First off, I worked Friday night, came home slept about 5 hours then got up for a wonderful baby shower hosted by my aunts and some close church friends. It was a beautiful shower and so many special people were there to help me celebrate the upcoming birth of Sawyer. After the shower, I went home and changed then Drew and I met up with the family at Sonny's for dinner. His parents and grandparents had come down from Wilkesboro for the shower so we ate with them and my family. After dinner we headed home and watched a little tv. I headed to bed around 9:30 with a little bit of an upset stomach. I blamed it on the bbq - it wouldn't be the first time bbq gave me an upset tummy - and tried to get some sleep. Drew came to bed a little later and I got up again, assuming it was the bbq still acting up. I wasn't in the bathroom long when I decided that this was more then an upset stomach. Drew asked if I was ok, and I told him I thought I might be having contractions. He asked real ones or Braxton Hicks, and I told him I didn't know. We decided to research it on my phone and I started mentally timing them. I realized that they were about 5 minutes apart and decided they were real.
This is where the fun began. Once I determined that these were legit contractions coming in pretty forcefully at 5 minutes apart, Drew called the doctor. He talked to the doctor and tried to describe my symptoms, because I couldn't really talk. He ended up handing the phone over to me and the on call doctor assessed that I should make my way to the hospital. Drew then went into action mode. He hadn't even begun to pack a hospital bag, so he ran around the house trying to get everything ready. Found the Bradley book and ripped through it trying to find the packing list. We finally got the bags together, packed the car, and headed to the hospital. Once on the road, my contractions were at about 3 minutes apart, and still intense. I gripped the seat and focused. We got to the hospital around 1:00 and they took me back to check me and see if I should be admitted.
Once in triage, my contractions were coming in at about 2 and half minutes apart. They checked me and confirmed - 4 cm dilated, 80 % effaced. The nurse then went to call the doctor and start admitting me. The on call doctor, as luck would have it, was the one doctor I hadn't seen during my prenatal visits, and also the doctor our Bradley instructor has warned us about. I got in my room, met my labor and delivery nurse, and Drew went to tell our parents that was being admitted. Right away I liked my nurse, she read over my birth plan, said it looked good, and told me that everything was my call, she wouldn't offer drugs, that if I got to that point, it was up to me and Drew to make the call. She got us a bucket of ice water, wash clothes, and dimmed the lights while we waited for the doctor. The doctor came and checked me, confirmed the nurse's 4cm, 80% effaced calculation, and then I realized I wouldn't be getting everything in my birth plan. Although my main doctor has signed off on the plan and put it in my chart, this doctor hadn't seen it yet. She requires all her patients to remain hooked to the external fetal monitor, and challenged with the assertion that common practice was 20 minutes on, 40 minutes off. She wouldn't back down. Then she suggested we go ahead and break my water. I stood firm, and said no. She challenged me and said I could be in labor "for weeks" if she didn't break my water. I told her let's cross that bridge when we get there.
Once she was out of the room, the nurse took over my care and said she would stick with my plan and be my advocate as much as possible. She said that she would follow my lead on when I wanted my dilation checked, and tried to get me set up as comfortably as possible with the monitor on. Back labor was pretty intense so I sat on the doctor stool leaning over the bed. My mom and Drew's mom had stayed up to this point, and I decided that I was ready for it to be just Drew and me. Labor continued to be pretty intense, but Drew did great coaching me through some breathing, massaging my back, and just being super encouraging. Around 5:00 I decided I was ready to see how far I had progressed. The nurse came in to check and said 7-8 cm, 90% effaced. That was amazing to hear, had it been less, I have a feeling I would have been pretty discouraged. Contractions continued to get more intense and I started doubting how much longer I could go on, so at 6:00 I had her check me again - 9 cm and my water broke! I can do this! She stayed in the room a lot after that point, helping Drew keep me motivated and encouraged, as my contractions were as intense as ever. At about 7:00 I looked up and said I think I need to push, no I think I might be pushing! She checked me, and said 10 cm, you can start pushing whenever you want. So start pushing, I did. Other nurses started filing in at this point, and it was shift change, but my nurse said she was staying this one through. They called the doctor in, and by this point I had already had a couple of pushes. I bared down and started the process of getting Sawyer out. Once his head was out enough for me to look down and see, and feel, it was game on.
Sawyer came into the world like a rocket, after 15 minutes of pushing. The doctor was amazed. The nurses were amazed, and I felt like a champion. Drew cut the umbilical cord, and we both spent time looking at amazement at our precious son. Once we were ready, the nurses took him to get weighed, and we found out how tiny he was - 4 lbs 6.8 ounces. Eight grams over the weight limit to be taken to the nicu. Blessed. Labor was hard work, maybe the hardest thing I've done, but Sawyer's birth was completely worth it. What a miracle he is!
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