I told myself I need to write this soon while it is still fresh on my mind : ) It was in the middle of the night so some details are a bit hazy... but I will do my best to explain as much as I can!
My contractions actually started Monday night around 3:00 a.m., and they were just painful enough where I couldn't sleep, but still walk around and do stuff... so I didn't get any sleep that night but I thought maybe this is it! I went in to my 39 week appointment Tuesday morning and I had not progressed any from the week before, so I just told myself not to get discouraged but to just continue to wait for the Lord's perfect timing. Well... Tuesday night his timing was right! Contractions started again around 11:30 p.m. and Joey had gone back to work to finish up any last minute things just in case. I called him and said "Come home NOW!" haha. We began timing them and they were lasting 6 minutes apart and 1 minute long. After about 9 consistent contractions, they started getting stronger and harder. It was really late and I told Joey we better call our friends the Gardenhires who were on call to come to our house if I went into labor. Then all of a sudden the contractions started coming every 2 minutes, and I started getting nauseas... I said "We have to go NOW." They were very painful at this point and it was getting harder to relax. Joey was frantically taking our bags downstairs and I was thinking thank God I had everything packed and ready. The Gardenhires showed up around 1:00 a.m. smiling and wanting to take a picture of the whole thing, but realized real quick that this was not the time for a photoshoot : )
We drove to the hospital while I told Joey to run every redlight as I was writhing in pain. We got there and checked in, my contractions still coming about every 2 1/2 minutes. This is where I now realize why people have home births. Now I had to undress, get an IV (which took like 10 minutes and poking like 10 different times to find a vein), get checked, blood pressure cuff strapped on, monitors strapped around my stomach, and all while having the most pain I have ever experienced in my life. Joey had to continually keep asking the nurses if they would just "hold on a second please" because they didn't seem to mind if I was in the middle of a contraction or not. When the nurse did check me I was at 4 cm dilated, so they said I could be checked in since that is considered active labor.
I finally was able to lie down in a hospital bed, and at this point that is all I wanted to do. I cannot even describe the intensity of the pain that was going on, and all I could do was hug the pillow and beg Joey to pray over me. After another hour or maybe more of this, the contractions began double peaking, lasting 2 1/2 minutes with no break in between. It was at this point that I started throwing up. I HATE throwing up with a passion. This was no cake walk. I told the nurse I wanted to be checked cause surely I must be in transition with all this going on. She did and I was at 6 cm and completely effaced. I was begging Joey for an epidural with every contraction, and I had to just realize after throwing up the 4th or 5th time that I didn't want to do this anymore... it seemed that everything I learned about natural childbirth seemed to be forgotten at that point. With no sleep for 2 nights, no rest in between contractions and throwing up....I wanted the epidural and I wanted it NOW! haha. I asked the nurse when I could get one and she called the anesthesiologist... since it was the middle of the night it took a while for him to get there. After he gave me the epidural it took about 20 minutes for it to start working and they made me lay flat on my back so it could get evenly distributed in both legs. When it finally started working I was so relieved. It seemed like everyone else was too.
We rested for a few hours, and by that point my Dad and Joey's Dad had arrived and came into the room to see us for a bit. We had a few laughs and then the on call doctor came in to check me. I was at 8 cm and she said she wanted to break my water. I thought Lord please let me make it until my doctor can get here in time instead of the on call doctor. After this I began to feel the contractions again and the epidural had worn off. Come to find out the machine wasn't working right, so there I was again facing the contractions this time harder than ever. I just gave in at this point and tried to relax as best I could, accepting each contraction as it came. After about an hour of this they fixed the machine and gave me another dose of the medicine. Then around 6:30 a.m. my doctor arrived!!! I was so incredibly happy to see her! She checked me and I was still at an 8 cm. We thought it might be another few hours before I started pushing. She came back about 25 minutes later and said "Ok, it's time to push!" I was thinking oh my goodness!! We are so close!
My doctor just sat by my feet and was so encouraging and relaxed as she talked to me, telling me to do a few practice pushes. She said "wow you are an amazing pusher!" I pushed for about 30 minutes, the whole time them exclaiming how much hair they could see on Jane's head. I was thinking "Yea she has hair!" I asked for a mirror to see, then said "wait, nevermind I better not : )) So after about 30 minutes of pushing out she came! I actually was able to feel her come out which I wanted to feel, and I was so happy to see her! She wasn't crying when she came out, but was wide eyed, and after about 7 seconds we heard her cry. Then came the moment I so badly had wanted... they placed my baby on my chest and I just sat and rejoiced in my heart at my new precious gift and the absolute miracle of birth. Only God could have ordained this. I cannot describe how thankful I am to the Lord, who gave me the desire of my heart and allowed me to have a vaginal birth. We love you Jane Abigail!
Podcast #163 – Spending Time with Your Teens
6 days ago
