Ok, so this is only about 5 months coming!
On December 30th, 2012 (the day before goal date to have Baby N!), it was a Sunday, and I was extremely nauseous and uncomfortable all day. Contractions came and went, but about the time I would think to myself, if this lasts another 10 minutes I'm going to the hospital, everything would stop. Only to pick up again an hour or two later. It was SO frustrating!
The next day, I called the doctor's office to tell them about the day before and the nurse advised me to come in unless the contractions started again, in that case head straight to the hospital. I was excited about the possibility that I had finally gone into labor on my own!
Anyway, I got to the doctor on December 31st, hoping beyond hope that I would have progressed to the point where they were worried about sending me home and would go ahead and send me straight to the hospital. And the doctor said . . . . no progress! NONE! Incredibly frustrating.
So the doctor says, "Well, you've been in labor for about 3 weeks now. Would you like us to induce this week?" I wanted to beg and plead my case for going to the hospital that day, but the hospital has guidelines for inducing and I was 1 day too early.
I left the doctor's office depressed. Depressed I wasn't going to get my wish to have all even year babies. Depressed I'd been in labor for 3 weeks and still wasn't in the active labor phase. Depressed that I had scheduled an induction. And most of all depressed that I had been so uncomfortable in labor all day the day before and there was nothing to show for it!
I know it seems crazy. I know I should feel grateful. I know every baby is a blessing and I should be thankful for healthy and safe deliveries. But here's the facts people, I'm a planner and I like patterns. And I always have a little breakdown right before delivery. This was it. Philip always talks me down. With Callie, I was scared. My health teacher in junior high had scared the tar out of us about labor and delivery. (It wasn't THAT bad!) With Gabe, I was worried I wasn't going to love him as much as I did Callie. I mean, how could I possibly? (It worked out!) With Nolan, well, frankly, nothing was going as planned. I hadn't accomplished everything I wanted to. (Still haven't . . . oh well!)
Anyway, now that you know the deep, dark crevices of my psyche, on to the day in question.
Philip and I had a breakfast date sans the older kiddos at one of our favorite little restaurants in Peoria. We got to the hospital around 10:00, all fixed up and ready to go around 11:00. Since it seemed like I could have gone into labor at any moment, it didn't take long before I was having strong contractions. My nurses came in and told me that if I wanted an epidural, I was going to need to get it now or take the chance that I wasn't going to be able to have one. Now, I had gone back and forth about this issue, and at the time, I did not need an epidural. But there was a lady laboring with twins in the next room that was probably going to need a C-section and the anesthesiologist was going to have to be in there for the procedure.
So we decided to get the epidural. I told them I wanted a lighter dose because last time my leg was numb for a long time after delivery. The doctor seemed hesitant to listen to me, but agreed to do a lighter solution. Unfortunately, since I was still feeling the contractions, she was worried about leaving me for the surgery. So she gave me an extra dose before leaving. And I didn't feel anything again . . .
Including when it was time to start pushing. It wasn't good. I was unable to work with my body and it took a while (for me) to finally meet Baby N. Not fun!
Of course, all the while, we're still wondering if we're having a boy or a girl. Then that moment came. 4:51 pm on January 3, 2013. "It's a boy!" And he was healthy and beautiful and I got to hold Nolan for the first time. It was the first baby I got to hold right away while Philip cut the cord and everything. And he just stared at me. Calmly, quietly, took everything in. Oh, and he immediately peed in my mouth . . .
:) He was beautiful!
On December 30th, 2012 (the day before goal date to have Baby N!), it was a Sunday, and I was extremely nauseous and uncomfortable all day. Contractions came and went, but about the time I would think to myself, if this lasts another 10 minutes I'm going to the hospital, everything would stop. Only to pick up again an hour or two later. It was SO frustrating!
The next day, I called the doctor's office to tell them about the day before and the nurse advised me to come in unless the contractions started again, in that case head straight to the hospital. I was excited about the possibility that I had finally gone into labor on my own!
Anyway, I got to the doctor on December 31st, hoping beyond hope that I would have progressed to the point where they were worried about sending me home and would go ahead and send me straight to the hospital. And the doctor said . . . . no progress! NONE! Incredibly frustrating.
So the doctor says, "Well, you've been in labor for about 3 weeks now. Would you like us to induce this week?" I wanted to beg and plead my case for going to the hospital that day, but the hospital has guidelines for inducing and I was 1 day too early.
I left the doctor's office depressed. Depressed I wasn't going to get my wish to have all even year babies. Depressed I'd been in labor for 3 weeks and still wasn't in the active labor phase. Depressed that I had scheduled an induction. And most of all depressed that I had been so uncomfortable in labor all day the day before and there was nothing to show for it!
I know it seems crazy. I know I should feel grateful. I know every baby is a blessing and I should be thankful for healthy and safe deliveries. But here's the facts people, I'm a planner and I like patterns. And I always have a little breakdown right before delivery. This was it. Philip always talks me down. With Callie, I was scared. My health teacher in junior high had scared the tar out of us about labor and delivery. (It wasn't THAT bad!) With Gabe, I was worried I wasn't going to love him as much as I did Callie. I mean, how could I possibly? (It worked out!) With Nolan, well, frankly, nothing was going as planned. I hadn't accomplished everything I wanted to. (Still haven't . . . oh well!)
Anyway, now that you know the deep, dark crevices of my psyche, on to the day in question.
Philip and I had a breakfast date sans the older kiddos at one of our favorite little restaurants in Peoria. We got to the hospital around 10:00, all fixed up and ready to go around 11:00. Since it seemed like I could have gone into labor at any moment, it didn't take long before I was having strong contractions. My nurses came in and told me that if I wanted an epidural, I was going to need to get it now or take the chance that I wasn't going to be able to have one. Now, I had gone back and forth about this issue, and at the time, I did not need an epidural. But there was a lady laboring with twins in the next room that was probably going to need a C-section and the anesthesiologist was going to have to be in there for the procedure.
So we decided to get the epidural. I told them I wanted a lighter dose because last time my leg was numb for a long time after delivery. The doctor seemed hesitant to listen to me, but agreed to do a lighter solution. Unfortunately, since I was still feeling the contractions, she was worried about leaving me for the surgery. So she gave me an extra dose before leaving. And I didn't feel anything again . . .
Including when it was time to start pushing. It wasn't good. I was unable to work with my body and it took a while (for me) to finally meet Baby N. Not fun!
Of course, all the while, we're still wondering if we're having a boy or a girl. Then that moment came. 4:51 pm on January 3, 2013. "It's a boy!" And he was healthy and beautiful and I got to hold Nolan for the first time. It was the first baby I got to hold right away while Philip cut the cord and everything. And he just stared at me. Calmly, quietly, took everything in. Oh, and he immediately peed in my mouth . . .
:) He was beautiful!
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