Yesterday was like any other day for the most part. I didn’t go anywhere and pretty much took it easy all day. The kids were home from school for the summer and they played pretty well during the day. Peter worked all day and then around 5:30 I made dinner; pulled pork with rolls, cucumber and tomato salad, and homemade tortilla chips and salsa. We ate as a family and then Peter and I put away the leftovers and rinsed the dishes. He went back to work and I went up stairs to change my shirt. When I came back downstairs I was hit with a sudden contraction. It was really strong so I instantly sat on the couch thinking the change in position would help. It didn’t so I got up and went to the bathroom. The whole time I was in serious pain and it wasn’t letting up at all. I finished and walked back to the couch where I leaned over the side of it. I couldn’t figure out what to do about the pain. It seemed so weird that it wasn’t letting up and that it was so strong without any warning. The children saw me in pain and I told Bresa to go get Daddy right away. She asked where he was and I just yelled out, “I don’t know, find him!” I was in too much pain to talk and didn’t have any patience. She went to the shop and I heard her say, “Daddy, Mommy needs you…Right Now!” He came right out and over to me and asked what he could do. I started naming off people for him to call to get the kids taken care of so we could get on our way to the hospital. I kneeled down over the couch and called my doctor’s office. It was going on 7 so the doctor had to call me back. I told him I had one long contraction for about 15 minutes and he said that wasn’t typical but neither was I so I should come in. Peter arranged to meet Joe at Wendy’s to drop off our children so he made them all get shoes on and out the door. I was in so much pain I couldn’t stand up straight and needed help walking. I think the children were worried about me being that I was in so much pain. They kept trying to hug me asked if I was all right a hundred times. All I kept thinking was that I wasn’t going to make it to the hospital in time and that the baby would be born in the car. We managed to get to Wendy’s and the kids were out of the car in no time and then Peter and I headed toward Daytona.
I put the seat back so I could lay down and just tried to get through the pain which seemed worse every time the car made a turn. I recognized we were on I-4 which made me feel a bit better. We still had at least 20 minutes but it was just a straight shot from there. About half way to Daytona the contraction pain didn’t seem as bad. I wasn’t sure if I was just getting use to the pain or if they had actually lessened in intensity. They still hurt a great deal but not like they were. I was no longer moaning through it and could actually breathe and think somewhat clearly. Peter called the hospital ahead of time then dropped me off at the front entrance. He helped me out of the car and then went to find a parking spot. I managed to make my way down the hall to the elevators and then Peter came running after me. The fact that I could walk on my own let me know the pain wasn’t as bad because before I couldn’t even stand. They took us right to a labor room when we got to registration and brought me the papers to sign after I was all hooked up and being monitored. I left a urine sample and changed into the gown and the nurse set up the monitor and took my vitals. My contractions were still coming every minute to two minutes but when she did an exam I was only 2 cm dilated. The floor doctor came in to talk to me and told me that if my contractions didn’t pick up in strength and I didn’t progress they would send me home and I would just have to come back. I was afraid to do this because I didn’t know if I could make another trip out in time, especially if the pain was as intense as it had started as before. Thankfully my doctor was on call from the office and he had just delivered another baby so he was at the hospital. The nurse told me they would talk to him and see what he wanted to do with me and in the meantime I could get up and walk around to see if that helped progress labor. Peter and I walked around the floor a couple times and then the nurse found me and told me that my doctor wanted to admit me. We moved our stuff to a labor room and then walked around a little more. We went back to our room after a little bit and Dr. Meyers came in to talk to us. Another exam showed I was still 2 cm but after speaking we decided the doctor would break my water in hopes that my contractions would strengthen. At 10:15 Dr. Meyers tried to break my water but was having a hard time hooking the bag to make it rupture. He said he got a little fluid and would try again later if more fluid didn’t come out. We discussed Pitocin to help the contractions if they still wouldn’t progress but were going to wait it out first. I felt a gush of fluid shortly after and the nurse checked and said that my water was broken. Dr. Meyers had said I could have an epidural at any time if I wanted but the pain wasn’t too bad so I didn’t request one right away. I had the IV in my arm to get an adequate amount of fluids in me but it was moving slow. I started to feel more pain and asked the nurse to order the epidural. I figured if I am going to have the pain anyway there was no reason for me to feel it all if I could get some relief. She ordered the epidural and then pushed the saline through my IV. It didn’t seem like very long and the anesthesiologist was up in my room to administer the epidural. I did the normal lean over the side of them bed and push out my lower back and hold still while the doctor put the catheter in me for the pain medicine to flow through. Since I was no longer in pain Peter finally let himself get some sleep. He was very sleepy but wouldn’t rest until he knew I was alright. I drifted in and out of sleep but hardly got much. I had a blood pressure cuff on my arm that went off every 15 minutes and it was pretty hard to get comfortable while I was numb from the waist down. Also, the epidural made my chest really itchy so that was a bit difficult to deal with too. After a couple more hours the nurse checked me and I was at 3 cm. Slow progress but at least it was something. Dr. Meyers ordered Pitocin but started me very low. Normally they start at 2 units and increase by 2 units every 20 minutes up to 20 units total. For me he ordered just 1 unit and would only increase me by 1 unit every 20 minutes to total 4 units. I believe it was about 3 or in 4 in the morning at this time and with my epidural I was fine as far as the pain went. I kept an eye on the monitor to watch my contractions and though they were very consistent they were very low in strength. I was so worried about having a C-section I just kept praying for progress to be made. I must have told my doctor that a bunch of times but I knew in the end there may be no way of avoiding it. Around 8 or 9 this morning I could feel the contractions in my belly. They weren’t painful but I could feel when they were occurring. I didn’t think much of it as they didn’t hurt and I knew I had a button on my epidural if I felt I needed a boost of medicine. A nurse, not my own, came in around 9 to check my vitals. I was not in a good mood at this point as I was getting frustrated at my lack of progress. I had fully expected this baby to born super quick and my labor to be no more than an hour or so. I was getting pretty discouraged and more anxious about the possibility of a C-section. I figured I needed to get in a better mood so I asked Peter to help me brush my teeth and wash my face (I couldn’t walk because my legs were numb) in bed. After that I felt a little refreshed and Peter opened the window to let some light in. I had never had a baby during the day before so this would be a new experience, it’s weird but I was pretty excited about that. Right at 10:45 I got hit with a strong contraction and felt it really bad. I called the nurse and hit my epidural button. The epidural made noise like it was working and I felt the coolness of the medicine in my back but the pain didn’t subside. The nurse came and I told her that it wasn’t working. She told me that she would call the anesthesiologist to correct it. Then she did an exam and said I was 8cm. I said, “When did that happen?!” She left the room, I am still in lots of pain, and I heard her outside the door say, “Page Dr. Meyers, he needs to get here now!” I said to Peter, “Well that sounds good!”. I was on my left side in pain because that’s the side that hurt the most and the nurse told me that the medication worked with gravity. The nurses started prepping for delivery and my doctor came in and told me there was no time to fix the epidural. He did a quick check and found me to be 10 cm dilated. They set me up and he told me to give a push on the next contraction. I did a little bit but not much and he said, “Come on, you can do better than that!” I yelled back at him, “It hurts!!” but then I pushed harder and he said he could see the baby descending. I pushed through three contractions and the baby came out.
I didn’t feel him being born but I did feel the contractions in my belly and lower abdomen pretty fiercely. The baby was born at 11:11. He weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20 1/4” long. They wrapped him up and gave him to me to hold while the doctor delivered my placenta then took him to the nursery
to clean him up. I stayed in the labor room for a couple of hours while being monitored and letting my legs regain feeling. Two nurses helped me to the bathroom where I lost a lot of blood clots and then threw up several times. From there I was taken to my postpartum room. When I got into bed I lost a lot more blood clots and the bedding had to be changed twice right away. I was on Pitocin still to help make my uterus contract back to normal but the Dr. Meyers ordered me a shot of Methergine to help with contractions even more because of my loss of blood. Because the Methergine made the contractions and cramps really strong they also gave me two Percocet’s for the pain. With the pain gone and the blood pressure cuff off I dozed off for a little nap.
