Well… I don’t really know where to start. Where my due date was June 2nd
from the doctor and the 4th from a website I was using by June 5th
I was a little antsy. I really wanted to
have this wonderful child and experience becoming a mother. That afternoon Nick and I went to lunch at
The Center Street Grill and ordered a spicy BBQ sandwich. I had heard that spicy food can help start
labor and Nick’s Co-worker said they ordered this sandwich and had their baby
that night. We enjoyed it very much and
when I got home I took a bath. After my
bath (4:00 pm, Wednesday, June 5) I felt a trickle and thought maybe my water
broke. I called the hospital to ask what
to do and the nurse said to take an hour walk.
So I decided to walk to A&W and back to the house. While walking I felt a little more liquid and
called Mel and Shayla to gain some insight into what was going on. When I got to A&W I got a small Root Beer
Freeze. I love those. Then walked home and all the way I was timing
my contractions. 3 to 4 minutes apart
and I thought I was doing pretty good.
When I
finally got home I checked and I was indeed wet. So I called Nick and told him I thought he
could finish work and sometime this night we would be able to go to the
hospital. We were both so excited and
ready to welcome Zander into the world.
I called mom too and I am pretty sure I heard her cry on the other end
of the phone which started me crying when I got off the phone. I think it just hit me how my life was about
to change and we were going to be taking care of another human being. 9 months and finally we were going to become
parents. It was scary to think about.
I
searched on Netflix to find a show that might make me laugh and distract me
from the contractions. Nick got home
right when I started “An Extremely Goofy Movie” and we watched it
together. It was funny but the first
part of that movie Max is going off to college and Goofy remembers back on his
memories of Max growing up. I just broke
down! I couldn’t stop crying because we
would now be going through all this too.
Watching a child grow up, start school, teach them how to ____, see them
graduate, go on missions, get married, it was all just so overwhelming and I
didn’t want to miss any of it.
At 7:00
we went to the hospital. We were all
packed, my birth plan ready to follow, and lots of energy and excitement. We made one extra stop at Jamba Juice on the
way there. I got Orange-a-peel I think
and Nick got Passion Fruit something. Then we went to the hospital. We were put in a room and checked to see
where I was at. Frustratingly enough I
was still at a 2 and they couldn’t confirm that my water did break. I had been sick for the past few days and
when they took my temperature and I had a bit of a fever. They started the IV and monitors and put me
on some anti-bionics. The contractions
continued and at 8 I was dilated to a 3, at 9 I was at a 4, and around 10 I was
at a 5. I was stuck at a 5 for a few
hours. During this time we enjoyed
(in-between contractions) watching Duck Dynasty. The nurse said that we had a few options to
see if it would help us progress.
Pitocin, Doctor could break my water, I could walk around or just wait
longer. We tried walking around and had
no success. Around 2 or 3 my doctor
really wanted me to take the pitocin, but I said no and would rather have my
water broken. The doctor wouldn’t let me
get in the tub because of my fever and if my water was broken they wouldn’t let
me because of infection.
Well,
before she left her home my water broke.
Now I know what to expect/feel.
It is really like a quart of water that just comes out. Wow! I
had about 3 different gushes and I felt there was a bit of progress. Around 6 I was progressed to an 8 and the
contractions were getting a lot worse.
They were so close and getting stronger.
My doctor came in and said how this was her day off and I would have to
work with the doctor on call, Dr. Benedict.
Honestly I think that is why Heavenly Father had me wait till Thursday
to have my baby. I haven’t been too
happy with my current doctor.
The
nurse checked my when I got to an 8 and said, “I don’t think your water has
broken yet.” What?!?! How is that possible? We waited for an hour or two debating on pitocin
or having the doctor break my water, or just wait. The pain was almost unbearable and I was
scared of both options because I knew it came with a stronger pain. Finally nothing was progressing and I was
getting really tired. I asked the doctor
to break my water. When he did it
another huge gush of water came. Along
with that gush came stronger contractions and a ton of more pain. Nick had been a huge support through the
whole thing. He kept telling me how good
I was doing and how much he loved me. It
was exactly what kept me going.
I think
it was around 10 am Thursday, morning when the pain was so strong that I
couldn’t handle it. My legs and arms
were shaking so bad I couldn’t relax my uterus.
It was so scary. This is when I
started praying out loud. It occurred to
me that the only person who could actually take away the pain was Heavenly
Father and so I kept saying, “Heavenly Father, please help me” “Give me
strength” “don’t leave me” “Show Zander where to go” “Please help me
relax.” I kind of felt silly talking out
loud like that but at this point I really didn’t care. I also realized that I never want to have
another child ever again. I told Nick I
changed my mind and I don’t want a baby.
I wasn’t sure if this was all worth it.
Finally after 20 hours of labor, I gave in and said, “GIVE ME THE
EPIDURAL! FAST!!!!!!!” The doctor came in and had to give me the
epidural during contractions because they were so close together. He did a fabulous job and within 10 to 15
minutes the pain was getting better and I wasn’t screaming any more. I was screaming quite a bit and felt bad for
anyone who could here. I found out later
that my parents were in the room next to us and could hear all my groans and
moans and screams and crying. I can only
imagine what they went through as well.
From 12
to 2 we were instructed to just relax.
Nick and I both got naps in and felt better after. Then for the next hour and a half I pushed
during contractions and finally Zander came into this world looking GREAT. Honestly he was perfect. I was prepared for an ugly baby, discolored,
and mis-shaped. But he was great! We got an hour with him and then I left
Zander and Nick with the doctors to run some tests because I had the fever
during labor. I went upstairs and hung
out with mom, dad, and Mel. About an
hour and a half later we found out that Zander had to stay in the NICU. It was so depressing but we were hopeful that
he could come home quickly. We ended up
staying until Tuesday morning. It was
awesome coming home and now Zander and I are doing a lot better. Nick and I are so happy and excited to watch
our baby grow up.
I know
that I wanted to go natural and I did all that I could to accomplish that, but
I am also very grateful for the health professionals and the epidural that was
used to assist in helping me have Zander.
I am sure at some point I will be able to forget the pain and will want
another baby… but not too soon.
The little white cone on top is his IV from when he was in the NICU. Jenn took these photos.
