My Labor & Delivery Experience - Part 2

If you are just now 'tuning in', then you may have missed part one.
Click here to read part 1!

Now on to part two...

So I had been started on Pitocin and my water had been broken. Bring on full labor pains. I'm a little blurry on exact times but around 8:30-9 they checked me and I was only dilated to a 3 1/2 to a 4. I hadn't progressed hardly at all considering the amount of contractions I was having and as painful as they were. I knew before ever going in that I wanted an epidural. I had talked to Dr. Cooper in detail about it several times and he felt it was the best route for pain control with my heart problem. He didn't see me having any problems at all. At this point I had a new nurse for the day shift. She was the nicest, soft spoken girl and I really liked her and felt comfortable with her. She was very good at explaining everything she was doing and why. So when she told me I was almost a four and could get my epidural, I asked her if she thought it was too soon. She said no, that's its when most women get them and that it would probably relax my body enough so that I would progress. I asked Ryan if he thought I should go ahead and he said that I was the one going through the pain and if I wanted it to get it, he just wanted me to be able to relax. I decided I would, because at that point I had reached my goal of getting to feel what labor was like and I didn't want to risk the anesthesiologist getting tied up and not making it before it was too late for me to get one. (I had a horrible dream that that had happened haha) Another nurse walked in  and started to say, "At this hospital we sometimes have stud.." Knowing she was going to ask if students could watch, I cut her off and sternly said no. I had already told Dr. Cooper how I felt about that. She started to ask me if I was sure and I said I didn't want a single person in there that didn't have an active role in the delivery of our baby. My nurse (who already knew my wishes) cut in and told her that she was going to put in orders for my epidural. The second nurse looked at me and back at my nurse and said, "Already??"

This instantly upset me. The second nurse walked out and I asked my nurse if I was getting it too soon. I looked at my husband and asked him if I was being a wuss because I wanted it already. Emotional as I was already, that woman made me doubt myself and my decision. She instantly made me feel weak. My nurse spoke up and told me that it is my body and if I feel like I am ready for the pain to go away then it is no sooner than the right time. I told her to go ahead and order it, that I wanted it. When she left, I looked over at my husband and the anger started coming to me. I said, "She is not in my position, she had no right to question that. I'd like to see her in my place right now and tell me she doesn't want one yet."My husband said, "I know, if she does anything like that again we will tell them we don't want her coming back in." I didn't realize up to that point that that was an option so when he said that it made me feel a lot better. I didn't need negative people or people making me question myself in one of the most emotional and painful times of my life. I needed positivity and that's what I got thanks to my husband and my wonderful nurse.

It felt like an eternity before the anesthesiologist got to my room. I laid there and clenched my fists and squeezed my eyes shut and kept saying "Ooooh I hope he gets here soon." My husband did such a wonderful job coaching me through my contractions. I had told him I didn't want any of that "Hee Hee, Hoo Hoo, Breath Breath Breath" crap they told him to do in class. I just needed him to tell me he loved me and hold my hand and occasionally brush his hand across my forehead. When I'd get through a contraction, I'd open my eyes to him staring at me with wonder. I asked him what he was thinking and he just said that I was amazing. I told him I didn't feel too amazing at the moment and smiled. Finally the anesthesiologist came. I was pretty nervous because people had decided to tell me all kinds of horror stories while I was pregnant about epidurals and I made a conscious effort to push them all out of my head. He was a very nice man and got right to work. He talked me through everything he was doing, what I would feel, how long I would feel it, even what I might taste. Getting the epidural did NOT hurt at all! I felt the smallest pinch, like a bee sting, when he first numbed me to actually do the epidural and that was it. I had to sit perfectly still while contracting - that was the hardest part. But I will tell you, sitting up curled around my pillow like that, the contractions were easier to get through. Relief was pretty quick, I told him he was an amazing man and that his wife was a lucky woman.

I could tell the epidural was working because my contractions were duller than they were. They have you lay on your back after and I started noticing that my left side was completely numb, but I could still feel contractions on my right side. That was a weird feeling. But I will take half of a contraction over a full one any day! They had me roll onto my right side because epidurals work with gravity. After about an hour I was numb on both sides and they rolled me back on to my back. Now, I always thought with an epidural you literally would not feel a thing, but I could. I could feel that people touched my legs and I could feel the weight of them, but no pain. It was wonderful. At this point, my mom and sister had gotten to the hospital and were in the room with us and she couldn't believe I couldn't feel a thing. We were looking at my contractions on the printout and they were literally off the charts. A few hours had passed and they came in to check me again. I had dilated to a 7! The epidural was exactly what I needed for my body to relax so it could do it's job. An hour and a half later I was a 9, and 20 minutes after that it was time to start pushing. My dad had barely made it to the hospital from work in time to see me before I cleared everyone out of the room. We thought as slow as I was progressing that morning, that he wouldn't need to leave work until 2:30 but he had to leave at 12! I asked everyone to pray with Ryan and I before they left to go to the waiting room. Then my dad hugged me and whispered words of strength and encouragement to me.




And this folks, is the end of part 2! :)
Stay tuned for part 3 tomorrow when I talk about pushing, episiotomy, and meeting our brand new baby boy!