Lets have a baby

I was induced at 39 weeks and 2 days. I was measuring 2 weeks ahead, dilated at a 3 and my doctor was going on vacation at my 40-week mark. She asked if I wanted to see if I could hold off till she got back or if I wanted to schedule an induction. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being pregnant and wanted to go to the 40-week mark, but I had health issues that I did not want to deal with anymore.

If you read my last blog post under the Singleton Pregnancy section, you got a little insight as to how early we had to wake up on induction day.

My husband and I woke up at 4am on October 8th, 2021 to get ready to leave the house at 5:30am. I had to be at the hospital at 6am to get checked in and the hospital was about 30 minutes away. When we were all loaded up in the truck, he looked over at me and asked how I was feeling. I told him I was scared; I was really scared actually because our lives were getting ready to change forever whether we were ready for it or not. Before he started the truck, we held hands and prayed. It was dark, still, and peaceful outside that morning and we sat there praying for the safety and health of the baby and myself. We prayed for Him to have his hand on all of us and all the hospital staff. Tears were definitely shed on my end because again, I was scared, just like most first-time moms are.

Once we got to the hospital, we were greeted by my two best friends. They were going to tailgate out in the parking lot until the baby was born. I was the first friend in the group to have a baby so to say they were a little excited was an understatement. Since we were still dealing with COVID-19 there was no guest allowed in the labor and delivery area.

We got all checked in and were shown to our labor room. I met my nurse, and she gave me a gown to change into. My husband had a nice chair with a window view to sit in if he wanted to. Once I was all changed, she talked me through the process and had me sign papers. I will forever be grateful for my nurse, she actually ended up being from our town and was getting ready to restation in Alaska, so this was her last week at the hospital. She was very personable and honestly an AMAZING nurse to a first-time mom going through this.

We got there at 6am and they didn’t start the IV/Pitocin till about 7:30am. At this point it was basically a waiting game. I asked how long it would take and if we would have a baby today and she informed me that sometimes it take 24+ hours before we will start active labor. With that statement she did say she was pretty sure we would have a baby by the next morning since I was already dilated to a 3. Keep in mind even though I was dilated, I was not having contractions and was not in labor prior to this. I also never lost a mucus plug which I was told not everyone loses theirs so that was new info that I learned.

About 8:30am I started having contractions, but I was not in much pain yet. I do have a high pain tolerance and I told myself that I was not going to get the epidural until I needed it. I wanted to see what my body could withstand.

I was checked for dilation every 2 hours so around 9:30am the nurse came in again to check me, and I was at a 4. Again, at this point it was just a long waiting game.

Around 12:30pm they checked dilation again and I had made no progress. I was feeling contractions now but again I did not want the epidural. My husband was starving at this point so he asked if he could leave for a second to get something. Of course, I wasn’t going to let him starve lol. Although I wish I was able to eat something as well.

My nurse came in around 2:30 and that’s when I got tired of sitting on the bed, so I walked around then asked for the pregnancy ball to bounce on. My legs were SWOLLEN! They had been swollen throughout the pregnancy but due to the IV liquids they were pushing to keep me hydrated my legs were extra swollen. I remember looking down while bouncing and couldn’t even tell where my ankle was.

At this point I learned that my friends who were tailgating in the parking lot were sitting in the lobby of the hospital. I asked how they got in and they said they asked if they could use the restroom, which the staff let them, then they wandered around the hospital till they found a sitting area and grabbed their laptops out. When they were asked what they were doing they said they were medical students attending KSU who were shadowing for one of their classes. So, they were able to sit in the lobby for the whole rest of the time LOL. They said staff even offered them drinks and food. I died of laughter when they texted me this because it’s definitely something they would have done.

Alright now the fun starts to happen. At 4:30pm I was checked again; I was at 7 and was progressing faster now in labor. They said if I wanted the epidural that now would be the time because we might miss the chance if we continued to wait. I took them up on the offer! After this everything started going quicker than it had been. 

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Final push!