6 Wks Later and a Birth Story

I haven't posted an entry since May, wow. I know that this is very late, but I wanted to at least post my birth story for anyone who was interested. 

Since May 17th I was feeling some contractions about 20-30 mins apart, but they really didn't kick in until Tuesday. May 19th they were 15-20 mins then on the 20th about 1ish am they became stronger and I began to time them with Contraction Master. Around 3 am they were 8-10 mins apart. 

That morning I had a scheduled NST and I was hoping by the time I showed up I would have shown some progress. Sadly, there wasn't. I wasn't dialated and my contractions had completely stopped. I couldn't believe it. The dr however stripped my membranes to speed up the process and advised me to do some walking and to go to L&D around 4 p.m. if my contractions come back and are timeable. Sure enough my contractions came back once we got home so hubby decided to not go to work and stay with me. About a couple of hours later my SIL called and asked if I wanted to go with her to Target. Since I needed to walk I said yes. Before heading to Target we went to Pinochio Restaurant to look around. Her granddaughter's baptism was coming up and she needed to find a restaurant to hold the reception in. 

Anyways, walking around did make my contractions come on stronger. We then headed to the Taget at the Glendale Galleria. She decided to park on the other end of the mall. By 3 p.m. I thought I was going to pass out. People looking at me and wondering if I needed any help. It was quite funny actually. Every 10 mins I had to stop and grab my back and hold the bottom of my stomach. After 4 hours we headed to her house and we ate an early dinner. Hubby met me there and we then headed to L&D. After getting there I got wheeled upstairs and got hooked up immediately. After about 45 mins I was told that I was only 1 to 2 cm and that I wasn't ready. The dr suggested to go back home and wait it out for another few hours. Since I wasn't in the mood to go home I refused and asked for another alternative. She then told me to walk the hallways for an hour, so I did. Since I was so anixous I started to do skwats and other things to get my cervix to open up quicker. By then my contractions were every 5 mins, but not good enough for L&D. After the hour we went back in and I was 3 cm, but still not ready to be admitted. They did however kept in triage for about an hour because my contractions were coming every 2-3 mins. About 9:45 p.m. I felt a gush and I knew then that my water had broken. I told hubby to go and tell the nurse. After she checked me with the swab that turns blue she then started the admission. I was so happy! By then my contractions were now one after another. So close that by the time I caught my breath I had another one coming. About 1/2 hr later into the admission process I started to feel a lot of pressure. I kept telling the nurse that but all she was able to tell me was to wait that we were almost finished. So, after all that she checked me and said that I was 8 cm and was rushed to the delivery room. Well after being checked again by another nurse I was only 6 cm. I was so mad to find that the other nurse was wrong. It was almost 11 p.m. when I just couldn't handle the pain anymore. I couldn't breath right and I needed to push really bad. After doing my best to go all natural I gave in and got an epi at 11:10 p.m. I've never had an epi and I was so terrified, so terrified that for almost 10 mins during the process I had forgotten about my contractions. Once the epi was in I was still having bad contractions and they gave me another dose. After getting some relief a nurse emptied my bladder and checked me again and guess what...I was complete!! I was excited, but so bummed at the same time because if I had held out a bit longer I would have gone all the way. 

After 3 sets of pushing LC made his grand entrance and he was placed on my chest all hot and gooey. 

Now 6 weeks later he is so much different than the day he was born. He is smiling and making baby sounds now. The best part for me is seeing LC smile big at me at 3 am. I love it!!