the labor of love

grab a snack and get comfy....here we go.
I called Monday night 9 pm, not what I was expecting going into my induction- no rooms available. What? I mean really how many women are heading to the hospital tonight, it wasnt a full moon....so we waited. They told me to call back at 11- still no rooms-now they said they would call me. I knew that meant it would be a long night. Surprisingly I slept. About 5 hours. My phone rang at 5 am and we hustled to get to the hospital and got there by 6. In such an anxious rush there were a couple pictures I missed taking (our house for the last time as just the two of us, a real belly picture- no t-shirt and Jeremy and I under the labor and delivery sign), thats ok- I have it all up here and let's face it, I was ready to meet her. Or at least get started.
We got all settled in our room and after hooking me up and doing all that they needed to do, about 7:45 am Tuesday morning we started the pitocin. 4 hours into the pitocin my doc came in to break my water...however I had made no progress and she was hesitant to go at it with such full force (see we were suppose to be there the night before, giving myself like 12 hours to progress). She hated the idea of forcing something that wasnt and maybe ending up in a c-section (I was glad because I DID NOT want one). So, she decided on stopping the pitocin and starting another drug to make delivery more favorable. This drug has to be left in for 12 hours. Yep-12 hours of waiting. They basically didnt even need to see me until this drug had run its course. Long day to say the least. Noon to midnight we waited. I had been having contractions since the pitocin started but nothing I thought warranted drugs. We waited some more. Midnight rolled around and we started the pitocin again about 1:30 am. Contractions increased and because I have never been in labor I was afraid to ask for medicine because I knew we had not hit a peak yet. After all, I was only 1 centimeter. I knew we had 9 more to go. We all tried to sleep- impossible. Jeremy was amazing- rubbing my back- sneaking me some peanut butter crackers (I had not eaten anything substantial since 7:30 Monday night. Oh wait, I was given a hospital turkey sandwich at noon. Yum). The nurse came and checked before her shift ended Wednesday morning about 6:30 and she said she would say I was 1-2 cm. For real? Talk about discouraging. Our new nurse Betty arrived and I told her we had to have a baby on her shift! For real. She couldnt leave until we had Hannah. Contractions were increasing and so was my pain. I needed something. Betty came and gave me some staidol. To sum it up- its like drinking an 18 pack of beer and a bottle of tequila. Not that I have ever or could ever do that- but Im pretty sure thats what its like. It was awful. I needed something though, it hurt. So I was pretty much in a drunken stuper and passed out through some pretty good contractions. I remember at one point hearing Jeremy say- "that lasted like 3 minutes". Ouch. Jeremy was rubbing my back at one point and I felt a pretty good kick/popping feeling. What the heck was that? It crossed my mind that my water had broken but nothing followed. Then I moved. It was for sure my water. It was about 9 am and Jeremy called the nurse to tell her my water broke. So glad he remembers it all- it was a blur. I was ecstatic that my water broke on its own. I didnt mind being induced but it was great knowing my body did something on its own(well, kind of). Contractions at this point were so painful I couldnt even remember or follow what we learned in class. Breathe? Why bother- I feel like Im dying. Or someone is stabbing me in the abdomen with an ice pick. I just was trying to hold out because only being 1-2 centimeters I knew we had a while. My water broke at 9 am and at some point between 9 and 10 am the nurse checked me and I was 4-5cm. Ok, making progress. Im still hoping this baby is born by 7 pm. The next thing I remember is being curled up so tight and seeing our nurse rolling in the epidural cart. I hadnt even asked for it. She just knew. She knew with my water breaking I would be crying for the epidural. I was thinking I could be patient and wait out the pain (I still had 5 cm), then I remember looking up and crying "Where is she?" (referring to the anesthesiologist). Betty was on it, she was in the room in minutes. I had turned over the side of the bed, with Jeremy in front of me and holding on for dear life. I have been a nervous wreck about this epidural, but I was in such horrible pain it didnt matter. I remember the needles to numb my back and I remember making faces at Jeremy like, yikes that hurts, but it did its job. The IV in the hand when I got there could have been equally as painful. I was just nervous about staying still during contractions but the anesthesiologist assured me it would be ok. She was great, after all she travels with pretty good drugs. Life was good at this point. I even slept some. I think Jeremy was watching the computer screen, shocked by the size of the contractions and that I felt nothing. Around 12:00 my doctor came in to check me. She said she had considered going back to the office because she had a couple patients who were probably not delivering any time soon. Boy did that change, I was 10 centimeters + 1!!!! We were ready to have this baby. Ok, I freaked out. This was REALLY happening and after my water broke- it happened fast! Those nurses work so fast in getting ready for delivery. At 12:25 I started pushing and at 1:48, Hannah FINALLY entered our lives. Amazing. Pushing was was great, I felt nothing as far as contractions go and to make a confession- the drugs were so good I fell asleep between a couple pushes. Jeremy and the nurse had to keep me awake. How does one fall asleep while they are trying to get a baby out? Easy, I was exhausted, famished and remember all that beer and tequila I had?
An hour and 20 minutes later, 33 total hours in labor and delivery, we had our daughter. Our healthy beautiful daughter. I will never forget the feeling I shared with Jeremy. I will never forget the look in his eyes. He ran over to see her and saw all 9 pds 6 oz of our chunky little girl. They sure do have it all down, about 5-6 nurses in the room, all with a different job. After Hannah was delivered they quickly rushed her to the baby cart, I wasnt really paying attention but Jeremy said he noticed the nurses were concerned about something. I figured they would put her right on my chest and Jeremy would cut the cord but that didnt happen. They told Jeremy they were a little concerned she may have broken her clavicle because she was stuck at the shoulders. What?? A baby with a broken bone?! She laid there with her lifeless left arm and I got a little scared. They said they will do an x-ray but there isnt much to do for broken clavicle bones. They weighed her and we found out she was a whopping 9 pds 6 oz! Some of the nurses even commented, "I think she is 9.11", "I think she is about 10". Thankfully she wasnt 10, close but not 10 :) About 3:00 I got up to our room and Hannah soon met us in there. She had to go to the nursery for all her tests and seeing her come in our room was such an exciting moment. She was ours, it was all really happening. They decided not to do an x-ray (thankfully- can you imagine a baby in an x-ray machine?) and they said she had been moving it alot better and they didnt think it was broken after all. Thankfully. So we settled in for our first night with our daughter. We were blessed with lots of family and friends visitng, all who couldnt believe her chunky little body and head full of hair!! Our hospital stay was pleasant (for the most part- you really cant get any rest) but I will never forget the nights we spent with eachother and our little angel. Ill never forget the sound of her cart being wheeled to our room or watching her and her dad cuddle in the corner.
She is finally here. We are all settled in at home and adjusting to life with Hannah. Its been amazing so far. She is our miracle daughter and I cant wait to start this chapter!!!