On February 13th I started experiencing labor pains. It was so bad that the hubs & I decided to head into labor & delivery. I was 4.5 cm dilated and 60% effaced, so they kept me...for 14 hours. I ended up shrinking (I know...wtf right?) back down to a 2 and the doctor said that they wanted to keep me over night to watch me. I asked if she thought I was going to go into active labor that night and she said no but she didn't want me having to drive back to the hospital if she was wrong. After a few minutes of convincing her that I'd rather be uncomfortable in my own bed than at the hospital (plus I only live about 10 minutes away) she put me on moderate bedrest and discharged me.
This went on for 10 days. I think I got to know everyone in the L&D department because I was in and out of there so often. I was told I have a "stretchy cervix"(..yes, that is the medical term they used) so I would go from a 0 to a 4.5 like it was nothing and then go back down to a 0. Joy. Oh, and not to mention I had contractions 2-4 minutes apart for the entire 10 days. Joy x2.
Well on February 22nd I officially hit 37 weeks, which meant Jackson was considered full term. I decided to celebrate hitting 37 weeks since my mom, who flew in thinking I was going into labor early, and sister were in town. This meant we were hitting the garage sales the next morning. I know, I know...I have a strange way of celebrating things. :)
So the next morning we were up early and off to see what treasures we could find. My sister had offered to drive and while we were going from one location to the next I announced that if she didn't start driving like a sane person, I would go into labor in her car. Well...I jinxed myself. We ended up going home early because I started to feel sick about 30 minutes later. We got home around 10:30 and I decided to lay down on the sofa. I realized within about 5 minutes that my pants were really wet, like pee your pants kinda wet, so I got up to change them. I told my mom that I was going to lay down on my bed and try to nap because I still didn't feel "right". Well I didn't really get a chance to nap because I ended up soaking through another pair of pajama bottoms and a pair of the hub's basketball shorts. Now call me dense cautious, but after my many trips to L&D it took me changing my bottoms 3 different times before I finally called to ask if that was normal. Obviously it isn't and I was told to come right in to get checked out.
Well the cramping got so bad that by the time we got to the hospital I couldn't even walk. Thank heavens for the volunteers because I might have seriously died in the lobby if she hadn't wheeled me upstairs while my mom was parking the car. The hubs was working overtime that day so I told him to wait until I was admitted before driving to the hospital. Hey, we were having a baby and they are expensive! :)
Unfortunately Jackson was one of 6 babies that decided the 23rd was a great for a birthday, so it took almost 3 hours to be checked by an actual doctor. Eventually I was checked by a doctor and was officially admitted. Just in those 3 hours I had gone from 2 cm to 5 1/2 cm. We were having a baby that day and there was no turning back now!
At that point I started to panic because I was only 37w1d. Was Jackson going to be okay? Would he have to spend extra time in the hospital? The doctor assured me over and over that Jackson had excellent chances of being perfectly healthy and it was probably nothing more than my baby got bored and wanted to come out and play.
As the doctor was leaving I was greeted by the anesthesiologist. Even though I had said during my entire pregnancy that I was going to play the medication part by ear; I quickly learned during that 3 hour wait that I needed something to take the edge off. I was progressing at such a quick rate that I was told if I wanted an epidural at all I needed to have it done then since I would quickly move past the point that they administer it. Two tries later I wasn't totally pain free, but the pain was dull enough that we were good to go. Yes, that's right...the epidural didn't react the way it's supposed to on me. At one point I lost it and started crying because the pain was so strong. I knew labor wasn't going to be comfortable or fun...but why wasn't the epidural working?? The first one didn't numb me at all and the second one only numbed my left side. I could totally feel my right side. I was, however, able to wiggle both of my toes, bend both legs, etc. It was the strangest feeling ever, but I was no longer swearing under my breath so I didn't really care. The anesthesiologist was totally baffled by me and couldn't figure out why it was reacting that way. She stayed for a good 30-45 minutes to make sure that the pain stayed away and then eventually left.
By then it was after 5pm and everyone was in the room waiting for Jackson's big arrival. They didn't get to stay long because I was fully dilated by 7:45 and it was go time. Everyone was ushered out of the room except for my mom, the hubs and my friend/photographer Christie.
Even though I only had to push for about 25 minutes; it was the longest 25 minutes of my life. Everytime I pushed Jackson's heart rate would drop drastically. They had me moving all over the bed to push in different positions because they were trying to find a position that didn't effect him as much. There was even an entire team in my room because he was not only early, but they didn't know why his heart rate was dropping. Not to mention I had to wear that annoying oxygen mask. That thing seriously did not want to stay on my face! In the end it was all worth it though because at 8:20 pm on Saturday, February 23rd I heard the sweetest sound ever...my baby's first cry. He was absolutely perfect. 10 fingers, 10 toes. He was breathing on his own with no issues and he had great color.
It truly was one of the best days of my life and I am so lucky that Christie was there to document it for me! Here are a few of my favorites from that day...
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