Labor and Delivery Story

Okay, I know I'm a blog slacker, but I plan on getting caught up eventually. Anyhow, in my last post I mentioned that I would tell you my labor and delivery story...
Most of you know that I had been dead set against having an induction; I really wanted to feel what it was like to go into labor. Well, I got my wish; however, it was not what I had expected...I spent most of Saturday wondering if I was truly in labor or not. My contractions started at 6:00 a.m. and were pretty mild and about 12-14 minutes apart. Then they stopped. I had planned on planting our garden and went to Wal-Mart to get tomato plants and some gardening tools. While I was there they started up again; I told Scott when I got home that we were probably going to have a baby that night, but I was still having doubts of whether or not I was truly in labor (I was just telling everybody that I was and HOPING that I was!) We went to Kylie's soccer game at 2:00. Then we came home; it was on the way home that I suddenly felt like I needed to get the kids ready to go over to our sitter's house. I packed up the kids' bag, finished my packing my hospital bag, and even tried to clean a little. We went to Winger's for Kylie's late birthday dinner--something I realize now we probably shouldn't have done. My contractions before we went into the restaurant were 5-6 minutes apart, but totally bearable. I talked to my L&D nurse/friend who told me I should be on my way to the hospital and not eating at Winger's, but I went anyway, against her advice and my better judgment. While we were in Winger's my contractions were still 5 minutes apart but starting to really hurt. We got our bill right after we got our food, paid, and put the kids' food in to-go boxes. We dropped the kids off and we were on our way to the hospital...
We finally got to the hospital and I signed in at 7:00 p.m. On the way there I had decided that I was DEFINITELY getting an epidural. I was NOT in the mood to go through the pains of labor and delivery. I got dressed in the hospital gown, got in bed, put the monitors on, got my IV, and waited PATIENTLY for my epidural. Ha! It didn't happen. I was calmly talking to my husband about what we should name our baby girl and in the meantime, handling my contractions pretty well. (I think my nurse didn't actually think I was in hard labor, until she checked me. I was at a '7'. She was like "Oh, I guess we'll be keeping you here; you're having a baby tonight." NO DUH!) During one really strong contraction, my water broke. I remember thinking that the next contraction was really going to hurt and that they better hurry up and put in my epidural. After a couple of really hard contractions I knew I wasn't going to get an epidural...I felt like I needed to push; I knew baby girl was coming out whether I was ready or not.
My mom always told me she could never understand why women had to scream and yell while they were in labor. She said she was a "silent birther." Well, Mom, I don't know how you kept quiet when it felt like your insides were being ripped out and you're pushing what feels like a 15-pound watermelon out your hoo-ha! Yeah, so I was one of those screaming women...I screamed like the world was coming to an end. I think I scared some people, including my poor husband, who never got to use his labor coaching skills. It was embarrassing, but I couldn't help it. It flippin' hurt! Luckily, it was all over with within 10-15 minutes. (Notice I walked in at 7:00; I had her at 7:42).
The thing that made this labor and delivery experience so difficult for me was the fact that my adorable OB doc was out of town! The doc on-call wasn't even from his practice, AND she wasn't one I was particularly fond of. But get this, she didn't even make it to my delivery. The "doc-in-the-box" (at St. Mark's, there is always an OB who stays in the hospital at all times) was in my room, but he stood there gowned up waiting for the on-call doc to arrive. He never stepped in to help me deliver until the head was practically out. In a futile effort to "slow" my delivery and wait for the doc to get there, my feet were not put in the stirrups; I wasn't coached through my contractions; nobody told me when to push or for how long...it was brutal. I felt so alone in the most physically painful experience of my life.
On a positive note, my recovery was awesome. There is some kind of high you get after having a baby the natural way. Less than an hour after I delivered, it truly didn't even feel like I had had a baby. I felt really, really good. Would I do it again? Nope. Whoever came up with epidural anesthesia is a genious. When, and if, I ever have another baby, I will make sure I have plenty of time to get an epidural. Lesson learned.