My 38 week appointment was on a Tuesday. The physician assistant and I had discussed induction a few weeks earlier and I was all for it. Before I saw the my doctor, the physician assistant came in and gave me paperwork for a March 2nd induction. I KNEW I wasn’t going to make it another week. She said Dr. C doesn’t do inductions before 39 weeks….well, after Dr. C checked me she determined that it was imperative that she induce me the next day (Wednesday). I was already 100% effaced and 3 C.M. She was also concerned that Austin would be too big for me to deliver. I called my mom and dad and told them that tomorrow morning was going to be the day and to pack their bags. I pre-registered and had all the necessary blood work done at the hospital.
Fast forward to 4:00 that same afternoon. I had been having some mild cramping every 10-25 minutes, but it was very sporadic. I had told my friend, Katie, about my pains…but tried to play it off as “nothing.” Katie wasn’t so sure and suggested I call the doctor. It turns out Katie was right. I was in tears by 5:30 and decided to call my doctor. She said to head to labor and delivery. They hooked me up to the monitors and sure enough, I WAS IN LABOR Apparently, Austin had plans of his own and didn’t want to wait until the next day. I progressed fairly well. I was in a lot of pain by 9:00 and the nurse gave me some lovely drugs that helped ease the pain. By 2 A.M, I was 5 C.M and decided I was definitely ready for my epidural. The epidural didn’t really hurt. At least, not like I had imagined. I was able to sleep for a while and that was nice. By 6:00 A.M, I was 10 C.M and ready to push. I pushed for about 2 hours with no success. Things were starting to get pretty dramatic…I ripped off my blood pressure cuff and chunked it. It was annoying me. I was miserable and then I heard the monitor go crazy because the baby’s heartbeat was dropping. All of a sudden, 5 nurses came in my room and I knew something was wrong. The nurses were actually getting frustrated with me because I wouldn’t relax. My doctor was even frustrated. I’ll admit, I can be a drama queen and labor brought out that side of me. However, when you read further you’ll see that me acting like a brat was quite justified. My Doctor explained to me that I either had to push the baby out or she would have to perform a C-Section. I told her I wanted a C-Section. They immediately gave me a shot to stop my contractions. This shot made me shake uncontrollably. There wasn’t an operating room ready right away, so it took about 30 minutes to get me in there. The baby’s heartbeat continued to go up down. My mom said my doctor was watching the monitor and was very frustrated that the room wasn’t ready yet. FINALLY, the anesthesiologist gave me a spinal block, which gave me immediate relief. They took me to the operating room and prepped me for surgery. Ryan put on the sterile scrubs that they give all the dads in the operating room and sat next to my head. Austin was out in a matter of minutes and Ryan exclaimed, “He’s beautiful.” I kept asking if he “looked okay?” What I was really thinking is… “Does he have Down syndrome?”
I really wish I would’ve been able to hold him immediately, but of course, that’s not an option when you have a C-Section. After my doctor “put me back together”, she said I wouldn’t have been able to have him vaginally to begin with because he was face up. For once in my life, being a brat was justified. I was in recovery for what seemed like forever…and I had to be around the not so nice nurses. Ugh. Luckily, I was too drugged to care.
Once I was settled in my room, the baby nurses brought Austin to me. Holding him for the first time is something I can’t even begin to describe. Love at first sight doesn't begin to cover it. :)
On our way home from the hospital.
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