The Labor Story :)

It's been 2 1/2 weeks and I feel like I'm already forgetting details, so here it is....sorry if it's too long, I wanted to get this written down for my chronicle more than anything.

I went to work on Thursday, felt totally normal that morning. Right before lunch I started having stomach tighening--probably Braxton Hicks type contractions. Ended up skipping the inservice that day so I could "feel it out" and called Caleb to let him know that I thought everything was okay, but have his phone handy just in case. Ate lunch, asked a fellow mother "how do you know what labor feels like" and her response was..."you'll know". Hmm...well, since I didn't know what labor felt like, but I wasn't in any pain, I finished the day of work, saw my patients, and finished documentation. I did end up leaving my list of patients in priority order for the next day "just in case". However, Friday was supposed to be my last day and I was very excited about my last "fun Friday lunch" so I told everyone I'm sure I would see them the next day and went on my merry way home. At home felt TOTALLY normal. Mom stopped by to bring a "My 1st Christmas" ornament for Carter and I didn't even tell her about my "contractions" earlier in the day because I no longer thought anything of it. Caleb got home, we chilled as normal, and I decided that I was going to sterlize bottles/my breast pump as at Bible study the day before the girls told me I should do that before he came. Finished the sterilizing and told Caleb I was bored--our options were to go to Target or watch a movie. We decided to watch the new "Alice in Wonderland"  (with Johnny Depp) on netflix--this was about 8 pm.

Flash forward to 8:30 p.m.--laying on the couch with my pillow and blanket (very typical for movie night) and all of a sudden VERY painful cramping in my back and stomach. I get up and walk to the bathroom to "walk it out". Don't say anything but think "weird". These pains CONTINUE to happen--then go away. Hmm...could THESE be contractions? I ask Caleb for his watch who is still blissfully unaware of what's going on and continues to watch the movie. I start timing these pains and realize they're about every 4-7 minutes. I get a piece of paper and start writing down but still don't think too much of it. They told us at the childbirth class "5-1-1"--remember that; contractions every 5 minutes, lasting a minute, for an hour. So, when it's been about 45 minutes I start realizing this might be it! I walk up the stairs to get some travel size conditioner to put in my hospital bag and Caleb sees me--"what are you doing?". I tell him and he asks if he should pack a hospital bag (still 1/2way watching the movie) and I tell him it wouldn't be a bad idea. Just in case--I'm still not convinced. I've had so many friends who go to the hospital and get sent home that I really didn't know/think  I was in labor at this point. I took a shower, did my hair/makeup as the contractions kept coming. They were painful--I had to stop talking/walking to get through them--but still wasn't convinced. At about 10:15 we decide maybe this is the real thing? I knew if it was I was going to be made NPO once I got to the hospital, so we decided to go to Chick-fil-A to grab a bite to eat and see how I felt...bummer, CFA closed at 10 :(. Next best thing=Sonic grilled cheese and cherry limeade. Caleb "sympathy ate" with me :). At this point our car is packed and I end up calling the doctor on call. I tell her I'm having contractions every 4-7 minutes but they don't seem to be intensifying, they seem the same. She says if I want to go to the hospital I can, but her recommendation would be to try to get some rest--if it's labor they'll get worse, if it's not, they'll get better and I'll be able to sleep.

So, we go home, get in bed, I watch some BAD late night TV (I think I love lucy?) and have to get up every 5 minutes to stand up through the contractions and they are getting more painful. I remember thinking "this has to be labor. there is no way anyone could sleep through these". So, at 1155 I wake Caleb up and say it's time, we're going to the hospital. I call the doctor back, and we head to the hospital!

We check in at 12:20 (here's hoping that by waiting we're getting charged for 1 day instead of 2!), they put the monitors on me, and by golly I am having contractions! Great, I'm not crazy! The nurse (Allison, she was great!) says they'll monitor me for 2 hours or so and then decide whether or not to admit me. So, me and my not so pretty hospital gowned self walk the halls with Caleb, stopping every ~5 minutes to let the contraction pass. We see the newborn babies in the nursery and think it's crazy that Carter might be in there this time the next night! There's not a whole lot to explore, but Caleb kept the conversation going and time went by fast. At about 2:30 they check me and I've progressed (won't go into too much detail on this here public blog!) so this IS it! I'm really in labor! She asks my pain level on a scale of 1-10 and I say 7. Now, working in a hospital I know that pain levels are purely subjective and to me it was a 7...but then she says, "well if a 5 is crying pain what are you?" and then I have to go down to 3-4, but believe me, on a scale of 10 I was NOT at 3-4! She asks if I want the epidural now or want to wait--she says there's really no good that would come out of waiting, so I say now is great! The anesthesiologist enters from his on call sleeping room and thankfully is alert enough to do a wonderful job and I'm a new person. It was amazing to watch those contractions on the monitor and not feel a thing!

We call the parents, text the siblings, and try to get some rest. I'm so excited that I can't sleep--I end up staying up and spending some sweet time with the Lord, put my worship music on my phone, and realize how blessed I am and what an amazing thing is about to happen. I sleep for about 40 minutes.  About 5:30 I end up texting my friends/family and text back/forth until about 7 when I realize I can watch the Today show and not feel bad about waking Caleb up as it's officially morning :). My Mom and Nana show up around 7:30, my Dad and Jolie around 8:30, and Dad hangs out with me a while while Caleb gets breakfast. I then start feeling nauseous and visitors leave the room and I get some zofran through the IV and some ice chips. Around 11 I am 9.5 centimeters dilated and they say I'll probably start pushing around 11:30. Great! Baby by noon I think....wrong. I end up pushing for 3 hours, as Carter was born at 2:31. Caleb was a rockstar hubby through the thing, knew what to say to praise my efforts, and always had the ice chips waiting. My doctor was actually sick that day, but the on call doctor was absolutely fabulous and did a great job. He and Caleb had a lot in common so they discussed Texas football and the NYC marathon (his wife just ran it when Caleb did) as I attempted the pushing :).

Carter was born at 2:31 pm and when he was born I felt was pure relief. I did develop a fever after they broke my water and Carter's heartrate got up to the 180s at times, so I was a) worried about him and b) exhausted from pushing/not having anything to eat in 16 hours/not sleeping in 48 hours. They put him on my chest and he was beautiful and SO alert. I couldn't get over how alert he was! I did notice he had a shortened frenulum (the SLP in me--he ended up getting it clipped at his 3 day appt with the pedi) right off the bat, but he was perfect. They took him to assess him, let our family come in to see him, then took him to the newborn nursery pretty quick as he had developed a fever from me having a fever--ended up being just fine, but they were cautious. I got my gatorade and felt like a new person--I was SO thirsty and those ice chips were doing absolutely nothing to quench my thirst! My epidural was removed but did not wear off until about 3 am the next morning, so my nurses in post partum loved my beckoning calls to turn me I'm sure :). I was wheeled from labor and delivery to post partum and they took me by the nursery and I got to see Carter again--he was wailing from his bath, but it was the sweetest wail I had heard. Got to post partum, got oriented, and they brought me my baby--and all was right. Visitors left and we had some sweet time as a family of 3. December 3rd, 2010--a day that Carter will one day roll his eyes when I say "I remember x years ago today" and tell him the above :).

All in all, labor wasn't that bad, especially now as I reflect back as this sweet little miracle is peacefully sleeping on my chest as I right this....he is SO worth it. Love you Carter boy!