Adam was born on April 25, 2008 at 9:16pm. It was a Friday. We arrived at the hospital at 8am to see if I had dialated enough to have my water broken. I was already 12 days past my due date and still hadn't progressed. After coming in the previous day for some Pitosin (a drug that speeds up contractions), they decided I was ready.
8:15am- Water Broken
No real labor pain, so I didn't need any drugs. I walked around the hospital in my gown (very attractive, might I add) and an IV stuck in my arm. They say that gravity is helpful. HA. The most I ever felt was some cramping, but nothing I couldn't handle.
12:00pm- Epidural
The anesthesiologist was available. And he was the one you wanted. He had been giving epidurals for 20 years. I requested NOT to see the extremely large needle that would be inserted into my back. First came the tiny needle that numbed everything. That stung a little. He set up everything behind me, so I never saw anything that was on his little table. Next came the HUGE needle that Scott gasped at when it was pulled out from underneath the cloth. He inserted the needle in the middle of my back and worked his way through the cartilage. I could hear the crunching as he had to work at it. He then inserted the little tube that would pump the drug into my pelvis. Yeah, this needle was large enough to stick a TUBE into. Out came the needle and he taped me all up so it wouldn't pull out. Done in less than 5 minutes. No wonder he was known as the best. I never felt a drop of pain.
I did have a little trouble as the medicine started. One of my legs went so numb that I couldn't feel it. It went away eventually and I was able to move it again. The great thing about an epidural is that you feel no pain but are still completely in control of what you're doing during labor. You are able to push yourself, move around, etc. People often confuse it with a spinal block in which you have NO control over the lower half of your body. This is not the case. WHY would you go ALL natural and have NO drugs when you can go w/out the pain and still be in control? *sigh* Whatever floats your boat I suppose.
3:00pm- Dialated to about a 3
mmhmm.... I really wasn't progressing at all. So the nurses upped the Pitosin drip.
4:00pm- My mom brings me a strawberry shake
This wouldn't have been so awesome if it wasn't for the fact that I wasn't allowed ANY food whatsoever. All I could have was ice chips. I'd been there since 8:00AM and hadn't eaten all day. The shake was greatly appreciated.
Nothing else was that exciting until later. We played Phase 10 w/ 6 people (My sisters, Eric and Liz, Scott and myself), but we didn't get very far until we decided it was a little difficult to play around the hospital bed. We popped in Parenthood w/ Steve Martin. It's an older movie, but if you haven't seen it, GO RENT IT NOW!! Hilarious, and so fitting for the day.
7:00pm- Time to start pushing
This was exciting. I was SO ready for the whole thing to be over with and was determined to have him out by 8 at the latest. It was still light outside.
7:45pm- Adam crowns
And there he STAYED until he was born. Poor thing was stuck underneath my pubic bone for nearly an hour and a half. You can say that I got a little discouraged, yes? But my pushing (all 2 hours and 15 minutes of it) was well worth it. Out he came after an episiotomy, fast as lightning (Why didn't we do that in the BEGINNING??). Poor thing had the head of an alien. If you've seen the new Indiana Jones movie, you've seen my son's head after he was born. It looked exactly like the crystal skulls. And I'm not exaggerating!
Nice healthy lungs. He latched onto his daddy right away and didn't let go all through the process of cleaning him up. I was told by my EVIL midwife that he was a small baby. Barely 7 pounds if I was lucky. He weighed in at a hefty 8 pounds! Little baby my foot..... *grumble grumble*
He was welcomed by a large group gathered at the door ready to rush in and take pictures. The sight was one to see. Lots of cell phones taking pictures. I have to thank my mom and my mother-in-law who were in the room with me while I delivered. And of course Scott, pushing right along with me.
Now he is 5 months old, getting bigger by the day. His smile makes me smile, and his laugh brightens my day. Ah, Motherhood.....
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Our day came, and our sealing room was packed full of people. Not everyone had a seat. We were so grateful for the support and love from our family and friends. We could never have done it without you all. Rachael and Tyler, thank you so much for being a wonderful example to me and helping me secure that belief in and want of an eternal marriage.
