My Labor

Ok, so let's start at the beginning....my labor. Sorry for the details folks, but I wanted to write as much as I could remember about my labor, so I would remember every detail of those 24 hours and 39 minutes. If you're bored, skip this section and move on to the good stuff!

Early in the morning of Wednesday, December 12th at about 2am, I got out of bed to pee (like I did EVERY night at 2am for the past 2 months!). As I got out of bed, I felt a little gush, and at first I thought my bladder gave out on me and I peed my pjs. But then my "mommy mind" took over, and it occurred to me that I may have, in fact, broken my water. I hate to admit this, but my first thought was "oh no, I'm not ready to go into labor...I want to sleep-in late one more day!"

So I woke Jason up - he was sleeping in the back bedroom because of his snoring - and I told him that I think my water broke. At first he just grumbled and rolled over, but then he must have registered what I said and he hopped out of bed.

We called the doctor, who told us we have the choice of going into the hospital now, or we could wait until the morning. Since my contractions were very light and far apart, we decided to stay at home until morning. We then spent the next hour finishing up packing our suitcases (we over packed, as it turns out) and getting the house ready for us to be gone the next few days. After we finished, we *tried* to fall asleep (Jason had success - but not me) and we got up at 8am.

So we kissed the cats, packed up the car, and took one more look at our house, knowing that we would come home in a few days with Wormeck family member #3. Off to the hospital we went.

After a nice smooth check in, I got changed, met my labor nurse, got my IV, and waited for the doctor. It turns out that I was dilated about 2 centimeters, and my contractions were light and about 5 minutes apart. Doc Kaflamarian (otherwise known as Dr. K) started me on a very light dose of Pitocin to get my contractions regular. That did the trick.

At about 11am, Mom got to the hospital. The 3 of us spent the next few hours playing cards, watching tv, playing checkers, and pausing through my contractions, which were getting more and more painful as time ticked on.

I hate to think back on this next part, but unfortunately as my contractions got closer and harder, my attitude and temperament went down the tubes. My poor mom bore the brunt of my misery, and I exiled her to the waiting room. I spent the next half hour crying about kicking her out, but the nurse assured me that "this type of thing happens all the time!". So, again, I'm so sorry Mom...you were a trooper for sticking in there the entire time I was in labor (even though I made you wait outside!!). Love you.

At 3pm, I couldn't take the contractions anymore...I had enough of my lamaze breathing and moaning (Jason can tell you some funny stories about my moaning and groaning). At this point I decided it was time for an epidural.

Everything went fine with the epidural (yes, it hurt a little...the novocaine shot hurt the worst) except for immediately after when my blood pressure dropped. For about the next hour, I had a room full of medial professionals trying to get my blood pressure back up. They loaded me up with 5 bags of IV fluid and gave me more medicine in my IV before they decided that the blood pressure cuff may be too big, giving me a false reading. Either way, after the hour passed, my blood pressure went back to normal.

At about 5pm, Kelly and Smitty came by to visit, and they both spent some time with me and Jason before retreating to the waiting room with my Mom. After they left, I spent the next few hours resting, laboring, and getting ready for the end.

All of a sudden, at about 10:30pm, I started feeling intense pressure, and I knew it was about time to start pushing. So push I did...for the next 3 hours! Jason was a trooper, holding my leg with each push, trying to keep me comfortable.

I don't really remember much about those 3 hours except that I felt like it would never end. Both the doctor and the nurse said they have never met anyone who could hold their breath for as long as I could! Instead of holding my breath for 10 seconds per push, I would hold it for close to 20, and they had to remind me to breathe. I guess I figured that the longer I held my breath per push, the less pushing I'd have to do. No such luck.

So after 3 hours of pushing, and begging the doctor NOT to give me an episiotomy (which she didn't), Penny Lane was born at 2:39am. Jason cut the cord, and little Penny was here.

So in the end, I was surprisingly ok. I didn't have any major complications, I only had 2 little stiches, and I was up and about just a few hours after giving birth.

Would I do it again? If you asked me that during my 3 hours of pushing, I'd probably say no. If you ask me that today, I'd definitely say yes.