Birth Story

Sitting here with my baby in my arms and figured I should write down the birth story while I still remembered the details.
We had a false alarm the week or so before the big day so when I started to feel contractions again I was nervous about being turned away from the hospital again. So when I woke up at 4 AM on Saturday April 9 with some contractions I didn't think much of it at first. Then when I went to the bathroom and noticed a trickle of fluid, I started wondering if my water had broken. But it wasn't like a gush of water like in the movies so I was still suspicious. I had read somewhere to lay down for 15 mins and then stand up to see if another trickle comes out. Well it did, and I did it a couple more times just to make sure before waking J up. So I woke him up, but decided that he should still go to work (yes he had to work on a Saturday) since my contractions were not what I considered strong. The trickles kept coming and my contractions started growing worse so I called J at 8 AM to come home and get me. He came home and was all excited and ready to go. I was strangely calm and in no rush so we took showers and finished packing our bags finally getting to the hospital around 10 AM. I tested positive for amnniotic fluid but an ultrasound showed that my levels were still normal. To this day I am still not sure if my water technically broke or not.
My contractions were about 6 mins apart at this point and pretty regular but I still didn't feel like they were unbearable. My doctor was not on call so we had another doctor checking on me (who we ended up liking better). She came to speak with us while were still in triage and said that she thought we were indeed in early labor and we had two choices. We could go home, but she expected to see us back in a few hours, or we could go ahead and be induced. I immediately said, "We'll take option 2". I was already 5 days overdue and ready to meet our baby so it was an easy decision. It was busy that day so we waited around for what seemed like forever for a labor room to open, but it was taking so long that the Dr decided to break my water in the triage. After this happened my contractions started to get stronger but were no longer regular. They couldn't find a good vein, and after prodding for awhile called the anethesiologist to find my vein. Even he had trouble but after one failed attempt on one arm, finally got it on the other arm. Before leaving he said, "See you soon for your epidural!" I told him I was attempting to go without. He asked me if it was my first, and after receiving my answer, he laughed to hmself as he left. We finally got up to the labor & delivery room around noon where they started me on pitocin. Well then the contractions REALLY started to get stronger but still irregular and I was still only at 3 cm. I labored with J at my side for the next few hours as the contractions got worse and worse. I told J that the next time the nurse came and checked me, if I wasn't at a 6 or more, that I would go ahead and get the epidural. I could tell that he was worried about the pain I was in and thought that we would both feel more at ease with the epidural. The nurse came and said that I was a 4 or a 5, so I said, "Order it up!" The same anesthesiologist came in that I had seen before, and he just laughed when he saw me.
Apparently, my spine is curved and so he had a hard time with the epidural. I could feel it going on my left side (a burning sensation), but nothing on my right. J said that he kept moving the needle around, meanwhile I kept feeling the burning time after time. Eventually, we got it to the right side of my body, but then the left side was VERY numb which kind of scared me.
Thank God I had hunted an iPad down that week because J ordered up a movie (I let him choose, and what does he choose, but Canadian Bacon). It was OK though, cause I was so sleepy I was kind of in an out during the whole movie. Then, like we were actually in a movie, as soon as the credits rolled, the nurse came in, checked me, and said "You're a 10!" Then there was a flurry of movement as the doctor was called. We had a shift change of the nurse right then too and the new one we found out was from Michigan so J and I felt it was meant to be. J took one leg, the nurse took the other, and the doctor manned the helm. We pushed for 2 hours, from 6 to 8 PM. My contractions were strong, but not regular as I would have 2 or 3 right after one another, but then nothing for 5 minutes or so. I could still feel them coming on and would loudly proclaim to all that it was time to push. J and I thought that there would be a bunch of people coming in and out, with bright lights and lots of noise. To our amazement though, it was so calm, almost surreal. It was just the 4 of us and in between contractions we were talking and joking. We felt great and just....ready. It was the best experience I could have asked for. Even though I was a little disappointed in myself for not going natural, in the end, it was the best decision for me and I didn't look back. Who knows how long it would have taken since the contractions weren't regular! Plus, they had my on oxygen for most of the time as they were worried about the heartbeat.
Finally, the baby was moving down and we could see the hair and the head. So exciting! Everyone knew that we didn't know the sex of the baby yet, and so I said that someone had to yell out what it was. The doctor proudly said, "That's my job!" The nurses were so excited too as they said it was rare now that people didn't know the sex. Even the nurse that had to leave right before pushing said she would call the hospital later to find out what we had!
So we are pushing, it is around 8 PM, and out the baby comes! The doctor yelled, "It's a GIRL!!" Turns out, the reason I was on oxygen was that the cord was wrapped around her neck! But the doctor just calmly pulled it over her head like it was no big deal. I started bawling like crazy. Rare for me, I know, and I don't know if I was relieved it was over or just so happy to finally meet my baby, but my heart swelled. Every cliche that is said when your child is born was certainly true. She was absolutely beautiful with the most hair I have ever seen on a baby.
We spent the next day and half as our own little family. The first night A was laying next to me in her crib, with J on the couch and I whispered to J, "Look at her legs!" They were sticking up in the air with a perfect right degree angle to her body, it was so funny and we both just giggled. I think that's when we fell in love. (And she still does that to this day!)