All the Gory Details

As my due date approached and still no contractions, I was very discouraged. I really just wanted to have a baby! I didn't get to see my dr on my 38 or 39 week appt so I couldn't ask how long she would let me go over my due date. The day before I was due, I got a call from my dr. office. She wanted me to go to a specialist and get an ultrasound to make sure the baby was ok. That appt was at 11 am and I had my regular appt at 2:30. The ultrasound showed that my fluid was low and my placenta was old. I asked the doctor if he thought my dr would induce me that day and he said he hoped she would. It was exciting, but also scary; it hit me that I was so close to going through an experience that I have been terrified of my whole life! He called my dr and she said that she would induce me the next day. Yikes!
Curt went with me to my appt. She found the heartbeat and measured my belly. Then she checked me (oh how I hate that!). Still at a four. Sheesh! She then called the hospital to set up a time to induce me. The choices were 4 am or midnight. I don't know why, but we chose midnight.
The next few hours went by so slowly! We finished packing, ate (but not too much, I didn't want to have an embarrassing moment in the delivery room) and TRIED to sleep (we weren't very successful). Curt gave me a blessing which helped put my heart at ease. Finally the time came to go to the hospital. I was so nervous! The nurse took us right in to the labor room; we were the only ones there. After I put my "I-see-you" gown on, the poking began. I had been trying to prepare myself mentally for this part because I hate needles and having an I.V. in for so long really made me nervous. Curt asked the nurse to put a towel over the I.V. so I didn't have to look at it. They started the pitocin right around 12. I was also receiving antibiotics through the I.V. The pitocin burned a little going in. Three o'clock came and I really started to feel the contractions. Thank heavens for the birthing class we took; I learned some awesome breathing techniques that really helped me get through the pain. I spent some time on a birthing ball. One thing that was so weird was that I was shaking so bad! I guess it's a normal reaction to all the hormones. Anyway, I wanted to be strong and get through as much labor as I could stand before I asked for the drugs. I asked the nurse how close the epidural dr (I don't know how to spell his real title) was: half an hour. OK, I can do this. We brought pictures that I could focus on during contractions, and Curt massaged my feet during the real bad ones. That helped so much! He was my strength :)
At 4:30 I decided that I wanted to get the epidural. Again, something I was really nervous about! I had heard that they usually send the husband away for this part, but Curt stayed right with me and held my hands. Another technique that I learned in a college class came in handy during this part. I repeated over and over to myself: I am strong, I am calm, I can do this. It really made me focus on getting through rather than how much I dislike needles. The dr said "Ok, a poke and a burn" and I felt the needle prick. That's really all it was. A prick! It wasn't bad at all! Then it was only a matter of time before I couldn't feel my legs. I really did NOT like that feeling, but I figured the alternative would be worse. After that, the nurse broke my water - again, not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Then it was time for the catheter. UGH. It hurt. But once that was all done (around 6 am) then we just waited for things to progress along. We turned the lights off and slept a little. When we weren't sleeping, we just talked and played 20 questions. Our parents came back around 8. We were all just visiting while I laid there having contractions and not feeling a thing. The nurse had to turn me on my sides; that was really weird. The next time they checked me I was at a 9 and the nurse was telling her trainee (that's right, I had a training nurse. It was her very first delivery) that she predicted the baby would come before 10 am. WOW. I looked at the clock and it was 8:30. I was so close to having a baby! After they left, the parents came back in and we resumed our pleasant visit. At 9:15 ish my dr. came in, introduced herself to the parents and asked everyone to leave so she could check me. She asked me if I was feeling any pressure. Uh, no, I couldn't feel ANYTHING at that point silly! So she was quite surprised when she discovered I was at a TEN and she could feel the head! Yay! Then things happened really fast. All of a sudden my legs were being hoisted up into the stirrups (again, super weird feeling since they had to do it for me) and the nurses were preparing for a baby. My dr had to leave for a minute so the nurse started me on the pushing. I couldn't believe it: five minutes earlier everyone was in my room and things were easy-going and the next thing I knew, I WAS PUSHING A BABY OUT OF ME! Crazy! After the first push, the nurse said the baby "didn't like that" so they put the oxygen mask on me. Then I rested for a contraction. My dr came back in and she took over. On one of the next few pushes, Curt told me he could see the head. Seriously?! As I was pushing, my I.V. really started hurting. I told them it didn't feel good at all, but everyone was so caught up in getting the baby that no one paid attention. I pushed through a few more contractions and then I had a baby!! They didn't ask Curt if he'd like to cut the cord. Pretty soon they put her screaming purple body on my chest while they were still wiping her down. That was the most incredible feeling in the world! I DID IT! I made it through labor and delivery! It's pretty much impossible to describe the emotions I felt. After they took her away to be weighed and such, they discovered that she had too much mucus in her lungs (or something like that...I was kind of out of it at that point.) So they had to take her to the nursery to put tubes down her :( They told me she would be away for at least two hours. Pout. Curt went with her and I was left to start the recovery process. I had to be stitched up because even thought the dr. snipped me, I still tore. It turns out that my I.V. had come out of the vein (but not the arm) while I was pushing (I told them it hurt really bad) so they had to put another one in my other arm. SAD! One of the worst parts and I had to have it twice. My arm had swollen up due to all the fluid. It hurt.
Finally Curt came back in the room and told me all about our sweet little miracle. At this point the epidural had not worn off yet so when the nurse told me I had to get up and go to the bathroom, there was no way that was happening. And then she gave me the bad news: that meant they had to put a catheter back in me until I could use my legs. GAG. Another gross part I had to have twice. Anyway, they brought in the bed from the recover room and hoisted me onto it, then wheeled me into the next room.
I wish I had been prepared for after the baby came. Labor and delivery were a piece of cake compared the the 24 hours that followed. It took FOREVER to get the feeling back in my legs, which meant that I had to have the stinkin I.V. and catheter in for all those hours. Not to mention, I couldn't feel my legs! I just had to lay (or is it lie? I've never been able to figure out the rule on that one) in bed waiting to feel normal again. When they finally brought the baby in to me, so many people were there that I didn't get a chance to hold and nurse her right off. (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that we had visitors: family that really care about us.) That night was one of the hardest nights of my life! By this time Curt and I were running on MAYBE 3-4 hours of sleep in the last 48. We were trying so hard to feed the little one, but she just seemed totally uninterested in eating. She was so sleepy, and when we tried to wake her up she would scream and scream. Then we she settled down enough to eat, she would fall right back to sleep. By the middle of the night I was so exhausted I couldn't see straight. We had nurse after nurse plus a lactation counselor come in trying to help me learn this new skill. I was so so discouraged and so so tired. I just wanted to sleep, but I also wanted my baby to eat.
Our moms came in and put my heart at ease. After some good food and some much needed sleep, I felt much better. The dr. made me stay an extra day in the hospital because my blood count was so low. But I finally got to come home and start my new career as a stay-at-home mom. I LOVE IT :) It was a lot of work to get her here but I'm so happy that she's here and I'm blessed that things went so well.
I know this is a novel, and congratulations if you are still reading it. I just wanted to record everything I could remember about this AMAZING experience. I love my little Kambi Bambi!