Joy And Pain

I will try to recount the events of Sunday, bear in mind my sense of time was gone. I am not sure how graphic I should be, so I may put the more gory details in invisotext.

I woke up Sunday morning at 6:30am feeling weird. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom where I lost my mucus plug. We got up had our breakfast, and I told Geoff I felt weird. I thought I felt the contractions starting, but they were so very far apart. We'd keep an eye on them all morning. We loaded up the car with stuff we wanted to take to Goodwill after service and made the 30 minute drive out to Creekside. I would gently nudge Geoff during service when I felt a contraction come on, so we could time them. They weren't painful, more just a presence. At some point during the service, I felt my water break. I whispered to Geoff I was going to the bathroom. When I got there, I knew for sure, that my water had broken. I had taken girly precautions, so you couldn't tell from looking at me that anything was wrong. I went back to our seats and let Geoff know we had to leave. We told Dave (whom we were sitting with) we were heading to the hospital, and made our exit. I had something to give to Jayla, so I asked Geoff to retrieve it from the car. Said goodbye to Jayla and our friend Curt, and started to head home. I called Dr. Dix and told her my water broke, and that the contractions were 15 minutes apart. She advised us to head to the hospital. On the drive home, I told Geoff I wanted to unload the Goodwill stuff, since I felt fine enough with the contractions. Once we got home, we started to gather everything we wanted to bring to the hospital. It's a good thing I'm a list maker. Geoff went next door to take care of Paula & Simon's cats, and I started to make a pile by the door and call my mom. We made plans to call her before heading to the hospital so she could book her flight down here. I had to leave a message for her, since she wasn't home, and Geoff placed a call to Glen & Diane to let them know this was it. He made himself a bowl of granola to eat, since we weren't sure when he'd get to eat again, and I munched on some cheese and crackers. Geoff also called Paula & Simon to let them know we'd need them to take care of Honey. I was still feeling okay, not in much pain at all. Assured we had everything we'd need, we made our way to the hospital.

The contractions were coming closer together, but the pain still wasn't so bad. By the time we pulled into the parking lot at the hospital, I was starting to feel uncomfortable and Geoff was laughing at the odometer coincidence (see previous post). We made our way up to the 3rd floor and buzzed them to let us in. "Can I help you?", "Hi, I'd like to come in and have a baby". Seriously, that was what was said. We got in, and Dr. Dix had told them to expect us. We had to sign some papers, and then they escorted us to our room. It was shortly after 11, and Geoff says my contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart (I don't recall). Our nurse was Crystal, and she was wonderful. I really liked her. They needed to put on some strips to monitor the contractions and the baby's reaction to them. I wanted to stand by the bed, it was the most comfortable to me. At some point I had to pee, so they unplugged me, and while I was in the bathroom, I changed into a gown. They want to do a pelvic check to see where I am at. I'm more than 70% effaced and only 2 cm dilated. The contractions were coming about 3 minutes apart, and were starting to become more intense. I've moved now into active labor mode.

I'm in enough pain now that I keep telling Geoff I don't want to have the baby, I've changed my mind. That the pregnancy was fun, but it's not fun anymore. Crystal is asking me if I want something for the pain. All I say is "I don't want to be in pain". This is not an answer, and neither she or Geoff can make that decision for me. I finally ask her to give me something via an IV. While inserting the IV, I spill enough blood to pool on the side table, as well as drip on the floor. Geoff, who has looked away is able to see the blood on the floor, but he's sitting down, so he doesn't pass out. Once the IV is in, she gives me some Fentanyl. It takes a bit of the edge off, but now I have to deal with vomiting. It's not much, mostly water and a little of the cheese and crackers. The drugs don't last long. I remember looking at Geoff's watch and being surprised by how much time has passed. It feels like it hasn't been so long. I'm still in some pain, and Crystal is talking to me about the amount of drugs I've had thus far (which I think was 3 injections). It's time to step things up, but before we go right to the epidural, it's been suggested to me to go try going into the jacuzzi to help ease the pain, and to help me dilate more. I'm willing to give it a shot, so we make our way down to the tub. Crystal has it ready for me, and then leaves us alone. It feels nice to be in the water, but the contractions have now moved from my back to my front. I'm unsure that the tub is helping, but I stay in a little while before deciding I want to return to our room. The pain is really bad. The call is placed to the anesthesiologist, but he's in the O.R. They said it would be a 30 minute wait. Crystal gives me another injection to ease my pain while we wait. The contractions have also stepped it up a notch, and I'm in so much pain I'm screaming. This phase seems to last the longest. We wait, and wait, I scream and scream, and after an hour, they finally send a resident to do my epidural. Poor Geoff & Crystal are trying to console me during this time, but I'm trying to tune out everything. They have to remind me to breathe, while I'm screaming I can't. Once the resident arrives, he's talking to me about the risks, blah blah blah, and I'm half listening to him. He may have asked me to sign something, I don't recall. I get into position (which is sitting on the edge of the bed curling my back towards him. I'm hoping I can stay still through the contractions. He's telling me I'll feel a little prick as they numb me, but really, nothing hurts more than what I'm going through. He says I'll feel like a warm burning sensation, but it barely registers with me. He promises me the next contraction won't hurt so much. It does. He again promises the next one won't be so bad. He's wrong again. A third time, he says it won't hurt. It does. By now, it's kicked in, and I feel 100% better. They ask me to lie down so they can check how far along I am, and I'm happy to comply. I feel like I could move in any position and be comfortable. (This stuff is so money!) The tapes that have been monitoring me tell them the baby isn't getting as much oxygen as they'd like, so they put an oxygen mask on me. The doctor says it's time to push. They are trying to page Dr. Dix, who as of yet isn't at the hospital. Everyone thought I'd take longer to get from 2 cm to 10cm, so I caught them off guard. But it's time to push, so we won't wait for Dr. Dix. The room is filled with doctors and residents. Two of them are there just for Elijah, to make sure he's okay once he gets out. Crystal tests my chest to see how far up the pain medication made it, and it's at +4, whatever that means. I guess he gave me more than they thought he would. The doctors ask if I can feel the contractions (I can) and to push when I feel it come on. This is a strange process, I don't feel like I'm pushing, but they seem happy with what I'm doing so I just keep doing it. Geoff is able to see the top of Elijah's head, and I keep working on pushing. This isn't so bad, I credit the drugs for making it a comfortable thing. Dr. Dix arrives, and two or three pushes later, out comes the baby. There aren't quite words to describe the sensation. But once he's out he lets out a cry. Geoff cuts the umbilical cord, and the doctors take him to test him for his APGAR score, and to make sure he's okay. He scores a 9, which is the best score a child in Colorado can get. While waiting for the placenta, I get to talk with Dr. Dix, and Crystal. Crystal tells me I did great, she's really impressed with my bravery. I'm kinda in a daze, I smile and thank her. Dr. Dix says her son is waiting in the hallway, as they were out together when she got the urgent call. Her son asked her on the way to the hospital if she was speeding. We all get a laugh out of that. Geoff goes between checking on me and Elijah and taking pictures. It's quite the comfort once I get to hold my son in my arms. He's so quiet and beautiful. I love looking at his face and feeling how warm he is. Dr. Dix takes care of patching me up, and I'm thankful I don't need much patching up. (In my head I think about a line from Mr. Wrong, "good birthing hips")

The labor wasn't how I thought it would be. I knew there would be pain, but I thought I'd be able to deal with it. I thought it would be messier, and needing oxygen never occurred to me. I also never thought it would all happen so fast. Geoff tells me it was the hardest thing he's ever had to witness. To have me be in so much pain, and not be able to do anything. But he did great. He was a awesome coach, doing everything he could.

So that's it, that's the story of the labor. I don't know how accurate it is, it's all hazy to me.