Part 2 : Labor 10:50pm-7am

Ashley met us at the hospital, and Joy drove home to feed Mely, since she didn't know how long she'd be with me. We arrived on the 2^nd floor and checked in. I had already given them all our insurance information and everything weeks ahead of time but they still had to verify it was me as I was vomiting into a towel over their desk. “How far apart are her contractions?” the nurse asks. 3 minutes. OH! *vomit, vomit*.

10:52 pm The hospital was super busy that night with expectant mom's and they had to clean up a delivery room quickly before allowing me to go in. So they put us in this little dinky room with barely a bed and bathroom. I look at the nurse “Is this the room I have to deliver in?” She smiled and said, “no, they're just finishing up a room for you now.” She gave me a gown to put on and I changed with my sweetie's help, in the small bathroom. Still trying to be a good sport and not complain I gave Ashley a goofy a smile right before they told us our delivery room was ready. By this time, the back labor was so intense!! I don't ever want to feel like that again- it was the worst pain I could possibly imagine. I'm sure a gunshot wound or a beheading would have felt better at the moment!

I remember looking at my sweetie and telling him “I want an epidural!” Up until this time we had thrown back and forth the idea of getting an epidural. To my Sweetie it was a no-brainer! Why wouldn't I!? But we had decided together to see how long I could go, and I would get one if I thought I needed one. I knew it wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things and would only make my delivery more comfortable. I'd actually be able to enjoy the process somewhat instead of freaking out in pain ever 3 minutes or so. I'd be more alert and less exhausted by the time Phoebe joined us. The only “down side” was that I couldn't relax in the jacuzzi in the delivery room bathroom- but let me tell you- that was the last thing on my mind at the time (my water had already broken so I wouldn't have been able to anyway because of infection possibilities). I thought I would want to be able to walk around during delivery- not be confined to a hospital bed for hours, NOPE! At that point I just wanted this excruiating pain to stop and if that's what it took than bed was fine by me! I remember using the bathroom once with my sweetie's help and had a contraction and I screamed- it sounds weird but that scream somehow releived a bit of pent-up emotion and I felt fractionally better.

The nurses were asking me all sorts of questions, which was really the worst part about having a baby in the hospital. Hello! Having a baby here! You have all my information- why are you asking me these questions as I'm crying and vomiting in front of you??! Is this really necessary? My sweetie told them I wanted to get an epidural but they said that I had to wait about an hour before they could give me one. An hour!!! I want it now! They had to monitor the baby's heartbeat and my blood pressure before they could give it to me ( they had told us this in the birthing classes we took, but at the time it seemed ridiculous!) They gave me another sort of pain medication that barely made a difference. At this point, every time a contraction would come, I would cling on to my sweetie- I'm not sure what else was going on in the room at the time. I know Ashley was taking pictures of everything, and mom was probably pacing or doing her crossword puzzles and praying for us while containing her excitement on becoming a "Gramsy" again.

12:05ish Finally, the anetheseologist came in. They told me that only one person could stay with me during the inserting of the epidural, so Ashely snapped one last picture and her and mom left.

My sweetie stood in front of me while the doctor inserted the tiny needle/thread into my spine. The nurse and doctor told me “sit still” RIGHT! Because these body convulsions can be controlled so much! I just had to let them know when a contraction was coming so the doctor could pause until the contraction passed. The actual insertion didn't hurt too badly- it felt like a bee sting in my back. It took four tries to get the epidural in correctly. The first time it was hitting a nerve, second time it hit a blood vessel, the third time it was making my leg rapidly jerk (that was bizarre!!) , and the fourth time it worked. They said it would take 10-15 minutes for the epidural to take effect. It couldn't have come soon enough!

It was SO much better afterwards!!!!! It was the third best decision I ever made- after receiving Christ as my personal Saviour, and marrying my Sweetie of course.  I couldn't feel the extreme pain of the contractions at all. I could still tell when they were coming because I felt a little bit of pressure, but only if I concentrated on it- it was great!

2:30 or 3 am- Joy and Ashley went home to try to get some sleep. My sweetie got the pullout sofa ready to sleep on and mom stayed in the chair by my bed. With all the excitement I couldn't sleep. I tried. I closed my eyes and tried to rest but knowing that our little girl would be joining us in a matter of hours was just so mind-boggling. I laid there in the semi-darkness praying and listening to the whir of machinery and the beep of the monitor. I loved being able to hear our little girl's heart beat the whole time. Me to mom- “Are you asleep?” Mom- “no, are you?” me- “no, I can't sleep” mom- “me either”. We ended up talking for an hour so, interrupted once by a nurse checking on me. Finally, I was able to sleep for 45 minutes. My mom couldn't sleep but she was able to rest a bit. Every hour or so the nurse would come and flip me to my other side so the epidural would have an even effect. Once I stayed on my left a little too long and my left leg was totally numb! I mean, completely! “um, mom, can you help me...I think my leg fell off the bed.”What I could feel of it- it felt like an elephant's leg, and it felt like it was on someone else's body..I could touch it with my hand but didn't feel it on my leg. So bizarre!
I was so excited to see what would happen in a few hours!