My due date was September 7th. This pregnancy was going really smoothly - much better than Audrey's. I wasn't gaining as much weight, didn't have any blood pressure issues, and she didn't try to come early. I was pretty miserable and swollen being 9 months pregnant in the summer heat and counting down hours until my due date. My mom wanted to be here to help, so I had her fly out August 27th thinking that would give us plenty of time to prepare for baby. Audrey and I picked up my mom Wednesday (the 27th) afternoon and had plans to go shopping the next day.
Thursday morning I went down to my mom's room to hang out with her and Audrey while she got ready for the day. I told my mom that I kind of felt "funny" or "off" and that I was feeling a bit crampy. I shrugged it off and thought it was just the typical Braxton Hicks. We made our way to Target to pick up a few grocery items and other random things. My crampy feeling started changing to more of a painful feeling, and coming and going at a pretty regular basis - about every 15 minutes. I once again didn't think too much of it. I knew they were probably real contractions at this point but I also knew that they weren't close enough to worry about.
We headed to Old Navy after Target to take advantage of their 50% off Labor Day (ha) Sale. This is when things got a bit crazy. I had a doctor's appointment at 12:20, so we went to the Old Navy near the office. As we shopped at Old Navy my contractions got closer and closer, about 7 min apart at this point. My mom shooed me out to go get the car while she paid, and we quickly made our way to my appointment. I was having contractions as I drove, and I was starting to worry I wouldn't make it. I saw my doctor who told me to get over to the hospital for a "labor evaluation." I started texting Tony about what was going on, but it all still seemed so uncertain I didn't know what to say. I walked over to the hospital (it's next door) and got hooked up in triage. The nurse calmly explained to me that they were going to check me, and then check me again in an hour to see if I was progressing. My contractions were quite painful and I asked for an epidural even though I wasn't admitted, haha! The nurse checked me, said I was a 5, and asked what my doctor said I was at my appointment (I was a 3). So in the TWO MINUTES it took me to walk over to the hospital I had progressed 2cm. The nurse told me to quickly grab my things and we headed to a delivery room.
I frantically text Tony and told him to get to the hospital ASAP. My mom and Audrey were stuck wandering around the hospital while I got all set up in my room. I kept begging for an epidural and they kept telling me they couldn't give me one until an IV was placed. I was set on asking for my drugs early-on to avoid another situation like I had with Audrey where I got to 8cm on my own with no pain meds. The nurses did not seem to share my sense of urgency to get my epidural hooked up. After a while some nurses came in and said, "oh has no one been helping you?" NO THEY HAD NOT. They tried to hurry and place my IV and called the anesthesiologist. My contractions were close together and very intense at this point. They were bringing me to tears every time. Tony showed up right before the nurses did so it was really nice to have him there helping me through the pain.
Finally the anesthesiologist shows up, slowly explains to me the risks (dude, hurry up. I know the risks. I don't care. I just want drugs. ALL. THE. DRUGS.) then I get into position. I was told to round my back and hold still. An easy feat when you are having contractions 1 min apart....
This guy took what seemed like an eternity to even numb the spot he was going to place the epidural. I had nurses yelling at me telling me I had to hold still and that I needed to stop moving. I was in so much pain that I was knocking off my heart rate monitor, smacking Tony in the arm, and dripping sweat from my forehead. Tony tells me I passed out for a second during all of this, but I don't remember any of it. Once my doctor came in and started talking to me, I settled down a bit. I love my doctor. I started to feel an urge to push and I swear I could feel the baby coming down. Finally they told me he was done, and sweet relief was mine. Once I was in pain-free heaven my doctor checked me and said I was complete and the baby was THERE. Seriously I was minutes away from giving birth naturally and the nurse told me she was worried the medicine wouldn't kick in in time. Luckily it did, and I started pushing immediately. Three pushes and six minutes later, tiny Eliza was born at 2:45pm.
She was 6lbs, 1oz and 18 inches long. She is such a sweet and cuddly baby. We love her so much and we're so glad she joined our family!
