The Delivery

So I can finally take some time to sit down and write about the whole labor experience. It happened like this... Saturday May 8th we went to the hospital to get an ultrasound to check the fluid level and for a NST. While doing the NST the nurse pointed out that I was contracting but they weren't bad enough to keep me there. I was scheduled to go in on Monday May 10th at 1:00 A.M. to be induced and she told us to just stick with that. Well Joe went to work and I was contracting all day. They were pretty painful but not bad enough or close enough together. I just dealt with it all day. When Joe got home my contractions were getting worse but not close enough together so I just tried to tough it out. Then finally at 1:00 May 9th, I couldn't take it anymore and we went to the hospital. I wasn't sure if my water had broken, and I guess my contractions still weren't close enough, and I was only dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced which I had been for about 2 weeks. So the nurse wanted to send me home, but my doctor told me to stay. The nurse did a couple of test and come to find out... my water had broken and I didn't even know. I was expecting a big gush but that just didn't happen.

I was dilating pretty quickly but the nurse made me wait til I was a five to get an epidural. She gave me a sedative that was super weird. I could still feel the pain but my body was so relaxed that I just didn't care. The weirdest feeling in the world! Finally at 4:30 A.M. I got an epidural. It was like a little piece of heaven.

The nurse told me to get a little rest, but that is pretty hard to do when they are checking your cervix so often and your blood pressure every 15 mins. The nurses had shift change and we got the best nurse ever. Her name was Megan. She also told us to relax and rest.

At 7:30 A.M. she said I was fully dilated and needed to start pushing. Joe and I freaked out! Weren't we supposed to rest first? We were so excited to meet our little one! On the first push she could see Claire's head and said I need to call the doctor. She called the doctor and I pushed a few more times while we were waiting. She finally told me not to push anymore because the doctor wasn't there yet and Claire was ready to come. He finally got there at 8:15 A.M. and with one push Claire was out. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She looked exactly like Joe. Holding her was the most amazing feeling. It was super weird to know I was the one to comfort her. I usually give crying babies back to their mom, but this time I was the mom.

The labor was suprisingly easy. The pregnancy was hard so it was only fair I had an easy labor. :-)

Claire is such an amazing baby. We love her so much!