On Monday, July 8th, I spent most of the day with a huge bundle of nerves. I knew it was my last day before becoming a mom. Thankfully, I was able to go to lunch with my new grade level. We ate lunch and talked about the upcoming school year. It was hard to believe that I would not be joining them at pre-planning. After lunch, I went back home and got everything ready for me and Clint to head to the hospital that evening.
At 6:00 PM, I had to call Labor and Delivery to make sure they had a room available for us. They did! The nurse told us to grab a bite to eat and make our way there by 7:00. Clint and I put everything in the car and headed out! We didn’t have much time for a “fancy dinner,” so we ate at Arby’s near the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital a few minutes before 7 and headed to Labor & Delivery to check-in. We got checked-in and made our way to Room 3.
By 8 o’clock, the induction process had begun. The nurse inserted the Cervidil and had me on bedrest for 2 hours. I couldn’t get up to use the bathroom, and I had to lay completely flat. This was the LONGEST two hours of my life. At 10 o’clock, I was able to go to the bathroom!
Nothing too exciting happened Monday night. We pretty much watched TV. Clint and I watched the Home Run Derby and The Bachelorette! My mom and sister came to visit us…which made the evening go by a little faster.
After a few hours of laying on the most uncomfortable bed ever, my back started hurting really bad. I believe it was a combination of the bed and Cervidil. By 1:45 AM, I was nearly in tears with my back hurting and completely exhausted. I had not slept any at this point. (Mainly because the fetal monitor did not cooperate and the nurses were in often to fix it.) When the nurse came in to check on me, I told her that I was really hurting. She was able to give me something for pain. I have NO IDEA what she gave me, but let’s just say that I felt ZERO pain. I felt like I was floating. I finally went to sleep!
At 5:30 AM, the nurse came in and removed the Cervidil and had me take a shower. At 7:30 AM. the doctor came in to check my progress. I was shocked to hear that I only progressed from 1 cm to 1.5cm. However, my cervix was thinned out a lot more. At that point, the doctor decided to break my water. A few minutes later, the nurse started the Pitocin and antibiotics.
Shortly after starting the Pitocin, my blood pressure started getting higher and higher. I’m not sure of the exact BP readings, but it was alarming enough for the nurses to page my doctor. After the nurses spoke with my doctor, they injected something into my IV to lower it. It helped for the next reading, but then my blood pressure went even higher. Then, they gave me several doses and my BP stopped increasing.
Once the Pitocin kicked in, I started to get really uncomfortable. My back pain continued and was getting worse. I started having contractions too, but the back pain was unbearable.
Since I was induced, I could get an epidural at anytime. I decided to go ahead and get the epidural because there was no reason to be in pain if I didn’t have to be!
At 8:45 AM, the anesthesiologist came in and administered the epidural. WOW! Such a relief…but, it only took on one side. I could still feel everything on my right side. I was in tears! The nurse had me lay in a different position to see if it would help, but it didn’t. The anesthesiologist came back around 9:30. She was able to slightly pull out the epidural catheter…that was the magic touch! I was no longer feeling anything after 15 minutes.
To help move things along, the nurse had me lay on my side with a giant “peanut” between my legs. After a couple of hours on each side, I started to feel pain again and a good bit of pressure. Clint suggested to have the nurse check me. Around 2:45, the nurse came back in to help me switch sides. I told her that I was feeling a good bit of pressure and wanted to be checked. I was already 8 cm dilated! She couldn’t believe it and neither could I! The nurse said she would come back in 30 minutes, and it would possibly be time to start pushing.
At 3:15, our room was flooded with nurses to help prep our room for delivery. Around 3:20, they had me do a couple of practice pushes. They told me that I was doing a great job and needed to wait for the doctor. {I had NO clue what I was doing since I couldn’t feel a thing!} The doctor came in shortly after, and I started pushing again. I didn’t push for very long because Lilly Mae arrived at 3:37 PM. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.
She was absolutely perfect in every way!
How far along: 39 weeks
How far along: 38 weeks…only 2 weeks to go!
Pineapple Bliss 