Giving Birth

I always heard that as a pregnant woman you get to a point where the thought of childbirth no longer matters. All you want is to get the child out. I reached that point about two days after my due date.

I'd been doing fine up until then. The third trimester hadn't been as bad as the first two. Other than tiredness and normal joint pains in the hips (my hip actually came out of joint a couple of times- thank you SPD, or what I like to call PS2 to bug Jeremy), I felt great. But once I watched our due date come and go, I got depressed. I got anxious. I got determined. Our house got clean... I mean, really clean. Jeremy and I worked on projects that had been on our list for months. I ate spicy food, took primrose oil, walked a lot, got a pedicure, had sex... and nothing. I wasn't even feeling contractions.

Then, came Friday. We had some friends over for dinner - Mexican to be exact. And as we were eating, I had a strong pain that started in my back and moved to my front. So strong that immediately my mood dropped and I couldn't talk. I felt horrible. At first, I seriously thought it had to be gas. Oh, was I wrong.

Our friends left shortly after and I told Jeremy that we needed to start timing. For an hour, we timed each contraction. I was 3 minutes apart and they were getting stronger. But we were confused. The midwife told us to call her at 3 minutes. But I'd only been laboring for an hour! There was no way it was time to go to the hospital. And then the pain got  worst. I'm talking about the worst pain I had ever felt. Jeremy quickly called the midwife who told us to continue and try laboring at home since we wanted to do this natural, but that when we were ready we could go on to the hospital. I lasted 10 more minutes. Then, I told Jeremy that I was sorry, but screw natural childbirth, I wanted an epidural and I wanted to go to the hospital like 10 minutes ago. And out the door we headed.

Mind you, we were still both confused. I mean, we  just knew I still had 12 more hours to go. I couldn't imagine going through this much pain for 12 more hours. I seriously couldn't imagine surviving this amount of pain.

It took us about 10 minutes to get from our car to the assessment room. My contractions were now a minute apart and worst. Every time one hit, I'd go to the ground and try to breath through it. By the time we reached the assessment room, they were 30 seconds apart. And I wanted that epidural now. "But you have to be assessed," the staff kept telling me. "Assessed" involved answering a million questions, filling out paperwork, changing into the hospital gown, getting checked and prodded all while still having strong contractions. It was ridiculous. I couldn't see straight much less think straight to be of any use to them.

At that point, I was six centimeters apart.

Once, they were done assessing, I was rolled into the delivery room. My screams were now really loud. The poor nurses. One said she could hear me at the security desk which was through 2 closed doors. I didn't know what else to do! All my breathing techniques were out the window. We didn't even have time to take our suitcase out of the car! So there went my calming scents and my iPod playlist. And to be completely honest, the walls of that room could have been mint green for all I knew. There were about 12 nurses all around me. Jeremy was somewhere nearby quickly calling the family... who definitely heard my screams as well... and I was still begging for an epidural. Finally, I just asked for something to take the edge off. And then before anything could be given to me, the urge to push hit. Apparently, I'd gone from 6 cm to 9 cm in 15 minutes. A resident was called in to break my water and, thankfully, our midwife walked in just as I started pushing.

The pushing part was easy. I was determined to get Bradley out of me as quickly as possible. My eyes closed and I entered the Zone. I felt like a woman on a mission. I was determined, focused, and ready. No fear. It's truly amazing that something that gave me so much anxiety over the past few years all of a sudden becomes something simple. The nurses even had tell me to stop pushing after a contractions stopped because I wouldn't. And within 30 minutes Bradley was here.

My entire labor lasted 3 hours and 12 minutes. It was seriously a blessing.

The best part was that I now get to look at this little guy all day long. And there is just nothing better.

Bradley

Born 12.11.10 at 12:12 a.m.

7 lbs 12 oz. 

20.25 in.

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Brandi Smith won The Bet with her guess of 12/12/10 at 12:12 a.m. Way to go! Exactly 24 hours off.