Everything that happened surrounding and on the day of Luke's birth was God ordained. When I was 37 weeks pregnant with Kade, I was put in the hospital with high blood pressure and basically induced, even though I was having some contractions. It wasn't a terrible experience at all (especially when you get a sweet baby out of the deal), but this time I wanted to do things differently. Some people probably thought I was crazy, but I really wanted to experience a natural birth. No epidural, no pitocin, no IV's. To do this, I needed to have my doctors on board, to have a negative GBS test, so that I wouldn't need IV antibiotics during labor, to have a baby in the right position, and to have a nice, normal blood pressure. All of it worked out. Every single bit.
On February 24, at 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant, I woke up at 5 am with contractions that were anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart. They were pretty painful, but I was still kind of in that denial "this can't be it" stage of labor. I told Michael I thought he should stay home from work. After several hours, they went to 8-10 minutes apart and I was kind of disappointed, so we took Kade on a walk to see what would happen. When we got home, the contractions came back down to 5-6 minutes apart. We decided to go and eat Chinese for lunch. I had a contraction timer on my iPad, so during lunch, I kept hitting start, stop, start, stop. Finally, I looked at Michael and said, "I think we should go to the hospital after we eat." We dropped Kade off at his grandparents' and decided to stop at Wal-Mart and look at video cameras. We were getting Michael a toothbrush when I grabbed his hand and said, "I think we need to go. Now." On the way to the hospital, I had to really breathe and focus through contractions. The hospital was an hour away, and I called my parents as we got close to let them know I was going in. We arrived at 3:30 pm. We went to check in and they got me seated in a wheelchair while Michael was filling out some paperwork. This woman came in, very pregnant like me, and she was holding on to her mother and bawling. I started getting scared, because I thought, "Ok, I'm not in that much pain. Maybe I shouldn't be here."
I was wheeled to my room, where I put on my own nightgown--which the hospital was not thrilled about, by the way, because it might get dirty. *cue me rolling my eyes about ruining at $5 nightgown from Wal-Mart* I told them that didn't bother me. Then, the nurse came in and told me I would have to stay in the bed during my labor because it was hospital protocol. I told her that my doctors had promised me differently, so she went to get the head nurse. We compromised that I would stay in bed and be monitored for 15 minutes at a time and then I would be allowed to get up. When, they checked me, I was dilated to 4 cm. I had a few contractions while laying in the hospital bed, but they weren't terrible. I started to doubt I was in labor.
Then, they let me get up. I immediately started having contractions, one after the other. Michael followed me around the room, rubbing my back. I was able to breathe through them initially, but I got a little louder later on. The nurse kept trying to get me to get back in the bed so she could check me, but I kept jumping up. I couldn't lay down. No way, no how. Finally, less than an hour after being there, they checked me and I was dilated to 7. I thought, "This is happening way too fast!" Thirty minutes later, I was pretty much at the end of my rope, painwise, but I was ready to push. I looked over at the nurse and said, "Do you think I can do this?!" She said, "Are you kidding me? You're already there!" My doctor ran in the room right as I was getting in the bed. My water still hadn't broken (which, funny enough, was the sign we had been waiting for to know I was in labor), so she broke it. Pushing was scary. It was kind of painful, but it was just really intense. It didn't take long, though. Before I knew it, Luke was out and up on my chest, brand spanking fresh and new. Born at 6 pm--2.5 hours after we got to the hospital. What a gift. I don't think any mother can describe the emotions that come when you see your baby out in this world for the first time. Plus, there was the elation of knowing that I did what I had hoped to do, even though it was hard. I can honestly say, though, that I would do it again. And again. And again.
Luke William
8 lbs, 2.2 oz
21.5 inches
Our family--minus big brother!
Me saying, "I did it! I can't believe I did it!" lol
Daddy and his two boys
We are so blessed!
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