Before my doctor came in to see me, I was already 1 centimeter. Such exciting news considering the number of regular doctor appointments I had that showed no signs of progress up to that point. My body was finally starting to prepare on its own, which I hoped would pair nicely with the induction process. After the doctor came in to see me, the pitocin was ordered, the miracle medicine that would bring this baby out. Unfortunately though, we waited until 10:00 am before the nurse would bring it in and hook me up.
The first two hours progressed nicely. Contractions were starting, nothing painful, and I still had a smile on my face. This labor business isn’t so hard! Max and I continued to watch trashy television until the doctor would make her next round over the lunch hour. When she came in, I had dilated to 3 centimeters so she proceeded to break my water. A little unsure of how that would go, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t uncomfortable as I thought it would be. After all, each measure brought me another step closer to the baby’s arrival.
Before proceeding, let me rewind a bit. At one of our baby classes, where we were learning about epidurals, the anesthesiologist came in to talk to us. Very nice guy and quite funny too. “Two-Stick Dan” is what he claimed his nickname was…not exactly comforting for someone who would potentially be sticking a long needle into your back! His humor helped to relax the room during a somewhat scary conversation. When asked what the likeliness of paralysis was with epidurals, he calmly replied, Oh, not bad, about 1 in 3. Some of the younger parents-to-be failed to see the humor right away. He then skeptically asked if anyone in the room planned to deliver naturally, so I sheepishly raised my hand. Based on due dates, our baby was the first to be due in the class, and subsequently, I was probably the smallest expectant mother in the room as well. So I caught some heck for my desire to deliver naturally. Two Stick Dan wished me good luck but said he’d see me at the hospital…doubting my ability to tough it out.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, er ah, hospital…the pitocin levels continued to increase over the next couple of hours, as did my contractions. The mild contractions I had felt earlier that morning gave way to more intense labor pains. The television was turned off, the window shades closed, and the iPod was playing…all helping to sooth my headache and pain. Because there was no clock in the room, I had difficulty keeping track of time. The nurse checked me again and I was dilated to 4 centimeters. Ugh, only 1 centimeter worth of progress since the doctor had been in. I was starting to think that perhaps it would be a very long afternoon, with no baby expected until later that evening. But the contractions kept coming and kept intensifying; signaling the fact that baby indeed was on its way. At one point, Two Stick Dan popped his head into the room to see how I was doing. Still skeptical, he said he’d see me later! Two Stick Dan obviously doesn’t know me very well.
I tried to stay positive through each contraction. Thankfully, Max was at my side, holding my grip and reminding me to breathe through each one. I was no longer able to get a break between each contraction; they were getting too close together. Sensing the need to go to the bathroom, I made a break for it one last time before the next contraction came. Getting stuck in the bathroom with my pants down (or shall I say, gown up) while hooked up to monitors is not the place I wanted to be when the next big contraction hit!
Once I got back to my bed I had an overwhelming sense of the shakes, like I was cold. Suddenly, I remembered “the shakes” being talked about in baby class as a sign of something…but what?! Neither Max nor I could recall at what stage the shakes came in or what they meant. At the next opportunity I told the nurse who in turn got me a blanket. We asked her what the shakes meant and she sort of dismissed it, thinking I indeed was cold because I had just gotten up and moved around. Remember, the last she checked I was at 4 centimeters.
Contractions were getting very intense. At one point I was sitting on the edge of the bed, Max in front of me helping me through each one, and I thought to myself, Im probably only 6 or 7 centimeters at this point. I don’t think I can do this, Im going to need the epidural. Then, a doozie of a contraction hit. But this one was different, this one left me feeling as if I needed to push. Max and I were alone in the room when I told him what I felt. We just looked at each other like, what the heck do we do now?! When the nurse came back in, I told her what I felt and she looked at me, in slight disbelief. Another contraction hit and yes, I definitely felt the urge to push! So the nurse said, let me just check you real quick… After doing so, she calmly stepped back, removed her gloves and said, you feel like you need to push because…you need to push! You’re about 9 and a half almost 10 centimeters! What?! What happened to 5, 6, 7, and 8?! She quickly left to go call the doctor, leaving me with instruction to NOT push until the doctor arrived. So for the next several minutes I crossed my legs and did whatever I could to not push. Thankfully, the doctor’s office is only a few minutes away from the hospital so she arrived rather quickly. Once we had word that she was in the building, the pushing began and ensued for about 30 minutes before little Riley Roger made his way into our world.
Daddy was convinced that Baby was going to be a girl, so imagine his elation when “she” turned out to be a “he”. Overcome with emotion is the best way I can describe his reaction, a true joy to see in the man that helped me through this wondrous journey. After he cut the cord, Daddy followed Riley over to the warmer where the nurse examined and bathed him. From the other side of the room, I watched as the two of them began their bonding while I completed the third stage of labor.
To be continued...
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