Elsie was due on Oct 12, but I was convinced she would be super late. The pregnancy had been really hard, mainly the first VERY sick months, but really there was never much to like about being pregnant for me. It was rough. I learned to expect the worst, so when I started having my first consistent contractions on Oct 12, I was so surprised. Around 6 am I started having uncomfortable contractions about 8 minutes apart. (At the time, I thought those contractions were painful. I didn't even know the meaning of pain yet.) By 7 am I couldn't even think about sleeping anymore, and ventured out to the couch and Netflix. I spent the next 10 hours there, with a contraction every 7 to 8 minutes. They didn't seem to be getting worse or closer together, and I was getting impatient! After 10 hours, who can really blame me?
Around 6pm they stopped all together. Talk about depressing. I thought I had gone through all of that for nothing. Tears were shed, hugs were needed, and so a wise husband took me out to dinner to get my mind off of everything. It worked, and I went home with my hormones back in check. We sat down to watch a romantic episode of The Walking Dead, and that's when I got my first real contraction. I was actually surprised by how painful it was. I thought I'd get through labor contractions with style. I'd get an epidural before it got really bad, right? Ha, can you tell how clueless I was?! Turns out I'm actually a huge baby! And honestly, so is Christopher. He couldn't stand watching me go through it. He looked like he was the one in pain. At first, it made him way too stressed out to be any good to me. He got used to it eventually and would give me pep talks. So cute, but useless none the less =)
Everyone told me that labor with an epidural is nothing like the movies. What they failed to tell me was that until you get the epidural it's EXACTLY like the movies! I felt like a raving lunatic! I was pacing around our apartment, digging my fingertips into chair arms, kicking floor boards... The whole 9 yards folks. Ouch. Finally around 1 am they were 5 minutes apart, and then of course you have to wait for an hour! I thought I was going to die. I'm surprised I didn't. Luckily I had zombie head smashing on the TV to help keep me distracted... Yeah, it didn't really work.
The contractions remained 4-5 minutes apart so at 1:40 we started grabbing stuff to head out. The hospital is 20 minutes from our apartment and we were not going to waste one of them! Right before we left I had an even more intense contraction, which made me lose my dinner. I threw up, and we were out the door. In the car the contractions were 3 minutes apart, and I was dying. Walking into the hospital was like a joke I had to stop every few minutes to wait out the pain. The poor security guard was so awkward. Laboring women was not his forte.
Finally I got changed and was ready to be checked. I was only at a 2! The nurses said I could wait there for an hour in hopes that I would progress. Worst hour ever. The contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, but I was so exhausted that I managed to fall asleep between them! Don't ask me how. When they checked again I was at a 3 and they said the most beautiful words. "How about that epidural." Yes please! Right then I felt a gush of liquid. I asked if my water broke, but the nurse said it was probably just the gel from checking me. Okay, I was in no place to argue.
I was wheeled in to the room while experiencing the worst pain I'd ever felt. My contractions had become MUCH worse and they were back to back to back. It was a Sunday morning so it took over an hour of that before my beloved epidural needle was there. It was cake. Easiest part of labor for sure. The nurse told me. She'd be back to check me again in a couple of hours, so Chris and I fell into a blissful sleep! The numbness was Devine and we were exhausted.
Later she came back to check, as promised. She expected me to be at about a 4, but I had jumped to a 9 and my water was no where to be found. Turned out that my water had broken on it's own hours before. No wonder the contractions hurt so bad there at the end! My doctor was called, and they told me I'd start pushing within the hour. All of a sudden we were going to have the baby a lot earlier than we thought! I called to Chris over there on the couch to see if he had heard everything the nurse said. He groggily answered in the affirmative, but I really should have made sure he was awake enough to understand.
An hour later they were ready for us to push. I called Chris over, and he was super dazed and confused. We had only gotten 2 hours of sleep so I can't blame him. He looked at me and saw blood, and the blood drained from his face. The nurse asked if he could hold my leg, and he looked like he was going to pass out while he lifted it up. He really had no idea what was happening. "So she's going to push for like 4 hours?" he asked. "Nope, you'll have the baby within the hour." His face was pretty priceless. He hadn't heard anything we talked about before. The nurses had him sit down by my head and got him some snacks and water. We started to push, and he was a huge help to me, from his seat =)
Pushing was easy peasy for me. No big deal at all. Push, rest and talk until the next contraction. Push, have a drink. Push, chat with the nurses. So easy. I wouldn't say it was pleasant, but it was easy. Then it happened. First they could see her hair. I was so excited! I was born bald and stayed that way until I was 2 years old. Chris was born with a mop top, so we were just waiting to see what she would be like. Hair got me super excited! All that heart burn was worth it! I wanted to see her right now! Then she came. I'll never forget it. I'll never forget Chris's face, and will forever regret not having someone there to take a picture. He was the happiest I have ever seen him and crying like a baby. They put her on my chest, and I was in Heaven. Wow. That's about all I can say about that moment.
The hospital stay was lovely. I was sad to leave. We let the nurses take Elsie to the nursery at night, which was definitely the best choice. I would sleep and then they would bring her in to eat, and I would sleep again. I could really use that now a days! Recovery has been rough, but nothing out of the ordinary. Hormones are crazy. I'm definitely more moody post pregnancy than I was when I was pregnant. I was the most chill pregnant women ever. Breast feeding has been brutal. Still not a fan, but it's getting better everyday. Even through the pain, there is something really special about giving her something no one else can. I don't hate it anymore, and that is a BIG improvement for sure.
We love our little one more than anything. More than we even knew we could love anything. Nothing about being a mom is easy. It's the hardest thing I've ever done and it's only been 1 month. I have a long way to go, but I can honestly say that it's worth it. Just the eye contact I get from her makes it worth it. I can't even imagine what it will feel like when I make her laugh for the first time. It will be magic I'm sure. Geez, I'm tearing up just writing this. Hormones. They suck!
Time is a different concept than it used to be, and hopefully I'll be able to find some to update this here blog. We'll see =)
Yay! That was fun to read. I forever regret not video recording Halli's birth but we just didn't think of that. Sorry your contractions were so painful! It's crazy how different everyones pregnancy is! I was dilated to a 5-6 before even going into actual labor! I was sad to leave to hospital too. More terrified actually haha. She is so precious though! Love that crib picture from above =)
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