My Birth Story (Warning: Its a novel!)

It all started Wednesday December 30th. It was an ordinary I'm-at-the-end-of-my-pregnancy kind of day. I have been keeping my hair clean and done, legs shaved, the last few weeks in anticipation of impending labor, but this morning even though it was a "wash and do the hair day" I decided to put it off. I come to regret that very much later. I'll do it tomorrow I thought to myself. I headed to the office to get a little work done, then decided I would stop by the grocery store to get a few last minute "in case I pop" items so the house would be stocked with the usual.

I walked in and check Kay into the kiddie club (god, those are life savers while grocery shopping btw!!) and headed to the produce section. I see the regular produce guy that says to me "WOW, you still have popped yet?" to which I replied..."Nope, but any minute! You never know maybe I'll go into labor while I'm here!" I grinned and started off my shopping, list in hand.

It was 2:00pm and I made it half way through the store, and just as I was about to go down the soda isle to get my DH's crack in a bottle, I felt a little "burst" of water. Oh shit I thought, did I just pee? It wasn't a whole lot, but just enough to fill a small water balloon. No! I didn't pee!! I think my water just broke! My heart started beating a little fast, OMG this is it I thought! I very calmly grabbed my cell phone and called my husband. "Honey..I think my water just broke and I'm in the grocery store." He asked what he should do, and I told him I was going to go ahead and check out and that he should come to and meet me at the store to get the groceries. He thought I should just go, but hey I had a half a cart of food I just took the time to get I wasn't going to just abandon ship!

So I grabbed a few things on that isle and proceed to the check out lines, and they were long. I asked an employee to please let me check out on another isle because my water just broke and I was in labor. She looked at me like I was crazy..."Are you sure you don't want to just go?" Nope, just check me out lady. At this point I was having no contractions at all, so I was calm.

My DH got there just as I was paying her, he grabbed the groceries and got Kay out of the kiddie club. The plan was we were going to meet at home (we only live about 2 miles from the store), grab the hospital bag, throw the groceries in the fridge, and head to the hospital.

I was heading to my car, and called my grandma so she could send someone to the hospital to meet us with Kay.

That's when the panic started.

She immediately starts freaking out telling me to screw the groceries, that this was my second baby and that any minute I would start having fierce contractions, how my hospital was 20 min. away, how I could have the baby in the car if I don't go straight there, etc.

OMG!! OMG!! She's right I thought, usually after your water breaks is when all hell breaks loose, and with this being my second baby I started to FREAK OUT (still no painful contraction though). Then I started speeding home. I have to get there as fast as I can I thought.

I am about a 1/2 mile from home I then see and unmarked car with its lights flashing behind me honking its horn instructing me to pull over.

FUCK! Are you serious?! Am I really getting pulled over right now?

I pull over, and jumped out of my car. I started screaming, look officer my water broke and I'm in labor! He proceeds to ask me with his "I'm better than you attitude" if I knew how fast I was going? "UM, NO! I don't, but sir I need to get home to get my bag so my husband can take me to the hospital". He then said, "Well I am going to call an ambulance". Pissed off, I said "look I don't need an ambulance, I live a 1/2 mile from here I just need to get home, get my bag, and my husband can take me.

He seriously acted like he wasn't going to let me go. Then says to me, "fine, I am going to follow you home, but give me your license and drive the speed limit". Deal, I got back in my car and headed home.

We pulled up and I jumped out and ran in my house, my husband was already there gathering last minute things we needed. As we all walked out to get in my DH's truck the officer stepped out and says to me "Well this obviously wasn't an emergency" and handed me my speeding ticket. What an asshole!! Whatever...we headed the hospital.

On the way I started having some contractions, and at this point the fluid was coming out a lot. The whole seat was soaked, and with each contraction or bump more and more would leak out. Kay was excited, and screaming for daddy to hurry up but was kind of unsure as too what was to come.

We got there (funny because my dad got there before us!) and walked up to L&D. My whole pants and shoes were soaked, but I was feeling okay and so grateful that I didn't have my baby in the car : ). I was having contraction but they weren't painful yet.

They took me to triage, where they checked me and I was still 2-3 cm. They did a quick u/s because my cervix was still really high, and my they thought she was really high up. Sure enough, they were right she was very high and in a posterior presentation (sunny side up instead of facing down) which can make labor very difficult because of the babies position. All my family has arrived then and we were telling them about me getting pulled over and getting a ticket and the whole staff couldn't believe it.

Soon after, they wheeled me to my birthing room where they put in my IV, and started me on fluids. I was having contractions at this point, but the pattern was not consistent. I would get 1 every 2-3 minutes for 15 minutes, then nothing for 20 minutes. So they started pitocin. Which did help regulate the contractions, but as they got closer together baby didn't like it. So they also started me on oxygen and turned the pitocin down.

Then the contractions would slow down and loose the pattern again. So they would turn it up. Baby said no bueno. So they turned it down. Then the contraction would stop...you get the idea.

Over and over and over we did this trying to get labor really going, all to fail each time we tried because baby was not tolerating the contractions well and her heart beat would start to decelerate.

All the while, baby was still high and posterior even after switching sides every 30 min. or so to try to encourage her to move, so we introduced what we later named "the peanut".

This funny looking ball went in between my legs and that's where it stayed for the next 10+ hours. The idea is that it helps open up the pelvis to give baby more room to rotate. So from this point on, I switched from my right side to my left side every 15 minutes now, with an oxygen mask and the "peanut".

I got my epi at about 10:30pm because the anesthesiologist was going to be in surgeries, and I didn't want to risk having to wait to get it. After that it was all rotate and wait. And wait, and wait, and, wait. But I was calm and comfortable the whole (aside from shaking from the epi, and being annoyed with switching sides so much, as soon as I would get comfy it was time to move again).

They checked my cervix at 4 am, still 3 cm. UGH. I got the "possibility of a c-section talk" but at this point, even after 14 hours I was still holding out hope that by the next time they checked me I would have progressed.

I didn't.

They checked me again at 6:30 am, still 3 cm, and despite Mr. Planter, baby was still high and posterior. Great.

My Dr. came in and laid it all out for me. She thought after 16 hours of non progressive labor that my chances of a vaginal birth were becoming very slim. We discussed options and where to go from here. So c-section it was.

After that, everything moved very quickly. More people were coming in, I was signing things, and then within a matter of minutes I was off...being wheeled to the OR.

The anesthesiologist came in and gave me my super c-section dose, the tarp went up, and then they started. It wasn't painful, but very strange. Lots of tugging, pulling, and pinching. I was shaking really bad because the super epi is a lot stronger and it was very cold in the OR. I just remember my DH asking me if I was okay because I was shaking so much. And literally in just about 3-5 minutes the Dr. said "okay mom and dad, she's about to come out and she's a beauty".

Then at 7:35 am on New Years Eve I heard the sweetest, most pure sound in the world.

Her cry.

I was instantly filled with love.

They took her over to the table to measure, weight, and exam her. I still hadn't seen her, but listening to her cry I knew she okay. My DH was a champ, and was over there with her taking a million pictures and telling me how perfect she was.

All the while I still on the table, being tugged, pulled, and stitched back up.

And then I saw her...and my whole life instantly changed. This was our baby. The baby I had been dreaming of for all these years...and I cried tears of joy...

...And she was perfect.

I for the first time I feel complete. I am now the mother of 2 beautiful little girls, and I could ask for nothing more.