So Nate didn't get to drive me in a frantic fashion to the hospital, but it was still rather dramatic and hectic!
Friday was a great day. Nate and I ran errands, shopped at IKEA, cleaned the house together, and I made a yummy dinner. I had started getting some back pain while we were out shopping, but just thought it was from all the walking. After dinner I was extremely cranky, irritable, and my lower back really hurt. We decided to go in to labor and delivery so I could get some stronger pain relief.
Nate was in the waiting room with all the kids while I went back to triage to be assessed, I figured we'd be there about an hour or so....man I was wrong!
The nurse had me change and hooked me up to the monitors, if I got any pain killers they wanted to keep an eye on me for awhile before sending me home. Perfectly routine and expected. The nurse then did a cervix check, again routine, and told me I was still at 3 cm.
She then left my "room" to call the doctor and get approval for pain meds.
I was happy they'd give something to ease the pain in my back! I tried to get comfortable and suddenly felt like I peed a little. Then suddenly:
I was gushing fluid! I couldn't reach my call light and yelled for the nurse instead.
"I think my water broke!"
She looked completely surprised and came over to check, "I think it did too!"
I hurried and called Nate, he was not prepared to hear what I had to tell him and was silent for a second. I was able to talk calmly to him and instruct him to take the kids home, call the RS Pres to help find a sitter, and to pack the hospital bag.
The nurse checked my cervix, it was now a 4.
I started to get nervous, when I hit a 5, things move very fast with my labors.
The pain in my back had double and I was suddenly contracting when I hadn't been before! The contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes. My legs were shaking, I felt sick, and really wanted to cry. There was no way I could go through this without Nate! I said a silent prayer, pleading with the Lord to calm my nerves and ease the pain.
I made the decision to go ahead with an epidural and asked to get it asap.
Nate still hadn't found a sitter after 30 minutes, I really started to panic.
The nurses started my IV and ordered the epidural, I would be getting it in the next 10 minutes, they just had to move me out of triage first. I was proud of myself for being able to get it without Nate's hand to hold! It kicked in right away: my legs stopped shaking, I felt calmer, I no longer felt the back pain.
Finally, Nate arrived. It had been more than an hour since my waters ruptured.
The next couple of hours went by without much excitement, we watched a movie and called our family.
I was still at a 4, but thinned out more, when the next checked me (which they couldn't do too often because of my waters). They started pitocin at 12:45.
They checked my cervix again at 2:30, I was at a 7. Next contraction had a lot of pressure. I was now at an 8. Two more contractions and I was at a 9.5. They were amazed how fast I was moving. (Hey, I warned them!) We actually just sat and waited for the doctor for 20 minutes! He hadn't expected me to move that fast either. The nurse made me lay on my side to slow things down to give him a chance to arrive. I did have a "hot spot" on my left side, the epidural for some reason didn't numb that one area and I started to hurt. The pressure was building. I started feeling really sick.
Finally the doctor arrive! I had my eyes closed and was trying my best not to toss my dinner up.
Now, I had been seeing Dr Izenberg, but he left the practice the day before. I was going to start seeing Dr Semrad on Wednesday, instead he was there to deliver me!
They got me into position, placed the mirror, and the pushing began. It felt like forever and I was worried it was going to take forever to get her out. In reality, I pushed for 13 minutes.
I am so glad I used the mirror, watching her coming down and out really motivated me to push harder. Nate at one point was really cheering me on, "Come on! Come on! I can see her! Push!"
We noticed her hair right away! Thick and red!
(She came face up which explained the horrible back labor I had been dealing with.)
She was born at 3:18 am. Only two and a half hours passed between the pitocin and her birth!
Éowyn Aislynn Ralston
7 lbs 3 oz, 21 inches
December 4, 2010
Mom, Dad, and Katy (lil' sis) came to visit!
Afton letting us know there were presents....
ZOE!!!!
Afton waiting outside of Cracker Barrel!
