What a week! Although I was 41 weeks along, I was really hoping the baby's birth would not interfere with my brother Matt's wedding. So, when my water broke at 1 am on the 26th, the day of the wedding, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I decided to just go back to bed for awhile and see what happened. I had mild contractions for about 4 hours, but they stopped by morning. I called my mom and talked to my doctor brother and asked their advice, then decided to go to the wedding anyway. It was at the Vernal temple, only half hour away, and I figured we could just come back quickly if something happened.
When we got there, my brother made me sit in a wheelchair, which was embarrassing because then everyone knew something was going on, but looking back, it was probably a good idea. I made it through the ceremony, which was beautiful, and then we left promptly after it was done without talking to anyone.
We drove straight to the hospital here in Roosevelt, and on the way we got a text from some friends in the ward that they had just had their baby an hour before (same hospital). She was due 2 weeks after me, but I didn't mind too much, since I knew it wouldn't be long before my baby arrived, too. A little while later, we heard that yet another couple in our ward had their baby at 1 a.m. The funny thing is, both husbands are Dann's counselors in the Elders Quorum Presidency, and we all ended up having girls on the same day. We were even in rooms 9, 10, and 11. It all makes for a good story!
Once we got admitted and settled, they checked just to "make sure" that it was my water that had broken (this still makes me laugh...this was even the second time/child it had happened to me). Before long, my doctor came in, laughing. He knew all about the wedding and had been telling me for weeks that the baby would probably be born that day. He said I could try walking around for an hour or so to try to get some contractions going, but would need to start on pitocin if that didn't work, because the clock was ticking. I had already waited 10 of the 24 hours they give you before the baby has to be born because of risk of infection. Walking wasn't super-successful. I was having some contractions regularly, but they weren't strong enough to be doing anything productive, so they started me on the pitocin around 2 p.m.
This was what I had been trying to avoid...not being induced. Sometimes things don't always go as planned. Also, I had been practicing the hypnobirthing techniques to be able to do it naturally, and I had asked my mom to be there to help me through it. My mom was busy all day with the wedding, luncheon, and reception. So, it was just me and Dann. He was really great. I don't think he thought I would or should try without an epidural, but was supportive of whatever I wanted to do.
I was relaxed and doing well for a few hours, but wasn't progressing very quickly, and they kept turning up the pitocin every 1/2 hour until I finally asked the nurse to stop. She agreed, as long as I progressed enough in the next hour. I did...from a 3 to a 5. From there it was pretty quick, and I think I hit transition because it was really intense, and I was in a lot of pain. A new nurse came on shift and asked to check me about 20 minutes past 6, and I was at an 8. She called the doctor, who said to call when I got closer. He almost didn't make it...it was really quick from there, and it is almost all a blur now. I had kind of lost the relaxation of the hypnobirthing, but the breathing was keeping me focused. I was talking to myself constantly, reassuring myself that I could do it, and I actually think that helped. That, and the constant praying.
I have never been so happy to see anyone as I was to see my doctor when he came in. Things were kind of panicked, as they had lost the baby's heart rate on the monitor, so they tried to put an electrode on her head, but that wasn't working, either. This point in the delivery is where the danger lies when attempting a VBAC, because the baby can be born through the old incision in your uterus instead of the birth canal. But, they let me push as soon as the bed was taken apart, and all it took was one push for her head and another for the shoulders. It was an amazing feeling that I haven't experienced without an epidural before. I am blessed with small babies, so I had no rips or tears. She was born at 6:52 p.m., after just 5 hours of labor.
I was so relieved when she was out! They wiped her off and gave her to me, and let me nurse her and just hold her for an hour. It was so great. When they finally did take her to weigh her and clean her up we found that she weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz. and was 19 inches long. She even has quite a bit of hair, which is new for us!
Visitors came after the reception was over, and I know my mom felt so bad that she hadn't been able to be there. Our other kids came, too, and were thrilled with their new baby sister. It was great having all my family in town for the wedding, as they were all able to be part of this as well. They also took care of our kids for us, too, for a few days, which was fantastic.
It took us until the next day to decide on a name, but we settled on Grace Nan. She is an angel so far. She's a great nurser and takes a pacifier and seems happy to be here. That hasn't been the case with all of my kids. :) I am really pleased that I was still able to do it without any pain medication, despite some of the other unfavorable circumstances that I was hoping to avoid. The whole experience was incredible, though I am not sure how I will choose to do it next time (assuming we are able to have more children). My recovery is going very well, and I have felt blessed in all that has happened.
