A Birth Story: Part One

It was exactly midnight on Thursday. I know because I looked at the clock as we left the car. It was the very last moment of a long day filled with excitement and nervousness. It was the first moment of the day that would be our daughter's birthday. We pushed the buzzer at the entrance to the labor and delivery unit and a nurse asked if she could help us.

We giggled, "we're here for an induction."


We were led to labor room #2. I surveyed the room and its setup and had a slight moment of disappointment because my hospital bed was facing in a different direction than it had the first time around. It wasn't how I pictured it would be. Little did I know.


I remember thinking, this is the room where my daughter will take her first breath.


I got dressed in my hospital gown and got hooked up to monitors. I had my IV inserted and had to look away. I never look away. I always make sure it is being done right. 'The Hubs' was sent to admitting to sign paper work. A nurse asked me why I was being induced. I told her, "because the doctor said I could."


The pitocin started to run through my veins at 1:35 am. I know because I looked at the clock in my room. I wanted a start time.


I was 2 cm dilated and having mild, regular contractions. I remember being so excited because it meant that I could have the epidural whenever I was ready. I knew that I would get it as soon as things got borderline intense. I didn't want to feel the pain.


We tried to sleep.


We tried to chat.


We ended up watching old reruns of Married with Children.


I remember feeling crampy. Then, crampier. Later, I began to feel the contractions. They weren't like before. I felt my abdomen tightening but I felt all of the pain in my back. It hurt way worse than in the front.


Around 3:00 am, my nurse came in to check me and told me I was 3 cm. She asked me if I wanted the epidural now and I said, "yes". I remember thinking that I might be able to get through 1 more cm without it but thought that I should do it while the anesthesiologist was available.


At 3:20, the drug man arrived. This is where my vision of what this childbirth would be completely failed.


I remember the nurse holding my hands. I remember him saying "sting and a pinch" over and over. I remember feeling the catheter curl up and over my right hip. I remember him saying that sometimes, the pain relief would only be to one side. I remember thinking, 'not if you did it right'.

The nurse checked me after the epidural and I was at 4cm. Then I slept on and off for a few hours. I woke up to complete numbness to my right side from the hip down and a pulling sensation from my catheter. My left side felt like it had pins and needles.

My mom and step-dad brought 'The Boy' to see me around 8 am. I remember being so nervous that he would freak out seeing me hooked up to everything. He told me that I was "in the hobspital because you have a boo-boo". He colored and played with stickers and was not phased at all.

I got a little more sleep. I remember feeling a little pop and thinking 'maybe my water just broke' but I was too exhausted to check to see if I was leaking fluid. I remember my left rib cage started to get uncomfortable.

My doctor came in at 9:30ish. I'm not sure. I wasn't looking at the clock. She had come to break my water. She went to check me and said "looks like your water broke." She said that I was still at 4 cm and left for her office across the street.

I still had 6 cm to dilate so my step-dad left with 'The Boy' and went to his office. My mom and 'The Hubs' tried to find something to watch on TV and decided to turn it off because all that was on was 'The View' and neither of them could stand to watch it. 10:00. That's when 'The View' starts out here.

Within minutes of hearing that conversation, I told 'The Hubs' that I couldn't breath and that I wanted to sit up. He helped me and I felt minor relief for a split second. I told him that it felt like my ribcage was splitting open on my left side. He helped me roll over to try to get comfortable.

My nurse came in because I had thrown the monitors off. I told her how I felt. She said something about childbirth not being easy. I didn't hear this. My mom did. Good thing because I would have given it to her at that point. She checked me out of pity. I was at 8 cm. It was 10:15ish.

I prayed, "Please God, make this end soon. I can't do this pain for much longer. Please let it be time to push." All the while I was on my left side, trying to splint the pain in my ribcage. I was shaking and crying through my attempts at shallow breathing. I couldn't see the look on 'The Hub's' face but I had a feeling he was nervous when my mom said, "it's okay, she's just transitioning".

I look at my mom and said, "I feel like I have to push". The nurse came to check me. I was fully dilated. I praised, "thank you, God."

They called the doctor to come back and told me not to push. I remember the OR tech at the end of my bed telling me not to push and saying that I didn't want her to deliver my baby. I imagined Dr. D. racing across the street, leaving her patients in the waiting room as she did to me so many times before.

I remember trying to hold the baby in. I remember it feeling almost imposible.