My Birth Story

I woke up at 12:45 on Monday April 13th not believing I could possibly be in labor after all the false alarms. The contractions were uncomfortable enough to keep me from getting more than an hour's sleep. I woke up to stronger contractions, and took a shower and got ready for work. I decided to start timing them and they 3 minutes apart! Of course I started getting excited, especially when they got painful enough to bring me to my knees. But they were only lasting about 30 seconds.
AND THEN...they tapered off a little and went to 5 minutes. UGH. I had a Dr.'s appointment at 10 am so I was determined to not run to L&D.
I went to work and then made it to my appointment. The Dr. said all the false labor was NORMAL especially for first time moms. He checked me and declared me almost 3 cm. Then he gave me the mother of all membrane strippings. It hurt like hell. and he did it 3 times!
Contractions started before I checked out of the Dr.s office. But I went back to work and picked up lunch on the way. I couldn't eat it though (unusual for me). The contractions got stronger and I started bleeding. When I got to about 4 minutes apart told my supervisor I was leaving. I called Justin and he said I should go home. I was going to, but changed my mind at the exit and turned toward the hospital.
The triage nurse declared me 4 cm and I was admitted!!! I was in total disbelief. From here everything went so fast I have no idea what time anything happened or how long I was doing what. And I really didn't care!
I was hurting so bad before they took me to my L&D suite. It was like a hotel room! They got me into bed and started a pitocin drip. I asked for the epidural. The pain was bad, not unbearable, but I figured it would be a while before I actually got the epi -- and it was.
My nurse was just about to give me something to hold me over when the anesthesiologist wheeled in his cart of goodies. I was pretty nervous and started crying while he was prepping me. I didn't feel like I could get my back rounded out far enough, but he didn't say anything. The numbing shot hurt a little, and the pressure of the epi cath going in was scary, but it didn't hurt. I am ashamed to say I was a total whiny baby.
Only my left side got numb. I was still feeling the contractions all around my right hip. My nurse checked me and said I was between 8-9 cm. and she wanted to cath me. I told her she had to wait until I couldn't feel anything at all. The nurse and Justin rolled me onto my right side to try and get the epi to numb me over there. The nurse was telling me that this was going fast and I really needed that cath. I still wouldn't let her put it in.
Then I felt and heard this LOUD and STRONG POP! against my right hip. It felt like Chuck Norris round house kicked me in the hip! Then I felt a huge gush and said "MY WATER BROKE"! The nurse didn't believe me so it must not have been as much fluid as I it felt like. She swabbed it and sure enough, water broken! The CNA came in to check on my and gave me a larger bolus of the epi saying that the Dr's never give patients enough.
I was getting pretty numb so agreed to let my nurse try putting in a smaller sized cath than the foley cath. And it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO uncomfortable. I should have made her wait longer. She checked me again and said she was wrong, I was only at 7cm. Bummer.
The upped dose of the epi was FANTASTIC and SO WIERD. I could still feel my skin and move my feet, but everything else just felt heavy. No pain at all. I did get a bad case of the shakes though and she gave me some fentenol to sedate me a little.
The smaller cath wasn't draining at all so I told my mom I was ready to let her try the foley. And I didn't feel it at all. So being totally numb makes a HUGE difference. She checked me again and said I was complete, the head was in the birth canal, and she could feel hair! WOW! She called my Dr.
It was time for shift change so I had to wait for my new nurse, Cici. Once Cici got there she broke down the bed and got me to do some practice pushes. I probably pushed thru about 3 contractions with CiCi's coaching and telling me I was doing great, a very effective pusher. LOL I couldn't feel ANYTHING besides a slight urge to push before she told me I could. She had my push 3 times thru each contraction at first, but we were moving so fast she had to decrease it to 1 push per contraction since we were waiting on the Dr. The baby crowned before the Dr. walked in and we had to just sit there. It felt strange to just sit and wait. I also could see my stomach deflating more the lower the baby got. So funny.
My Dr. finally walked in and threw his booties and gown on, stretched me (which did hurt a little), and we started pushing again. The cord was around her neck (which I suspected with how often and how long she got hiccups in the womb) so Justin wasn't able to cut it. I had to stop pushing while he snipped the cord and then on the next push she was out! The relief from the pressure was instantaneous and so nice! They put her on my chest and WOW was she beautiful. They took some pictures for us and then whisked her over to the warmer to do their thing while I got stitched up. Only a minor tear the Dr said, but he put SO many stitches in it. It was not so fun to watch, even though I couldn't feel it.
Baby Monkey (otherwise known as Isla) was born at 7:55pm, 6 lbs 12 oz, 19 3/4 inches long. I didn't feel any connection with her at first. She was like this little stranger. I tried nursing her (OUCH), but mostly I let everyone else hold her.
Mom went to get me something to eat and everyone else left. They took Isla (whose name I still was not sure about at this point) to the nursery and said she'd be gone for 4 hours. Surprisingly I was totally ok with it. I thought it would break my heart, but it didn't.
They got me cleaned up and settled in my post-partum room. I couldn't sleep. When I was finally feeling my legs enough to be able to get up I walked down to the nursery just as they were finishing up with her. We walked back to my room and then she was all mine. Just as I finally started to get tired she decided she wanted to nurse like crazy. Every time I stopped (b/c I was nodding off) she wailed. I think she just wanted to suck though. I finally had to send her to the nursery so I could get some sleep. I felt totally guilty.
My Dr. came in this morning and I was so groggy I hardly remember what he said to me, other than that they were all yes/no questions.
When the nursery staff bought Isla back to me today it was instant love. I feel bonded to her and I know now that her name is definitely Isla.
She is a total sweetheart. She's been sleeping most of the day (me too). And she'll sleep in the bassinet, but mostly she wants to be on my chest, which is where she is now.
Wow, this has gotten long. I am starving. I'll pick this back up in a little while, and maybe move some of it to a whole nother post about recovery.

Operation Baby Eviction: Part 3

So it looks like the castor oil was a bust. My contractions have been stuck at about 8 minutes apart all evening and lasting about 45 seconds.
We've tried some other things to get labor going consistently, but so far...zip.
I guess I'm going to have to get used to being in labor on and off. As much as it scares me to leave the privacy and comfort of my home, I'm going back to work tomorrow. I feel like a total moron. The girl who cried "labor". Sheesh.

Operation Baby Eviction: Part 2

1:00 pm: 7 hours in. I've had only 1 bout of the poopies, preceded by nausea and abdominal cramps. I've had some fairly painful contractions, but only while I'm lying down. When I get up they ease up. But they are coming fairly regularly.
I'm still not holding my breath. I'm thinking I'll go for a walk in a bit and then take a nap.

Operation Baby Eviction: Part 1

6:00 am: I braved 2 tablespoons of castor oil in a shot glass. It's THICK, but not really so horrible. Not nearly as bad a Tequila. I only gagged a little. I followed it with a glass of OJ, some danish, and a Cherry Dr. Pepper. My throat feels sort of thick now, not the most pleasant thing, but not unbearable.
I've got a 52 oz keg of water with my name on it to prevent dehydration. I'm going to go lie down and wait for something to happen. With my luck it will be a big fat bust, but at least I tried it.

In unrelated news: All night I had what I thought were going to be some productive contractions. Of course the petered out as soon as I got up (I timed them for an hour just to make sure I wasn't in serious labor before taking the CO). But I lost more of my mucous plug (hopefully the last of it, as I lost some over a week and half ago) so maybe these contractions had some affect after all.

Ok. I'll update if/when something happens.

So much for spicy food...

The hot hot hot wings didn't do anything. I can always expect an upset stomach and a night in the head after even mild flavored wings.
My contractions have picked up again, but are ALL over the place. Anywhere from 2-9 minutes apart and lasting from 20 seconds to 1 minute and a half! I have officially been in consistent false labor for 2 flippin' days!
So I scoured the internet for stories, talked it over with Justin, and decided I will be trying the castor oil first thing tomorrow morning. It seems the general consensus is that if your cervix is already thinning you have a good chance of it working. And if you're already having contractions there is an even better chance it will regulate them and promote "real" labor.
The negatives: Castor oil is a stimulant laxative and may cause explosive diarrhea, cramps, and vomiting. But at this point I am willing to risk all that. Besides, if greasy hot wings didn't phase me I'm thinking I might be ok. Even if all I get is miserably sick, at least I tried.
SO. Goodnight and in the morning, bottoms up!

More labor...

The contractions are stronger today and about 4-5 minutes apart. I'm just hanging out in bed for a while. I plan to get up and take a shower in a bit and maybe nest until I really start hurting. Maybe we'll have a baby today! But I'm going to guess it will be more like tomorrow.