We were given a due date of April 9, 2010. I know due dates are subjective, but I never thought of this baby as anything but an April baby. As the end of March rolled around, I kept thinking "just got to get through quarter end and then baby!". I have to admit, I was not anxious to have this baby...not yet. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to meet her, but I had so many apprehensions too. "What will life be like with a new baby? Will I be a good mom? How much will Chris and my relationship change?" These were just a few things going through my mind at the time. I was happy to be toward the end of pregnancy, but was happy to have a few more weeks to spend with my husband and pups.
When I went in for my 37 week appointment on March 22, reality hit. At my previous appointment, I was 1.5-2cm dilated and 75% effaced. I have to say, I was happy to be somewhat on my way, but realized that people can be dilated for weeks before having their baby. When I was checked that Monday, I was about 2.5cm dilated and 85% effaced. Again, I was happy to have made progress. In my mind, this meant that it didn't sound like I was going to be late. But then, Dr. Hanrahan lowered the boom "Well, I am on call tonight, so that would work for me!".... HOLD THE PHONE, WHAT? Chris and I looked at each other in amazement? Dr. Hanrahan said "well you COULD make it to your due date". As she smiled and walked out, we realized it was go time! It was a good thing because I hadn't even set up a firm plan for my leave at work, and our hospital bags were not ready yet. That night I finished packing our bags, and mentally started to get ready to have this baby soon. As I would find out, this was an understatement. In the back of my mind, I thought "I still have at least a week". I didn't want to get my mind set on having her early because I didn't want to get too anxious if she was late!
Wednesday, the 24th of March rolled around. It started as most any other day. I recall Chris and I having a little argument in the morning. I can't even remember what it was about now. I just remember we were a little annoyed with each other as we drove off that morning. To make matters worse, I found out Chris had forgotten to pack the hospital bag. "Do you want me to turn around and get it", he asked? "No", I replied. What are the odds we will need it today? As I got to work, things just continued to not go my way. I had a persistent back ache which was very out of sorts. To make matters worse, as soon as I got to my desk, I spilled my cereal all over the floor. After I cleaned it up, I went to grab my tea, and the lid popped off! Scalding hot water went all over my wrist. I watched as some of the skin shriveled and then pealed off. That will not be good, I thought. What a bad day! I e-mailed back and forth with Chris about how crappy my morning was, and how I couldn't get rid of this back ache. "Are you in labor?" he e-mailed back frantically. "NO, don't you think I would have said that", I jokingly replied. "Everything is quiet of the front". Which it was. Only a persistent back ache and a sore, burnt wrist. To make matters more interesting that day, my in laws were leaving to go to Las Vegas. I e-mailed back in forth with Jackie, assuring her that I was fine, and would not go into labor while they were out of town. She just had a feeling something was going to happen! Chris had to call and convince her that everything was fine, and that they needed to go. She finally agreed.
As my day progressed so did my back pain. Finally around 1:00pm, I decided to go to the gym, like I had almost every other work day during my pregnancy. I decided that the elliptical was just what my body needed to loosen up. As I worked out for 45 min, I thought that this was the slowest I have ever gone! I decided that my body needed a brake, and obliged the slower pace. As I got off, I was happy that I had worked out. My body did, in fact, feel loser. I headed back to my desk and went to a meeting at 2:00pm. During the meeting my back pain returned and I started to feel periods of more intense pain. I can't say the thought of back labor did not go through my head, it did. After my meeting, I found myself online looking up "back labor". I found many people describe what I was feeling. No pain in the front, just the back. I still was not convinced, but continued to pay attention to the waves of pain coming. I decided it might be a good idea to start recording when I felt the "wave" of pain. It was hard to tell when the "wave" started because my back constantly hurt, but their would be periods where it was definitely more intense. I did the best I could to record it, and around 3:30, I noticed there was definitely a pattern. I texted Chris and told him I didn't feel good and asked if he could pick me up right at 4:30. I think he definitely knew something was up and asked if I wanted him to come now. "No", I said, "4:30 will be fine". As co-workers came by and talked to me, I remember trying hard to concentrate on what they were saying and not the intense pain I was feeling low in my back. 4:30 finally came. While part of me had a hard time acknowledging that I was in labor, another part knew for sure. I took my computer home (which I don't normally do), and cleaned my desk. As I walked out, there was a part within me that knew it would be the last time I would walk out of the office for a while.
I climbed into the car with Chris and told him about my back pain, and my frequent bathroom trips that day. We both decided it would be a good idea to call my doctor. As I called the office, I found out that it was my doctors day off, of course! I spoke to the triage nurse and described my pain. I told her that I could still talk through it, but it was only in my back and the more intense periods came every 4-5 min. She could not determine if I was in labor, so said she would talk to the on call doctor and call me back. With each wave of pain that came, I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Chris would say, that was 4 min, or 5 min. He knew...He told me later that he could tell just by the look on my face every time that they were contractions. As we drove away from Seattle toward home, the thought of just going straight to the hospital crossed our minds, but I didn't want to get sent home. So back toward home we went. Just as we were getting off the exit I checked my voicemail and realized that the nurse had called me back and I had not heard the phone ring. She advised that I go into the hospital and get checked out. We were already so close to home, so we decided to go and let the dogs out, get our bags (which we had forgotten that morning), change, and go. As I changed my clothes, I realized that I was bleeding a bit. That's when it really started to hit me that this could be it. All I could think about was how I wanted to get in the bath. I got back in the car and we headed down the road. I remember telling Chris that "if we get the option to stay or go home, we are going home!". As we pulled into the garage I remember thinking that I just really didn't want to get sent home! I had to wait for a contraction to pass before heading up the elevator. We went strait to triage where we were told they were expecting us. I made one more bathroom trip (more bleeding), and got put on the monitors. This was a bit difficult. The monitors were tight on my stomach and I had to lie on my back. The pain was stronger and it felt like a sledgehammer was being taken to my back. I still had nothing in the front. The nurse returned after about 20min and exclaimed "whoa, contraction city!" when she saw the monitor. After seeing my consistent pattern she decided to check me. "Well you are 5cm", she exclaimed! "You are not going anywhere!" She said that she was impressed with how calm I was and didn't think I would be that far along. When she spoke those words, It hit me. My daughter would be born today or tomorrow! It was around 7:00pm at this point. I put a sheet around my waist and met my nurse. Her name was Libby and she was a breathe of fresh air. Young, but not too young, and smiley and positive. We got to the room and I sat in the rocking chair while she got my information. The rocking chair definitely helped the relentless contractions, however I still had my mind set on that bath tub that I had eyed during our birth tour the month prior. We finally got the green light and headed for the tub. I positioned myself so one jet was on by back and the other was on my foot. With each steady contraction Chris rubbed by hand, which surprisingly helped a lot! Chris was so calm and willing to do anything that I needed. My parents arrived while I was in the tub and Chris parents were just getting into Vegas. Little did they know, they had a voicemail from Chris waiting for them, informing them that I was at the hospital about to have their first granddaughter! After about an hour, I got out of the bath and got into bed to get monitored. I thought about how I wanted to get back in the bath before this whole thing was over, little did I know, my body was ready to get the baby out, and fast! It was about 8:30pm or so. I spoke with my mom and dad for a while. Then Leila and my mom came into the room. We chatted for a bit as I got monitored. Finally, Dr. Block came in and introduced herself. She was a petite, upbeat women and I felt very calm that she would be delivering my daughter. She told me that she wanted to check me. As she did, she told me that I was around 6cm plus and she wanted to break my water. I remember hearing how much it hurt from other people. I lay back and prepared myself for pain. I was surprise, it did not hurt at all! A little uncomfortable, but not painful! I remember feeling gushes of warm fluid. A very odd feeling! I was asked if I wanted an epidural. I honestly did not know what to do. I had always assumed I would have an epidural, but at this point I felt totally in control. The contractions were painful, but I was doing it! I looked at Chris for guidance. He shrugged, saying "it's up to you". I decided I didn't want to miss my window of opportunity since I was already passed 6 (which was also the goal I had set for myself), so I went for it. I sat up and waited for the anesthesiologist. While I was waiting I started to have contractions that I felt in the front. It felt like a strip of tightness low in my stomach and was enhancing the pain I was feeling in my back as well. The curved position I sat in did not help either. I began to feel sick. Not being one who ever vomits, I was confident that I wouldn't, but felt close to it. The anesthesiologist joked as she worked on my back. "You are thin, so this will be easy", my nurse said. I remember laughing at this. Thin!?!?!? That was the last thing I felt at this point! I felt more like a whale! Regardless, they were right, it was easy. First try and that glorious epidural was in place! It took longer than I thought for the pain to go away. I sat through about 15 min of the most intense contractions before the pain started to subside. I kept asking about the baby's position. With all this back pain, I was convinced she was posterior. The nurse confirmed that was correct. Reese was facing up. I was a little nervous about this. I know it is much more difficult to push out a baby in this position so I was adamant to ask about what we could do to "flip" her. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve", my nurse assured me. Once the epidural was in full effect, my mom and Leila came back in. We chatted for a bit longer. I was in heaven! I remember saying "I would have one of these every night!". It wasn't that labor was intolerable for me, but I loved the sweet feeling of numbness! It didn't feel as I expected it would. I thought I wouldn't be able to move my legs well, but I could. It just felt similar to how your mouth does when you get work done at the dentist. I could still move in bed freely, but most the pain was gone. I did have one spot right in my butt that couldn't get numb, at least not for a while. Libby informed me that it was just the baby putting pressure on a nerve. Eventually even that pain went away, and I was totally and completely comfortable. The only "problem" I had with the epidural was that Reese's heart rate lacked accelerations. It did not decelerate, but it would not accelerate like a babies heart normally does. Libby added some medication in my iv to "fix" this, but it didn't work well. She asked to check me and said that often a babies heart rate will lack accelerations when you are fully dilated. Sure enough, I was a solid 10! She confirmed that I had gone from 6 to 10 in about an hour and said that when I was having the epidural I was probably 8 or 9. After she checked me she also confirmed that Reese was still facing up, however was not completely engaged yet, so we could try some positions to get her to move. She had me lay on one side, with most my weight on my stomach. She said we would do one side for 20 minutes and then the other for another 20. I laid there and chatting with my mom, Leila, Chris and Libby. It was a very fun experience. That sounds so odd of a labor story, but I was truly having fun. I was so in awe that my baby was on her way, and in awe of how smoothly this labor was going. I was slightly nervous about the position of Reese, but I just knew everything was going to be ok. After 20 minutes on one side, Libby checked again and confirmed that Reese had flipped already! Great news! Let the pushing begin! I gave my mom a kiss and said goodbye to Leila. Libby had me to a practice push and said I did great. She said she didn't think it would take me very long to get this baby out. Chris grabbed one leg, Libby grabbed the other and I went for it, it was a little after 10:30pm. Pushing felt similar to how I thought it would in my mind. Hard work, but definitely not as hard as I thought. I am convinced all the working out during my pregnancy helped a lot. My body felt strong and I knew without a doubt that I could get this baby out! It is funny how things change when you are in the moment. When I thought about how my labor experience would go, I never thought I wanted Chris holding a leg, or watching what was going on "down there". In the moment, it didn't bother me in the least. I even obliged having the mirror to watch, another thing I NEVER thought I would do. As I pushed we joked about how we were going to "beat" the women giving birth in the next room who was also pushing. Libby said she had a bet going with the other nurse and she thought I would win for sure. It was so nice to be able to joke between pushes. It was just the three of us in the room at this time and was very calm, happy and relaxing! Reese was doing beautifully on the monitors, not stressing at all. I had read that if you work out until the end, babies perform much better during labor. They stress less because they are used to be "stressed" during workouts. This also seemed to be holding true. Reese was a champ! We also wondered if Reese would have hair. I was born with a mop and Chris was a cue ball, so this babies fate was unknown. Just as Chris said he thought the baby would have hair, Libby exclaimed "You are right! Take a look". Chris confirmed that our little girl had hair...a lot of hair and dark. I was very happy hearing this and pushed all the harder to see for myself. about 20 minutes into pushing Libby stopped me and said she was going to get Dr. Block. She said we were just about there and she didn't want to end up catching the baby! Dr. Block came in. I gave about 5 more pushes and then everyone in the room shouted "STOP". I stopped despite the extreme pressure and urge to keep going. I laid back, closed my eyes and breathed. Reese's cord was wrapped around her neck. Dr. Block quickly pulled it off, and then with one more push she was out! At 11:03pm I looked up and saw her! This luscious pink baby, with a head full of dark hair. They put her on my chest and I held her close. Two thoughts crossed my mind. I thought how beautiful this little girl in my arms was, and I thought how small she was! She was chubby, but little in general. Libby guessed that she would be 7lbs, but I thought "no way!". I held my baby close and was in heaven. Chris asked about her name and we both knew it would be Reese! It fit her perfectly! She stayed on my chest, skin to skin for an hour! It was amazing. Chris stroked her head and she looked around the room wide eyed. It was such a beautiful moment...my new family! I also attempted to feed her for the first time, which did not go so well. She was not very interested, but can you blame her? Being born is hard work. I remember feeling a little nervous that she didn't nurse, but I was so overjoyed that I didn't give it too much thought. I knew it would eventually work out, and it did. After that first hour, I finally gave Chris the go ahead to let the rest of my family in. My parents, Leila, Lee, and Joy piled into the room to meet the newest family member. They watched as the nurses weighed her and bathed her. 6lbs 4oz and 17 inches, a little peanut! Everyone laughed as she looked so relaxed as they brushed her hair. "We don't have to do this for many babies", they joked. They wrapped her up and handed her to Chris who hadn't even held her yet! He marveled over her and then passed her off to the rest of the crowd. I watched in bed. It was one of the most peaceful moments of my life. I was calm, happy, comfortable (thank you epidural), and overjoyed! This was the happiest moment of my life so far. I could not believe the day. I felt so taken care of as Libby put socks on my feet and covered me with a large blanket to get rid of the shakes I was experiencing. She laughed and said that she was so impressed with me and that I could "repopulate the earth". She also said, "don't ever tell anyone your birth story". It was so true. My birth was the birth I had dreamed about in my head, the birth I described. For some reason I was a little disappointed in myself for getting the epidural because I really felt like I could have done it without. Libby confirmed that I had experienced the "worst of it" without the epidural, but made a good point that it allowed me to wait and have Reese turn rather than feeling the urge to push her out while she was posterior. I also concluded that my birth experience was what it was because of the epidural. I would not have been laughing and joking around during pushing if I had been experiencing pain. Aside from a few stitches, I would not change anything about my birth experience. I wholeheartedly loved it and I know that is so rare. I feel SO blessed and fortunate to have the experience I did. I had a beautiful healthy baby, and a heart full of the best memories of my life. As Chris and I ate Pizza and drank chocolate milkshakes when we got to the recovery room at 1:00am we felt so awestruck. What a day, we thought. That's the understatement of the century!
