We went in to start the induction at 6:00am. This was my first time in the hospital as the patient instead of being a visitor, so I was a bit nervous. The OB stopped by about 7:30 and started Pitocin. I got the epidural a few hours later. This was the part of delivery that I dreaded the most – a needle in my spine? Eek! We had a wonderful anesthesiologist who had me laughing through the whole process and Sandy was there holding me. Honestly, the IV hurt more and the sensation of my legs being sandbags was rather entertaining!
This is where the fun ended. The epidural was wonderful for the first hour, but then the medication seemed to stop working. I could feel my feet and every contraction. Every time I pressed the button for another dose, I threw up. Giving birth sans pain meds was NOT part of my plan. Our most wonderful nurse got the anesthesiologist to come back and give me an injection of something else. Sweet relief! Once I was pain-free and relaxed, things progressed really quickly. I napped for a solid hour before the additional pain medication wore off.
Un/fortunately (?) I was far enough along at this point that it was too late for additional IV pain meds. We got the anesthesiologist to come back and give me one more booster right as I started pushing. Delivery wasn’t pain free, but there was enough in my system to take the edge off and the need to get that baby out was greater than the pain of doing it.
Turns out Nate had the cord wrapped around his neck, so we had a vacuum assisted delivery that went really quickly. The doctors were worried about his oxygen levels, so he went to the nursery to get pinked up while they finished up with me. After 3 1/2 hours, all of his statistics were back to normal and Sandy wheeled him back to the room so I could hold him.
We spent two days in the hospital and are now home getting to know one another. I’ve never seen a more beautiful baby and I’ve never been more in love. He’s perfect in every way!
Watching Sandy with Nathan melts my heart. I’m so thankful to have a loving husband who is so excited about being a father. His face lights up every time Nate opens his eyes or gives us little gassy smile.
Daddy and Baby
I know how blessed I am.
