I was soooo scared of labor. As I mentioned in a earlier post, I went in for a checkup and they decided to induce me that night because my fluid levels around the baby were really low. That was at 2 pm and I bawled all the way up to go time at 8 pm. M was nice enough to bail out on work and come be with me until it was time to leave for the hospital. Before we left, M gave me a priesthood blessing. I'm so grateful he is a worthy priesthood blessing because the words he spoke gave me so much peace and helped calm me down substantially. The doctor had recommended eating before having to fast once they induced me, so we stopped for food on the way but all I could stomach {thanks to my nerves} was a Jamba Juice smoothie and a pretzel. And then we arrived at the hospital...
Once the hospital finished admitting me {and calming me down by answering my billions of nervous questions}, it was 9:30 pm before they officially began the induction. My body apparently was not wanting to have a baby considering I was starting out completely not dilated or effaced; yet it amazed me how quickly the drugs they gave me got things going!
Altogether, my labor lasted for 14 hours. For the first several hours, it honestly felt like an annoying cramps. They were monitoring my contractions and the crampy feeling progressively turned into pain that I had to breathe to get through. About 6 hours in, it started hurting to the point that I felt I'd experienced labor enough and asked for the epidural.
Side note: I hate needles. In my mind, having them stab my spine to start the epidural was the worst part of my whole labor experience. But was so worth it.
For friends debating whether or not to have an epidural, I just want to throw it out there... After the epidural, I actually was able to sleep for the next few hours. I loved the way the epidural worked because they gave me a strong first dose that made the lower half of my body entirely numb at first. after that, the remaining dosage was more diluted so that by the time I had to push, I could feel the sensation of where baby was in my body but without the pain. I loved it because I was able to be relaxed but alert enough to truly enjoy the experience of giving birth.
They had been monitoring my contractions and baby's heart rate from the very beginning of the induction and they began to notice that as they increased the drug to intensify my contractions, baby's heart rate would drop. But when they stopped the drug, my contractions would stop. My water had broken only a couple of hours after I'd been induced, plus my fluid levels had already been low, so the doctor was trying to decide what would be the best plan to get him here. After about 12 hours of labor, the decided to try pumping a full bag of saline back into my tummy so that he'd have fluid again. And it worked! It helped maintain his heart rate a bit more while being able to increase my contractions enough to keep progressing.
In fact, it progressed enough that it quickly became time to push. Poor M got stuck with holding the more-numb of my two legs and he was the best encouragement I could have asked for. He was so excited to have our baby here. I pushed for just over a half hour and the push that the doctor thought would get baby's head out happened to be enough that his entire body popped out! Luckily she is a great catch because M said it was a total surprise how he just suddenly appeared.
Next thing I knew, there was this crying slimy, purplish, cone-headed thing that they brought for me to hold close to my chest. It was kind of surreal. And then I saw his little face and instantly fell in love. This was him! This was our Baby A that we had been waiting to meet! I wish I had words to express what an amazing moment that was for me and just how much love I felt for him. Laying there with M sitting next to me and holding our little boy was truly the best moment of my entire life.
A little bit later, they took him away to clean him a bit and weigh him. I loved watching his dad there at his side because I watched my husband turn into a father. He brought Baby A back to me after the doctor got him cleaned up and we all cuddled together as a family. It was really nice because at this point all of the nurses and doctors left the room and let us have our time alone.
{Snuggling with Daddy for the first time}
{Our little family!}
We were then moved from Labor & Delivery to the Maternity wing, where we stayed for the next 48 hours and were able to have both of our families visit and meet Baby A for the first time.
Finally our 48 hours were up and we got to come home. I was so glad to be leaving because it meant we wouldn't have nurses and doctors waking us all up constantly. Some of the nurses were much more enjoyable to be interrupted by than others, but my absolute favorite was the one that discharged us. She was hilarious and helpful. She told me she got called in that morning just for a few hours to help the short-handed staff. I think se was there just for my sanity! Before we left, she brought us bags of newborn diapers, wipes, little shirts, burp cloths and blankets. I was so grateful because it's enough to last us the first couple weeks.
M loaded up the car while I got Baby A dressed in his adorable "going home" outfit. We hooked him up in his car seat and he looked so tiny! But he loved the car ride home and slept soundly to the movement of the car. I was so happy to have my little family all together in our home.
Overall, I thought this experience would be horrible. I was really nervous and expecting the worst. But I was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it all went and what an amazing and special experience it was for me.
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