I love my birth story, right after I gave birth I loved telling the story (probably because I was so freaked out about the fact the baby had to come out and it was such a great experience I am compelled to tell everyone).
On Saturday September 3 Chris and I were walking the boys and I was saying how conflicted I was about having the baby, I was really ready for him to come but at the same time liked knowing he was safe and sound in me. We got McDonald's for dinner (super classy but I was in love with chicken mcnuggets) and ordered a movie on our tv that night. We both fell asleep on the couch and I woke up around midnight contracting. I tried waking Chris up but he was tired and a little out of it. I kept contracting and called the doctor around 2:30am and calmly told him, "I think I'm in labor but my contractions are slowing down. They were every five minutes or so but have really spaced out." My doctor told me to try to get some rest and call him if they picked back up. Bruce and I snuggled for about a half hour before the contractions woke me up again. This time I woke Chris up and told him he needed to start timing my contractions. We were timing them until about 4:30 when I asked Chris when we should leave for the hospital. He responded, "not before 5 unless you say otherwise." At 4:40 after some contractions that scared Bruce, I decided it was time to go. Chris kept asking if I was sure I wanted to go and I responded that worst case scenario we would go to triage and be sent home (I think the doctor in him didn't want to come in with his wife dilated to 1cm and be sent home). We got to the hospital and Chris started to drive up the parking deck to park like when we went to childbirth classes. I (probably not too nicely) asked what he thought he was doing and told him to drop me off at the door of the childbirth unit, he promptly put the car in reverse and dropped me at the door. The lady working the registration desk looked a little nervous when she saw me come in and kept asking if I wanted a wheelchair. I responded, no I'm fine, and we walked back to the triage room with me stopping during a contraction on the way there. The nurse told us that the resident on call had politely declined to check me and asked what I was at my last doctor's appointment. I said my doctor doesn't check and she then asked Chris if he had checked me at home. He said he hadn't and so she checked me. I thought I was maybe about 5cm and was surprised when she said, "you're 8cm dilated and 90% effaced." I, in my usual way yelled, "what the ****!" The nurse asked if I wanted to have the baby naturally because I had already done so much at home. Chris responded before I could, "she wants the epidural." I have no recollection of how I got from triage to the labor and delivery room. I do remember getting stuck by the nurses three times to start my IV and yelling "I want the epidural!!!" I got the epidural around 7am and the doctor did an awesome job. His bedside manner left much to be desired but if you're sticking a catheter in my spine, I'd rather you be competent at your job and not quite so friendly than vice versa. After the epidural kicked in I labored down for a while and our friends Katie and Janel came by to sit with me while I waited to push. The doctor had to break my water because it didn't break on its own and there was meconium in the water. Around 1pm I decided it was time to push and pushed for about an hour and fifteen minutes. I heard my nurse calling someone saying "we're about to deliver in room 7." I thought oh wow they must be getting ready to get this room ready for the next person but in actuality the NICU team was coming in (when there's meconium in the water the NICU team comes in to assess the baby and potentially suction out their lungs). The NICU team came in and my only thought was "great more people are here that must mean the baby's almost here!" My doctor gowned up and they starting breaking down the bed. I pushed a few more times and heard my doctor ask Chris to cut the cord. The baby was rushed to the NICU team but luckily started screaming before he got to them (meaning he hadn't inhaled the meconium into his lungs). Chris brought Oliver to me and we finally got to do skin to skin and try our very first feeding.
