Well, it has taken me almost 2 months, but I am finally able to sit down and remember the day Jack was born. Everything just seemed to line up well for that day. Mike's parents were in town awaiting the big day and Joyce and Barney were in town for the weekend as well.
I had been having sporadic contractions for a couple of days but nothing major was happening and I was starting to get a little anxious. Then on Saturday April 3rd, I woke up around 6 am and felt what I thought was my water breaking. I say "thought" because obviously I had never experienced this before and I didn't want to get too excited that it had happened! I called my doula who said I should call the doctor. The nurse at the doctor's office told me to go to the hospital. So I took my time showering and packing last minute things for the hospital in case they admitted me. I also called my Dad to let him know that I thought I was going in to labor. He got on the phone right away and tried to get a flight from VA to make it in time for the big event.
Mike, his parents, and I all went to the hospital around 10:30 am. Once there the nurse checked me and said that my waters had in fact ruptured and I was admitted to the hospital. Unfortunately I was only 1 cm dilated and my contractions weren't that strong even though the waters ruptured. So Dr. Espinal started me on pitocin and I had to stay in bed so that they could monitor the baby's heart rate. So we settled in and watched some t.v. and waited.
I had wanted to try having an unmedicated labor/birth, but the pitocin made the contractions too strong. By 9:30 that night I was only 5 cm dilated and the pain was starting to get unbearable. God bless the person who invented epidurals! ;-) By 10 pm I had my epidural, I felt MUCH better and was able to relax a little bit.
Throughout the day Mike's parents and Joyce and Barney had come to visit and around 10:30 I had another special visitor: my Dad! He had taken a flight to Fort Meyers (the closest he could get) and driven the rest of the way. I was so happy that he made it! I wish that my Mom and all of our other family had been able to be there as well. Dad got there just in time because at midnight the doctor came in to check me and said I would start pushing soon.
All the family went to the waiting room and I began the hardest part of the day. I pushed and pushed but was only making a little progress. An hour went by and I thought Jack was NEVER going to come out. The doctor and nurses told me to rest on every other contraction so that I would have more strength to push. I remember telling Mike I wanted to push and he told me I needed to rest just then. I told him, 'I just want him OUT!". After another hour of pushing, Jack was finally born at 2:19 am. :-)
When the doctor put him on my chest it seemed so surreal. I had been trying to imagine what he looked like for 9 months and now here he was! He was so perfect and beautiful. After a couple of minutes the nurses took him to the other side of the room to clean him up and do the APGAR tests. (He got 9 out of 10). I remember hearing him cry and thinking "That is the sweetest sound I have ever heard". Mike went over with Jack while he was cleaned up and it was incredibly awesome to see the two of them together.
After I was cleaned up and we had a few minutes together of just the 3 of us, Mike's parents and my Dad came in. (Joyce and Barney were at their hotel.) We all got to spend a few minutes together and then Mike took his parents back to our house for the night. My Dad stayed with me and held Jack for a few minutes while I had a bite to eat. I was starving! I hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours and that plain turkey sandwich and apple juice they brought me tasted like heaven.
After about an hour I was moved to the postpartum room. Mike made it back just as we were settling in and all 3 of us got a little bit of sleep.
It was such an incredible experience, I think the most exciting thing in my life. It was hard work but I would do it all again 100 times for my little baby :-)
