making snow angels – all while 9 months pregnant!
After the photo shoot we went Church for a Italian Buffet Fundraiser. Many of my close friends were there, and we were all joking about when the baby would come!
We finally got home around 9:30, and I sat down on the couch to unwind and watch a little tv. I was having some dull cramps that came about every 5 minutes, but I’d had similar pains before, so I didn’t think too much of it. I did start to time them, but they never got very painful. I headed upstairs to bed around 11. I didn’t feel great, but I thought that sleep would help, and that I would be back to normal in the morning. I was almost asleep when at 11:40 I felt (and heard) a POP come from low in my belly. I didn’t feel any fluid right away, so I wasn’t sure what it was. I got up to go to the bathroom and immediately got my first real contraction and a rush of fluid. I told John that I thought my water had broken. He asked me how sure I was, and I said I was “85%” sure! I didn’t want to go to the hospital right away, because I hadn’t timed any contractions. I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. But my first 2 contractions were 3 minutes part and lasted about a minute each. I wasn’t getting much of a break in between them. So John started to gather our hospital stuff and load up the car. I called the doctor and they told me I should head into the hospital. I wasn’t convinced it was time to go, but John didn’t want to risk it, so we headed out at 12:15. In the 10 minute ride to the hospital I had 3 contractions lasting 1 minute each. Once we got to the hospital around 12:30 we parked and I had 3 more contractions on the short walk to Labor and Delivery.
Once we were in L&D they took me to triage where I was able to use the bathroom. I was having REALLY strong, practically unbearable contractions, and my pink amniotic fluid was all over everything, but they still decided they needed to check me to see if my water had really broken. That was the most unbearable thing I have had to deal with through this pregnancy. I was having contractions really close together, so they were doing the check WHILE I was contracting. That’s when I opted for an epidural. I was hyperventilating, freaked out, exhausted, and I had only been laboring for an hour. I was 4 centimeters, and they confirmed that my water had broken. I was admitted and given a bag of IV fluid so they could administer the epidural. In between contractions they moved me to a delivery room, and a few minutes later the anesthesiologist came to give me my epidural. I didn’t feel much because I was having horrible contractions the whole time. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to calm down enough for them to put the epidural in, but John was a great support and I made it through quickly. Within minutes my contractions were getting more manageable, and I was feeling more myself. I was SO happy that I decided to get an epidural. I would do it again and again. Once I was comfortable again John and I were able to sleep for a little bit.
I was laying on my left side to rest and after about 2 hours the nurse came in to help me shift over to my right side. It was about 3:45am. I was able to roll over, but as soon as I did the baby’s heart rate dropped and became inconsistent. The nurse wasn’t too concerned; she got me to roll back onto my back, and said that usually when that happens it means the baby is ready!! I couldn’t believe it; I had only been in labor for 4 hours. When I got the epidural I thought I was going to have to labor well into Sunday. So, they called the doctor who came about 20 minutes later and at 4:20 I started to push. I pushed through 4 contractions with John as my cheerleader the whole time. As soon as he was out the doctor announced that it was a boy, and John got to cut the umbilical cord. Preston came out quite, but was crying within seconds. He got a 9/9 on his APGARs. They let me hold him while they delivered the placenta, and then took him to the warmer to get warmed up and cleaned off while I was stitched up. They had to give me an episiotomy to get his head out. Once he was warm enough they gave him back to me, and we were able to nurse for an hour and recover quietly together as a new family. When he was done nursing, John finally got a chance to hold him.
A few minutes after he was born we called our parents who were VERY surprised to hear the new, and so excited!
They moved us up to the Mother Baby Unit around 9:30am when most of my epidural had worn off, and the happy new grandparents arrived around 11 to meet the baby.