Phabian's Birth Story Pt 2...

So now where was I? Oh yes we had just arrived at the hospital.

Our local hospital locks its fronts doors between the hours of 11pm and 8am so we had to ring the bell to security and tell them where we were going. At this time i was having minor cramps and my back pain from the night before had returned. So i wobbled over to admittance and filled out some papers (this is why you should always pre-register cause if I was in full blown labor i would have been so mad). They ask me if i needed a wheel chair and i am all like, " no i walked from the car i think i will be able to make it up the elevator, through the doors, and down the hall just fine thank you!".

So i did just that. All the while my cramps never got any worse but my back pain sure did. Once again i dismissed the back pain as just a side effect of being really pregnant. I, at the time, had no clue what labor felt like, and even though we took the birthing class i had never head of back labor.

When i got into my room they told my husband he had to wait outside for 30 mins while they did intake and ask all the personal questions (am i the only one who finds this dumb; as i don't hide anything from my husband). I got into a gown and peed in a cup so they could confirm i was indeed in labor and that my water had indeed broken.

The doctor came in around the same time as my husband and checked me. I was 3 cm dilated and 75 percent effaced at a +2 station (Phabian had kept his head in my pelvis from about 27 weeks on or so). I was so excited that i didn't even notice the pain in my back. The monitors the had me strapped to showed that i was only having small, mild contractions so i didn't pay any attention.

At about 9am they moved me to a labor room but i was not allowed to get out of bed because my water had broke. This is where my birth goes down hill and my plans fly out the window.

I had already informed the nurse that i had no intention of getting any pain medicine or having any unnecessary procedures done. I was going to do this all natural and i was going to enjoy it lol. She smiled and agree but had me sign the papers anyways so that if i changed my mind i wouldn't have to worry about signing anything while i was in immense pain.

They came in and hooked me up to an IV (because i had GBS [Group B Strep]) so they could administer my antibiotics and without me knowing also Pitocin. I also at this point was informed that i was not aloud to eat. So now i am mad because i have not eaten since 9pm the previous night.

By about 11am my adrenalin rush had come down and i was feeling like my back was being ripped apart. I tried to roll over to my side but every time i moved they would put me back on my back because they would lose the monitors. Needless to say when your back hurts the last thing you want to do is lay on it.

Finally at 11:30 i screamed for the nurse to get me an epidural!!! My spine felt like it was going to break in half. I was always under the impression that i had a very high pain tolerance but i guess i was wrong. Nothing in this world tests your pain tolerance like back labor and doctors who wont allow you to move around.

My sweet nurse told me that they had to check my cervix before they could administer my epidural and i was all like," Well hurry the F*CK up" because when you feel like you are being sawed in half with no anesthesia the last thing you want is some nurse sticking her hand up your crotch!

So she checked me and i was 6 cm, 85% effaced and +3 station. So she ordered my epidural which took (a life time) 30 mins to get there. All the while i was withered in pain and crying.

The Anesthesiologist came in and told me to roll to my side and hold my knees to my chest. This was the most relief i had, had in hours. I will spare you the details of the epidural itself but it was quick and effective. They had me on a very low dose so that i could still feel my contractions but not so much the pain in my back (turns out Phabian never lost the ability to be a pain the butt, um i mean back). Here i am happily on the phone after my epidural kicked in.

At around 12:30pm i fell asleep in between contractions. When i woke up at 2pm i told the nurse it felt like i had to poop! She reassured me it was just the pressure from the baby dropping. She told me i was a first time mom and that i would probably be in labor for at least another 4 or 5 hours. Yea ok!!!

So by 2:15 the sensation to poop turned into a sensation to push. At this point i looked at my nurse and told her she needed to go get my doctor "NOW". She insisted that i needed to be checked first and that i was probably only around 8 cm. Boy was she in for a surprise.

She checked me and i was 10 cm, fully effaced, and at a +4 station. She immediately left the room and called the doctor to report the news. When she came back she turned my epidural drip off so i could feel even more and push efficiently. We did about 2 practice pushes before the Doc came in at 2:30.

Now because this is a teaching hospital (and i was the only vaginal birth of the day) there were a million people in and out of my room all day. None of them being my doctor because he was not on call that day. So i ended up with a very funny (not so funny when you are in labor, but after when you think about it) and sweet resident. At 2:35 i began to push. About 5 mins in she decided that i needed an episiotomy!!! At that point i didn't even care. I just wanted this kid out of me (because thats what labor does to you).

She sliced me open (a 2nd degree cut i do believe) and then told me to push. I pushed 4 times and out popped my handsome baby boy at 2:51pm. He was sunny side up which is what i was told was the reason for the episiotomy.

They swept my boy away to the warmer and did all the weighing and stuff while i was being stitched up. The adrenaline ran so high that i didn't feel a thing. I just wanted my baby boy in my arms.

Thirty mins later (after about 3 people had already held him before me) i was ask if i wanted to breastfeed and he was handed over to me.

At the time i was so happy to have him in my arms that i didn't think about any of the things that didn't go my way. I was just overjoyed that Phabian was here and in my arms.

Nothing will ever compare to the first time i looked into those big blue eyes. I knew that day that my heart was way bigger and capable of more love than i had ever thought. I am still amazed everyday by the blessings i have been given even if it didn't happen exactly how i planned.

Tomorrow (or the next time i have time) i will starts MJ's birth Pt 1.