We got to the hospital around 3 a.m. and they brought us straight to labor and delivery. To be honest, I really could have lived without the wheelchair, but it was their policy, so I just wheeled along. We headed into triage and I was just hoping not to be sent home. There was something about being admitted; in my head that indicated we'd meet Robby soon. They checked me and I my water did break the evening before, as I had thought, but I was only 3 cm dilated. We headed to our room and I was immediately hooked up to IVs and monitors. My birth plan was to move as much as possible, so we kept disconnecting the monitors so I could walk, rock, even use a "birthing ball" (yep, fancy name for an exercise ball that they probably charge people 5 times as much for since it's for labor).Once we hit the 24 hour mark, I was really tired and pretty much over it. The staff turned over and we got the BEST nurse! She was awesome and so supportive of me and my choices. The hours kept ticking by, and Bill need to make some important phone calls. At around 27 hours into labor, they checked me again and I was at a 3.5 cm dilated. The nurse tried to make me feel better by saying a 3-4, but really I wasn't making much progress. My midwife finally came to check on me, and we had to have a tough conversation--she wanted to prepare me that since I was progressing so slowly I might have to start on Pitocin, since once my water was broken for 24 hours the risk of infection becomes a factor.
I had wanted an all natural birth--no medication and definitely no drugs to induce or move things along. I had watched all the Netflix documentaries and really had put a lot of pressure on myself to do things as nature had intended. Finally, after somewhere between 27 and 28 hours of labor, I very teary-eyed looked at Bill and asked for an epidural. It was not what I had wanted, but I was exhausted and knew that we were in for a long day. About half an hour later, I got the epidural and was finally able to rest. I could not help but to feel like I had somehow failed; I was weak and not doing what was best for my child. That feeling sat with me for a few days, but now that he's here, I have no regrets.
As an added bonus to the epidural, the anestesiologist asked "did you know you have scoliosis?" Great. Just add insult to injury. Because of that I had some difficulty getting my right side to numb up. I ended up needing an extra boost a few hours later. It's really a weird feeling, but I don't know if I could have gotten through labor without it.
Pitocin was started to help move things along. They were super conservative and I only needed the very lowest dose. It got me moving, but also put Robby is a small amount of distress. Add in the oxygen! My all natural, granola labor was a faint memory! I don't know how, but the hours just ticked and ticked by.
I finally started to progress, and around 7 p.m. my midwife came back for delivery. We tried pushing once, but they wanted me to labor down for another 15-20 minutes to get him moving down. They positioned me, and of course, as just one more boost, I threw up. The midwife and nurse said this was a good sign that he was moving down. Finally, it was time to really push. That was the best and easiest part--5 pushes and he was here! I guess all that working out was helpful for something.
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| Photo Credit: Bella Baby |
We've already had him in some great Disney outfits and imagined what our first trip to Disneyland will be like in September. He's already primed for a big finish at the 2016 Disneyland Half Marathon Diaper Dash! The future of this Disney baby is bright, and we can't wait to share some of his best Disney moments with you all!
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