So we had the induction scheduled and a plan for all the grandparents to be in town and a plan for Haley to be taken care of and we were supposed to head to the hospital Sunday evening March 6 and have a baby on Monday.
So much for plans!
I had a good size list of things to do/clean before Sunday, and on Friday I put the infant car seat in my car and did a couple other things. I lost my mucus plug Friday morning and decided to ignore the rest of my list. I went to a movie and enjoyed my last weekday without a newborn.
It was about 11:30 Friday night and we were going to bed. Justin was out like a light and I was laying there and had a couple of cramps. I was trying to decide if they were contractions or gas or something else and then I felt a weird kind of pop. I thought it might have been my water breaking and said "Uh Oh". But I didn't move and didn't feel any wetness or anything, and it wasn't quite as obvious as the pop was with Haley. I had a couple more cramps in the next couple of minutes, so I decided to move a little and see if anything leaked. So I moved, and then I felt the wetness.
I woke Justin up and said "My water just broke." He didn't really believe me at first and it took a couple exchanges of "Are you serious - Yes I'm serious - For real? Yes for real. My water just broke." So he got up and got me a towel. I hung out in the bathroom while he took a shower and then called Mark and Terry Lynn (who were our back up plan in case something happened in the middle of the night). Then I got in the shower and Justin did a few last minute clean up things around the house. I got dressed, dried my hair and packed a few last minute things into my bag. I was already having contractions every 2-4 minutes, though they weren't lasting too long and weren't super painful
Mark and Terry Lynn were at the house at this point and we headed off to the hospital around 12:45. I called my doctor's office on the way there and the on call Dr called me back. He asked if I was dilated or anything at my last appointment and said he would let the hospital know that I was coming. Later (after I delivered) he told me he figured it wouldn't be until Saturday afternoon based on only being 1 cm on Wednesday. We got to the hospital and had to check in at the ER because the Labor & Delivery reception area was under construction. We had to wait a little while and the contractions were getting to the point where I didn't want to talk through them. We finally made it up to L&D and (after one last belly picture) I was put in a room, given my gown, asked a bunch of questions, and had an IV started. I was checked at 1:30 am and was 2 cm dilated. Jo (my nurse) said I needed to be 4 cm to get the epidural and she would check me about every hour.
So Justin and I just hung out and my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart lasting 45-60 seconds and were getting stronger. I was already hurting and decided that if I couldn't get the epidural next time Jo checked me than I would get some IV pain meds. At about 2:45 I was wanting to stand up and walk around during contractions. So Jo came in and checked me again and I was barely 3 cm. So I got some IV pain meds and got some relief and relaxation for about 30 mins before I was hurting pretty bad again. I convinced Jo to check me again at 3:30 am even though it had only been 45 mins and I was a good 6 cm!
I immediately asked for the epidural and impatiently waited foran eternity 35 mins for the anesthesiologist. The contractions were coming strong and fast and I couldn't breath through them anymore. I was moaning through them and was somewhat embarrassed by that, but it really hurt! I was worried I wouldn't get the epi in time and told Justin I really didn't want to give birth without it. Finally the anesthesiologist came in and took forever to get the epidural in. He gave me the numbing shot and then stuck a needle in my spine twice and didn't get it in the right spot. Justin was standing in front of me with the nurse, but apparently he saw a lot of blood and he had to leave the room because he was about to pass out. The contractions were really strong and were completely focused in my back during this time, and I was sweating like a pig. He finally gave me another numbing shot and on the 3rd try got the epidural in.
I got a little relief on the next couple of contractions, and it was about 10 mins before it really kicked in and I wasn't hurting at all, although I could still move my legs and feel the contractions - they just didn't hurt. Then Jo checked me again and she guessed that I was going to be 8-9cm, Justin thought I'd be about 9 cm and I thought I would be completely dilated. Of course I was right and at 4:30 I was fully dilated. Which means I went from barely 3 cm to 10 cm in 1:45 and only had the epidural for about 10 mins of that! Then Jo had to go call and wake up my doctor, who was still at home, and let him know I was ready to have a baby!
The baby still had to come down a good bit, so I labored down for about 30 mins until Dr. Payne got there. He checked me and said the baby was at +2 station and since I had the epidural he would just let my uterus do the work and move the baby down some more before I started pushing. He came back at 5:30 and said the baby was lower and we could start pushing and see how things went. So he got all his stuff on and everything set up and I started pushing. I pushed through the first contraction and made a little progress. On the next contraction the head came down a lot and Dr. Payne was really trying to make sure I didn't tear. Even with the epidural I could feel some of it and told him that it really hurt. The head was right there and I could feel tons of pressure. I pushed for a 3rd contraction and the head came out. The cord was wrapped around the neck one time and I had to stop pushing while he unwrapped it and suctioned the mouth and nose. There was so much pressure and since I couldn't push I said "Get it out now!" Then I finally got to push again and our baby was born on March 5, 2011 at 5:44 am. I pushed for 4 contractions and 7 minutes and as soon as I was done I said "What is it?" And Justin said "It's a BOY!"
I really thought it was going to be a boy, but was still really surprised that it was. It was such a wonderful moment and I'm so glad that we waited to find out. It's something that I know I will never forget. Everyone said he was so big, but he looked so little to me. I guess I was used to a 2 yr old, and just couldn't believe how little he was. We had decided on Michael Edward for a name. Michael after Justin and his dad, and Edward was my Grandfather's middle name. The nurses cleaned him off and he screeched the whole time. His lower lip would just quiver with each cry. They brought in the scale and the little chunker weighed in at 8 lbs 11 ounces!
I got to hold him as the were finishing things up with me and Justin called his parents to tell them they had a grandson. My parents had arrived at the hospital at 5:15 and I had said "Since I did all the work I should get to tell somebody what we had". Justin went out to get my parents at about 6:10 and just said "you can come back now". So they came in and I introduced them to Michael Edward Munn.
So much for plans!
I had a good size list of things to do/clean before Sunday, and on Friday I put the infant car seat in my car and did a couple other things. I lost my mucus plug Friday morning and decided to ignore the rest of my list. I went to a movie and enjoyed my last weekday without a newborn.
It was about 11:30 Friday night and we were going to bed. Justin was out like a light and I was laying there and had a couple of cramps. I was trying to decide if they were contractions or gas or something else and then I felt a weird kind of pop. I thought it might have been my water breaking and said "Uh Oh". But I didn't move and didn't feel any wetness or anything, and it wasn't quite as obvious as the pop was with Haley. I had a couple more cramps in the next couple of minutes, so I decided to move a little and see if anything leaked. So I moved, and then I felt the wetness.
I woke Justin up and said "My water just broke." He didn't really believe me at first and it took a couple exchanges of "Are you serious - Yes I'm serious - For real? Yes for real. My water just broke." So he got up and got me a towel. I hung out in the bathroom while he took a shower and then called Mark and Terry Lynn (who were our back up plan in case something happened in the middle of the night). Then I got in the shower and Justin did a few last minute clean up things around the house. I got dressed, dried my hair and packed a few last minute things into my bag. I was already having contractions every 2-4 minutes, though they weren't lasting too long and weren't super painful
Mark and Terry Lynn were at the house at this point and we headed off to the hospital around 12:45. I called my doctor's office on the way there and the on call Dr called me back. He asked if I was dilated or anything at my last appointment and said he would let the hospital know that I was coming. Later (after I delivered) he told me he figured it wouldn't be until Saturday afternoon based on only being 1 cm on Wednesday. We got to the hospital and had to check in at the ER because the Labor & Delivery reception area was under construction. We had to wait a little while and the contractions were getting to the point where I didn't want to talk through them. We finally made it up to L&D and (after one last belly picture) I was put in a room, given my gown, asked a bunch of questions, and had an IV started. I was checked at 1:30 am and was 2 cm dilated. Jo (my nurse) said I needed to be 4 cm to get the epidural and she would check me about every hour.
So Justin and I just hung out and my contractions were about 2-3 minutes apart lasting 45-60 seconds and were getting stronger. I was already hurting and decided that if I couldn't get the epidural next time Jo checked me than I would get some IV pain meds. At about 2:45 I was wanting to stand up and walk around during contractions. So Jo came in and checked me again and I was barely 3 cm. So I got some IV pain meds and got some relief and relaxation for about 30 mins before I was hurting pretty bad again. I convinced Jo to check me again at 3:30 am even though it had only been 45 mins and I was a good 6 cm!I immediately asked for the epidural and impatiently waited for
I got a little relief on the next couple of contractions, and it was about 10 mins before it really kicked in and I wasn't hurting at all, although I could still move my legs and feel the contractions - they just didn't hurt. Then Jo checked me again and she guessed that I was going to be 8-9cm, Justin thought I'd be about 9 cm and I thought I would be completely dilated. Of course I was right and at 4:30 I was fully dilated. Which means I went from barely 3 cm to 10 cm in 1:45 and only had the epidural for about 10 mins of that! Then Jo had to go call and wake up my doctor, who was still at home, and let him know I was ready to have a baby!
The baby still had to come down a good bit, so I labored down for about 30 mins until Dr. Payne got there. He checked me and said the baby was at +2 station and since I had the epidural he would just let my uterus do the work and move the baby down some more before I started pushing. He came back at 5:30 and said the baby was lower and we could start pushing and see how things went. So he got all his stuff on and everything set up and I started pushing. I pushed through the first contraction and made a little progress. On the next contraction the head came down a lot and Dr. Payne was really trying to make sure I didn't tear. Even with the epidural I could feel some of it and told him that it really hurt. The head was right there and I could feel tons of pressure. I pushed for a 3rd contraction and the head came out. The cord was wrapped around the neck one time and I had to stop pushing while he unwrapped it and suctioned the mouth and nose. There was so much pressure and since I couldn't push I said "Get it out now!" Then I finally got to push again and our baby was born on March 5, 2011 at 5:44 am. I pushed for 4 contractions and 7 minutes and as soon as I was done I said "What is it?" And Justin said "It's a BOY!"
I really thought it was going to be a boy, but was still really surprised that it was. It was such a wonderful moment and I'm so glad that we waited to find out. It's something that I know I will never forget. Everyone said he was so big, but he looked so little to me. I guess I was used to a 2 yr old, and just couldn't believe how little he was. We had decided on Michael Edward for a name. Michael after Justin and his dad, and Edward was my Grandfather's middle name. The nurses cleaned him off and he screeched the whole time. His lower lip would just quiver with each cry. They brought in the scale and the little chunker weighed in at 8 lbs 11 ounces!
I got to hold him as the were finishing things up with me and Justin called his parents to tell them they had a grandson. My parents had arrived at the hospital at 5:15 and I had said "Since I did all the work I should get to tell somebody what we had". Justin went out to get my parents at about 6:10 and just said "you can come back now". So they came in and I introduced them to Michael Edward Munn.
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