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G’s annual Hades tournament had just ended. 7 other anderson friends just vacated our house after 3 days of golf and debauchery.
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we rent john adams to relax.
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we fall asleep around 11
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contractions start at 2:15
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i’m not sure how a contraction is supposed to feel. i consult baby books.
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i use the “running laps” feature on iphone to start timing. can this really be “it?”
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after 30 minutes, and regular contractions every 4-5 minutes lasting 1-2 minutes, G is summoned. “i think i’m having contractions!”
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G stumbles out of bed and starts getting some stuff together. he makes me some soup and toast. by the time he’s done, i’m on hands and knees during contractions in quite a bit of pain. i encourage him to hurry. he begins to look for his “to do” sticky which has scribbled notes of what to bring/pack 2-3 weeks ago. 🙂
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after calling the doctor, doc agrees they should go to the hospital. G and i are still skeptical…isn’t this supposed to take hours not minutes?
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we arrive at the hospital in tow with luggage, ipod, cameras, chargers.
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grandparents are on their way.
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upon checking in, monitors are hooked up to “see” if this is really labor or not. upon first contraction, lil G’s heartbeat drops significantly. nurse announces that we’re staying and they won’t release us even though labor hasn’t officially begun. we’re not sure what “officially begun” means but are happy to stay at the hospital.
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after 2 hours, i’m still at 1 cm with no action, but stronger contractions. they give pitocin to begin “labor.” still we’re unsure what the heck i’ve been going through if this isn’t labor!
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typically on pitocin, a woman dilates 1 cm/hour. we send grandparents back to our house to get some rest.
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along with pitocin, they give me some morphine to ease the pain. the meds kick right in and i’m feeling much better. they wear off after 45 minutes and nurse offers more but says that they won’t last as long.
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i feel wimpy asking for an epidural at only 1cm, so i take 2nd round of morphine.
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within 10 minutes of the 2nd morphine round, the pain is unbearable. G is coaching with breathing and meditation. i’m now begging for the epidural. nurse tells us we’re “next in line” to get the epidural. anesthesiologist is next door, he’ll be here in 30 minutes.
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i’m not i can last another 30 minutes!
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within another 10 minutes, G is coaching through another contraction…i’m not sure what’s going on, but it feels like i’m going to burst! suddenly, i do. my water breaks!
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nurse comes running over. she checks me and with a tone of shock asks “do you want to know?” “um, yes! i want to know…i feel like i’m about to give birth and you’re asking me if i want to know what’s going on?! tell me!!!”
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“you’re 6 cm!!”
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next thing we know, the anesthesiologist is in our room, scurrying around. everyone is sort of freaking out. he gives me the epidural and says “it’ll take about 10 minutes to kick in.”
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by the time he’s done with the epidural, i’m fully dilated.
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let’s recap. i went from 1cm – fully dilated in less than 2 hours! yowza!
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they ask me not to push. nice. my whole life i’ve been waiting to push. now i’m told “hold please.”
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the doctor arrives a few minutes later, he scrubs his hands, and we’re ready to go.
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i push 4 times and lil G arrives!
- he’s a teeny little guy with long legs, arms, and no body fat. soooo cute, screaming big lungs, and ready to take on the world!
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