May 15

Devin and I checked in at the hospital a few minutes after 6:30 that morning. I had a great nurse (Alys) and she kept me and Devin laughing throughout the day. To start out I got all hooked up to the IV (I had to get poked twice because the vein on my left arm rolled... ouch). So I had the IV on my right arm and a blood pressure cuff on my left arm that checked my blood pressure every 15 minutes to keep an eye on my hypertension. I got my first dose of penicillin because I had tested positive for Group Strep B and then they started the Pitocin around 8:00 a.m. I was only dilated to a 1.5 at this point, so we had a looooong way to go. 

With the Pitocin dosing, she had explained that they would start me out at a 4 and increase it by 4 until I got to 20. Originally, I wasn't supposed to be to 20 until sometime in the afternoon, but my dosing got sped up pretty quick so I was at 16 by 10:30 that morning. By about this time, the contractions were in full swing but not super bad yet. My mom stopped by about 11:30 to check in on things and at this point I felt like I could still make it through the contractions. Alys checked to see if I wanted the epidural, but I told her that because of the breaks in between I was able to handle it and was able to hold off for the time being. It helped having my mom and Devin watch the monitor and tell me when the contractions were about to end. Having someone watch that monitor really helped me keep pushing through along with hearing that little heartbeat in the background all day. That sound became music to my ears! 

Second to not really enjoying the contraction pain, my hunger pains were driving me nuts... I was able to eat 2 pieces of toast that morning before we got to the hospital, but besides that, I was restricted to ice chips! At least they were flavored! 

This is "pre bad contractions" eating my mango flavored ice chips! 

A little bit after my mom left that morning, the contractions started to increase in intensity and became a lot closer together. I was no longer having that break in between that would allow me to recoup... it was getting really strong and once I had felt the pain and knew what it was like, I was good to not feel it anymore... haha. I told Devin to let Alys know that I was ready for the epidural and she came in and said that it would be about a half hour before he could make it in to administer it. I told her that that was fine and I could keep pushing through. Well that 30 minute wait soon turned in to an hour and then into an hour and a half... Devin's poor hand was probably dying from the lack of circulation it was getting because I would squeeze it so hard. Between his hand and the bed rail I had to have something to squeeze to try to help me endure the increasing pain. I had reached the full dose of Pitocin at this point and so Alys turned it off to help me make it through the contractions.

At 1:30 that afternoon, still no epidural yet, but my doctor arrived to break my water. My blood pressure had been doing pretty good for most of the day but rose high again when my doctor got there. I was pretty uncomfortable at this point and because the anesthesiologist was in a C-section, it was still going to be a little bit of a wait. My doctor said that they could give me a dose of Fentanyl to help take the edge off the pain. That definitely helped but made me feel very loopy. 

The one thing I wanted at that moment was a fan to blow cool air on my face. I had Devin text my mom to see if she could go to Target to get me one because I felt like that would help give me the relief I needed. I started to feel so exhausted and out of it that I thought I was going to pass out. Alys kept telling me that I couldn't pass out because that would make things way worse for me. I tried to remain as relaxed as I could. But being overheated and in pain... I needed that fan and the epidural! 

She kept apologizing for the delay and said that the anesthesiologist should be coming soon. I do not have a very good pain tolerance if that tells you anything... I guess I was able to test my limits though, because I had to endure 2 hours more of contractions than I thought from when I originally asked for the epidural. 

The man of the hour (2 hours later) finally arrived-the anesthesiologist! I was done with the pain and I was glad I could be done. He worked his magic getting me the medicine- I was pretty checked out at this point and couldn't really answer the questions he was asking me because the contractions were so intense. When he finished up with everything, he explained something about a button I could push to release more medication and said that I could push it twice. Well from the way he explained it, he made it sound like I had to savor those 2 button pushes... make it last! 

My mom and dad arrived during this time to check in but I didn't even realize they were there until after the epidural was already administered. They had my second saving grace- my fan (thank you mom)! When we got that thing plugged in and that epidural working... 

I. was. in. heaven.

I was so grateful for that relief. After that I thought that the epidural was the greatest thing ever. I couldn't stop telling Devin how wonderful it was.

Post Epidural Relief

The scene of our hospital room soon changed. Devin went from my bed side letting me squeeze his hand to kicking back on the couch while we watched Shrek and Sandlot on TV. It was so nice to just be relaxed and enjoy the day. We could chat and carry on good conversations, enjoy the movies on TV, and I just felt so much more at ease! I loved being able to enjoy myself and soak in the experience. 

Right after the epidural kicked in, Alys checked my dilation and I was at a 6. As the afternoon went on, I noticed that my right leg was no longer numb and I could feel the pressure of the contractions on that side. It wasn't painful, just lots of pressure. 

At about 4:30, I was dilated to a 7 and still feeling lots of pressure. Devin and I were surprised at how long it really took to progress. We had been there awhile, and we still had a while to go! 

At about 5:30 I had made it to an 8. After awhile, we realized that I was following in my mom's footsteps. She would plateau at an 8 and I did the same thing...

At 6:30 they came and gave me a large yellow peanut shaped ball to keep between my legs. It looked just like a minion off of Despicable Me, haha. It wasn't the most comfortable thing to have between your legs, but I guess it helped move things along. 

Finally 3 hours after I had first hit an 8, they restarted me on the Pitocin to try to get things going again. I was still feeling lots of pressure during the contractions and was not totally numb. As time went on, they started to get more intense. 

About 8:30 or so, I convinced Devin that he should go get some dinner- things were moving slow and he had hardly eaten anything all day. To Wendy's he went, and thankfully nothing really happened while he was gone.

At about 9:30 I had made it to a 9. Devin and I wondered if May 15 would really be the day he came at the rate things were going. At this point, the contractions were definitely back and the epidural had worn off. I hesitated about pushing the button, because I thought I only got 2 pushes. Devin pushed it for me anyway, and called in our new nurse Rebecca to let her know that it had worn off. She called in the anesthesiologist to give me another dose. 

This time it was a much younger guy and we explained to him that we had only used 1 of our 2 pushes.  He kind of chuckled and explained that I could push the button 2 times every 15 minutes if I wanted to! Uhhh... that would of been nice to know. 

Once again, I was very grateful for the relief. This time it was much stronger- I couldn't feel anything at all. No pressure, nothing. My legs felt very heavy and asleep- dead weight. It was weird not being able to lift my own legs! 

A little after 10:00, Rebecca came in and we discovered that I was ready to go! We were surprised because everything had just been moving so slowly. 

So, we began the pushing process. On the contractions, she would have me inhale and then exhale and push while she counted to ten. I had to do this 3 times per contraction. After the first set, I had to wear an oxygen mask because Hatcher's heart rate was dropping pretty quick. While the mask made me feel a little claustrophobic and uncomfortable, it was actually very helpful because

1) it brought me relief that it would help his heart rate and 

2) I was so exhausted and out of breath after each push that it helped me get the air I needed.

Things were also a little difficult because my teeth were chattering like crazy! I wasn't cold, but you would think by the way they were chattering that I was in a frozen tundra with no coat. I guess this is a side effect of the epidural, not to mention my nerves and anxiety that were contributing. It really helped having Devin and the nurse encourage me that my pushing was causing progress. I obviously couldn't feel anything because of the medication, but I gave it my all, and it must have been right because it worked- and fast! I had to stop pushing after 2 or 3 sets because he was ready to come and the doctor wasn't there yet! The doctor soon arrived and after 7 sets of contractions at 10:43 p.m., Hatcher had arrived! All in all it was only about 20-30 minutes of pushing so I was grateful it wasn't long!

He was the sweetest thing. After his initial burst of tears, he didn't cry at all (I wondered if he was ok because he never cried...) and he took in his new world with the biggest widest eyes. Everyone kept expressing how alert he was.  

It was an experience unlike anything else- when I saw that little baby I didn't have words. Devin's mom had told me that when you first hold that tiny person in your arms, you feel like you have conquered the world, and that is exactly how I felt. I couldn't cry, I couldn't really talk- I was just in awe. Having that little boy on my chest while his fingers stroked my skin was the greatest blessing I could ever ask for. I was  and am so grateful that this blessing that I had waited and waited for had finally arrived. 

Devin trying to sleep after our late night

♥