The Arrival of Julia

Tuesday March 27 2012

Today at 10:35am I have a doctor`s appointment to see my obsterician to check out our baby. She had said at the last appoinmtnet that she would maybe rim my cervix or aggitate it at this appoinmtent. So Matt came with me which was really great because it has been said sometimes that you could go into labor after they rim your cervix and well I would want Matt to be there if that were to happen.
Well of course they were running behind so we didnt get in there until about an hour later. So we did the usual checks, my heart rate (which was a bit higher then normal), measurments of my stomach(right on track), and listen to the baby`s heart beat(it was perfect). My Doctor wanted me to get a blood test done just to check things out since my heart rate was a bit higher. She also wrote us a referral to get an ultra sound done since we hadn`t had one done since the one around 19 weeks (for tomorrow). Then she checked my cervix and to my surprise I was already 3cm dialated yay! But of course that could mean still a few days out though too. She aggitated my cervix, not really sure what that means but she said that this will hopefully help with the process.

After the doctor`s appointment we went back home and Matt went to work. I decided to do a few small errands as I was worried I was going to have my water break on me while I was out (that did not happen though) I went and did some grocery shopping as my one friend said that with all her kids that is what she did and then by the next day they were born. So I figured I would give it a shot.

Around 3pm after shopping I got home and went to the bathroom to find that I had some pinkish color to my stuff as the doctor had said this could happen. So I thought ok good at least i know what this means and I dont really have to worry about it. At this point I have now had a few cramps kind of like menstral cramps but they didn`t really hurt.

As the evening continued I did have more of these cramps but they weren't in any sort of pattern. So I made dinner and after that around 7pm is when I started to have more cramps that were a bit more uncomfortable so I started timing them on my phone thank goodness there was an app for that. Both Matt and I thought well maybe this could be it and maybe I should go lie down to see if I could get a bit of rest. Well rest did not happen for me, you can`t really sleep through contractions. I continued to lie there and time my contractions. Matt kept coming into the room to check on me and would ask me when do I want to go to the hospital.

I kind of figured that I was still doing ok at home and the last thing that I would want is for them to send us home because I wasn`t far enough along what a pain that would be. I continued to go through the contractions mostly in bed because I felt comfortable there. Matt asked if I wanted a bath because some people like that when they are going through their contractions. Well I got in the tub and in about 5 minutes came out again because I was not comfortable and felt like the contractions hurt more in there.

Around 11pm I started to get my hospital bag closed up after I had found my comfy pants in there because the other stretchy pants I had weren`t stretchy enough. So by about 11:30pm we got things in the truck and off to the hospital went. I had a few contractions on the way to the hospital, they weren't too bad as I had heard laboring in the car is awful, it wasn't that bad. We parked the truck and started walking to the emergency doors since the doors to get to labor and delivery are locked at this time of day. Again I had more contractions as we were walking. Once we got inside we looked to see how to get to the other side of the hospital. Luckily there was a nurse that noticed I was in labor and said to follow him for a short cut to get to the other side. We went up the elevator once we were there to the sixth floor which is labor and delivery. Matt had to hold the door open since I was having a contraction and couldn't move until it was done. We then walked over to the triage counter and they got us signed in. Once we got into our triage room the nurse came in and we told her how the contractions were. She said that looking at me I looked like I was handling it really well and that I might get sent home. I told her that in the morning I was already 3cm dialated at my doctor's office. She said she will get the resident in to have a look.

So around 12:00 am the resident came in and checked me, I was 4cm dilated so yay no going home. How ever the nurse came back and said ok go walk the hall for a couple of hours. I thought there is no way I am going to walk around the halls for a couple of hours. But we got up and walked up and down the hall once. I had about 5 contractions while we were walking and I had told Matt if I have to labor for a really long time I may need the epidural. We went back to our triage room and I sat in the chair as I didn't feel like getting back on the bed. The nurse came back around 2:30am and said that we are going to move to the labor and delivery room. Once we got there and settled it was about around 2:45 that the resident came back in and checked my cervix again, this time I was already 8cm. So that made me happy to hear. I kept going through my contractions by breathing through them and I was lying on my side on the bed, I felt the most comfortable like this. Our nurse that we had was awesome! It was funny because she was looking at Matt and said shouldn't you be helping her out? But Matt knows me too well that if I need to focus on something just let me do it myself. He did put his hand on me once and I told him to get his hand off me because he was too hot. The nurse also had the AC cranked because I was sooo hot, Matt actually had to put his sweater on he was so cold.

I'm not totally sure what time it was but they checked me again and I was 9 1/2 cm dilated. My water still hadn't broke on its own so they asked me if I wanted them to break if for me or just wait for it to break on its own. If they broke it it would take less time for our baby to be born if we waited there is no telling how much longer it would have taken. I told them to break it. Once my water was broken I felt the urge to push so bad. They started to get everything ready for the doctor and then he came in and got all ready. I was pushing the whole time not intentionally but you can't really stop your self at this point. Right at the end here I did have laughing gas to try and use, but really it didn't do anything except it made me kind of distracted because I was trying to put the mask up to my mouth. I don't really know how many pushed I did but I remember the doctor saying at one point to do 3 small pushes and then a big push and then Julia was born at 4:57am. Time went by really quickly during the whole laboring process I couldn't have asked for anything better. I am so happy that I was able to go through labor and delivery with no medication that was my goal when I started and I was able to achieve that.