Tuesday: Monday and Tuesday I did soem cleaning up in my lesson planning and trying to make a seamless transfer for Jaye when she came in as the maternity sub. Since I had my induction date set for Thursday and I had felt nothing other than a few contractions randomly throughout the day for the past few days, I had pretty much counted on having to be induced. So on Tuesday I thought, you know - if I'm going to be induced on Thursday I'm going to take Wednesday off and just rest and "dink around" the house. So I made copies and got in touch with Jaye and had a plan for Wednesday. Jaye (on Tuesday) had taken some FFA kids to Springfield for Ag Legislative Day, so when she got back from that I talked to her a little bit and we were pretty comfortable with switching things from her to me. So when I walked out of the Ag Shop Tuesday evening, it was a little bittersweet. I didn't really feel emotionally sad it was just a little weird to KNOW that I wasn't going to be there for awhile and that I had just completely put my "life" into her hands. I have all the faith in her and told her to make the classroom her own for 6 weeks and I know it will be great.
So I got home around 4:30ish and I had some major crampy feelings but nothing that really caught my attention. JM got home around 6ish I think, but starting at 5:30 I had the cramp all the time with peaks of pain. CONTRACTIONS! JM got home and we let the dogs out. I mentioned that was feeling kind of crampy and he asked if I was timing them. I wasn't really b/c they weren't really painful and I remember them saying that you go the hospital when you can't really talk through the contractions very well. I also wasn't sure where to stop and start timing b/c they never really stopped; just a dull ache. JM made the comment that we WERE NOT walking tonight b/c he had some farmers getting ready to go into the field and he wanted me to take it easy so he could get that farmer started on Wednesday and then the guys at the plant could take over Thursday.
Think again...
About 20 minutes later I knew something "real" was starting. The peaks were anywhere from 3-7 minutes a part from each other. JM got into the shower - just in case I decided we needed to go - and in the meantime I called the hospital to talk to the Doctor about whether we should come in. The contractions started getting a little more intense and I could see that sooner rather than later I was not going to be able to shrug them off. Dr. Benson was on call for the night and told me to come in and they would check. So we load up the rest of our stuff, call our birth companion student Lyndsey, and head to the hospital. We decided to call our parents to let them know and then promised we would call back to let them know if they were even going to keep me.
We got to the hospital around 7:30 I think. The clock in the triage room had not been changed from the time change so I was a little confused. I changed into the gown and they hooked me up and started asking questions and everything like that. They checked for dialation and I was a little over 3cm (Monday I was a little "under"). They left us in the room to monitor contractions and then come back in an hour or so to check for dialation again and decide whether to keep me. The contrations were getting worse but nothing I couldn't handle. Lyndsey and JM watched them on the monitor. They got to where I grimaced a little when they peaked but nothing to bad. They were peaking pretty steadily at 5 min apart. Dr. B decided to keep me b/c of the contractions and I was dialated enough to break my water. Down to our room we go!
So we settle into the room in less than 15 minutes. JM called Mom to tell them they were keeping me and she said OK - we're just a few minutes away. They had already left! I love my family.
The contractions began to come quicker and I began to think that this was moving really fast but no big deal. Dr. B came in and broke my water and the rollercoaster began. However, rollercoasters have ups and downs and there really weren't any of those. I was still in pretty good humor a few minutes after he broke my water and made the joke that it felt like * WARNING - GROSSNESS ALERT* that Nickelodean show where they pull the chord and green slime falls on the contestants head. Except I really doubt it was green and it definitely was not on anyone's head. The joking pretty much stopped there. Soon after I was asking Kathy (our nurse) about our pain options one more time. I had wanted to start at the low end of options and work my way up if needed. I was a little nervous b/c I wasn't getting much of a break between contractions and I was really having to concentrate on breathing through them. It was pretty intense. So we opted for the shot in the hip. (Before this she had cleared the room and it was just the nurse JM, Lyndsey, and Mom). The shot worked for about 2 contractions and I was writhing in pain. Thinking "oh my God, it's not supposed to be like this. I'm supposed to walk the halls and slowly work up to this. Is it going to be like this for a long time b/c this is the 1st time I thought this was going to be a long process.......
I decide to stick it out a little bit longer. I tend to be one of those "suck it up and deal with it types". I remember JM looking at Kathy and going "OK -what's our pain options here? There has to be something... The look in his eyes/on his face kind of scared me (mom's concerned look was pretty similar) Maybe this was worse than what I thought and I wasn't being wimpy. Kathy then said that we could do the IV and it does a lot of times work better in conjunction WITH the shot in the hip. She didn't think we were within 3 hours of delivering so she said it was ok. She warned me that I would feel weird and wow did I. It was like my eyes and brain were more drunk that I could ever imagine anyone being. And there was a floating feeling but with parts of my body being held down. I remember saying that I didn't like how it felt and my head bobbing around. This lasted maybe 15 minutes and then things became REAL serious. The contractions started getting very very very intense and there was no let down. They were occuring 5-15 seconds on top of each other and I could really no longer control my breathing. I'm not sure who said "epidural" or anything but I remember them bringing a paper to sign. I looked at the pen she hand was handing me and thought how am I supposed to hold that (nubaine in the IV - remember). I signed it - who knows what it looked like. Dr. Price was called and just when I thought I was going to begin to panic she came in. New problem: Since there was no break in the contractions running the epidrual cath proved to be very hard. Dr. Price is EXCELLENT, my body just couldn't cooperate. Mom stopped counting after her 4th try and said that Dr. Price just kept shaking her head. I'm sure she was very frustrating. She would rub on my spine to find a spot and that seemed to just amplify the contraction. And it is true... the epidural itself doesn't hurt, its the local shot the stung pretty bad. I did feel some pressure that hurt but it was nothing that compared to what was happening inside of me.
Finally my body cooperates and she gets it where it needs to be. I think this is sometime around 1 or so. I get to rest for about 2 hours, in which people are telling me to sleep. I did a little bit, but I just couldn't. I guess I was too excited. Somewhere around 4am I felt this huge pressure in my bottom. Also during this whole time I get checked for dialation and vitals are checked. There were also people following the nurses around learning. I was asked if they could check me too, so they could understand what they would be looking for. I consented, Why not? Might as well have people learn how to help out other women later. At one point Kristy (someone we know) checked me and had her "student" check me. And Kristy goes, do you feel all that hair! We knew pretty early on that she had a whole head of it.
So back to the pressure....I mentioned this to Kathy when she came in and she said ok. It wasn't very long after that the pressure got pretty strong. Cue the nursing staff. The bed starts getting broken down and raised and everything is exposed. They check dialation and there is only a little piece of cervix left which went away in less than 5 minutes. Let the pushing begin. This along with the contractions right before the epidural was the worst part. I really expected more of my "girl parts" to hurt but I was just sure that everything down there had melded together and she was coming out my rectum. Samantha hadn't turned all the way down but with a little help got in the right position, which didn't bring any relieve to me. The nurses have you take a big deep breathe, blow it out, deep breath, push for 10, breathe out - grab a breathe and then push again for 10. You push 3 times to the count of 10. I remember thinking "can you count any slower"?!?! JM was at my head, Lyndsey had a leg and the nurses had everythign "else". I kept hearing "you're doing great" "we can see her" "you're almost there". At one point, I'm thinking where is "there" b/c we've been "almost THERE" for awhile. There was some murmuring among the nurses and I began to get a little nervous. They tell you to push when you feel a contraction - ok - no big deal. I was still having those contractions that didn't stop. Mom kind of stood back to the side - actually she knelt on the couch that was beside the bed so she could see. It got to where I would push the 3 times and then relax but my body would still push. It was .... I don't know. At some point the epidural was turned off, (not sure why). JM has said they said why but we both weren't really in the state to remember. Dr. Benson finally comes in which makes me think "Thank God - that means it's almost over". not so much - or at least it didnt' really feel like it. I kept getting her so close but just couldn't get her over the edge. JM said Dr. B pushed her back in (which I remember feeling) and then the scissors came out. That is a sound I will never forget. I remember seeing the scissors and then putting my head back on the table. After that I barely pushed and it was kind of like a gushy popping noise and there she was. JM said the cord was laying across her neck but wasn't wrapped around it. She didn't really scream either. They did something and then there she was on my chest. I just remember thinking ' wow, that was in me for 9 months and then just came out of me". This wasn't as much of an emotional thing but more of a physical/biological thought. I remember looking at JM who still kind of looked unsure and then over at mom would still had her hand over her face (from, I think, when the pushing got out of control/not working, and the episiotomy) and she was crying. I didn't cry though. I was just glad it was over. Dr. B clamped the cord and told JM to cut the cord. He wasn't sure if he was going to before we got there and I don't think he really planned on it at the time but they really didn't give him a choice. He's glad he did though. She still really wasn't loud and JM told me about the cord across her neck and said he was really suctioning out her mouth and nose. I had either had asked if she was ok or looked worried. They left her on my chest for a few minutes and we all "giggled" over "all that hair!". They then took her over the crib and mom went and took pictures. JM stayed by my side. I'll never forget looking up and him kissing me. Dr. B started finishing up. I still really hadn't heard her scream and I heard them talking quietly around her. She was making noise just not what I expected. She had taken in A LOT of fluid when she came out so they were still cleaning her up and suctioning out her mouth and nose. I delivered the placenta with some helpful abdomen massaging from Dr. B. I had expected that to hurt but it didn't. I think I was still living on the feeling that it was finally over. He then started the stitching, which made me pretty happy b/c he numbed the area (which did hurt initially) but finally things were a little numb. I realized that he had been stitching for awhile and kind of jokinly said "how many stitches are we up to doc?". I knew there were going to be a few. JM kind of leaned in really close and whispered "a lot" really softly - like if he said it softly maybe it wouldn't scare me. Dr. B right on top of his "a lot" goes (with a smirk) "just one. long one". Thanks for the sense of humor "doc". When he said that JM just raised his eyebrows at me.
So in a nut shell, my contractions literally started at 5:30 and she was born at 5:26 am. Just 4 minutes shy of 12 hours.
Samantha Jo
5:26 AM 7lbs 7oz 20 1/2 inches long
Looking back at just the labor, I guess it went fairly quickly. It is also amazing what your body can go through before your begin to question your strength and then your body goes further. Pushing was really really hard. When it was all over, my eyes were so swollen I could hardly see and I many of the blood vessels in my face burst, leaving me all polka-dotted. Mom had told me that I didn't look like me at 6 o'clock that morning. When I went to bathroom around 9 and then looked in the mirror I scared myself. Not by the sight, but just by the shear change and that I was still swollen and that I had busted blood vessels. No one, not once, said anything about it and for some reason that is a little touching. They say that when you see the new baby you forget the pain and it was all worth it. I'm sure the rememberance of the pain will fade with time and my first thougth when she was finally coming out was "it's over, it's over, you're going to be ok", but it is all worth it. Maybe not immediately for some, but to look at something that you and the love of your life created is an amazing feeling. It also makes you appreciate your own mother and father that much more. It changes you.......
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