Oh, little Rookie. We are seriously so in love with you.
On Wednesday morning, April 27th, 2016 we called Madison Memorial Hospital at 5:30 a.m. to see what time we would be induced. They asked us to come in at 6:30 a.m. We got ready, grabbed our bags (that we packed that morning), and headed out the door. Right before we left, I walked into our little Porter's room and made sure he was okay. I'll admit I cried a little knowing how much his life was going to change. It was going to change for the better, but it is still change. And I know my sweet Porter pretty darn well and sharing the spotlight was not going to be an easy transition. Trent's cousin, Brittany, came over to hang out with Porter. We are seriously SO lucky to have family in Rexburg this semester!
It took awhile to get answer all the questions, get the IV connected, and the antibiotics going. They wanted to start Pit right away, but I told them that wouldn't be necessary. And that I didn't want to start Pit until it was absolutely essential. They are so wonderful at this hospital and totally respectful of your wishes. Everything finally started around 8 a.m.
At about 9:15 a.m., the anesthesiologist was on the floor administering epidurals to other patients. My nurses new I wanted one, so they asked if they just wanted him to come in now. I laughed and said, "Well of course, but I'm not even in labor? Am I am going to get a sticker that says 'wimp' if I get an epidural when nothing has happened?" They laughed at that one. They said they didn't know the next time he would be available so it was up to me. I knew the doctor was coming in sometime soon to break my water, so I just did it. You guys, I got an epidural, and I wasn't in labor. WAAAAY different experience than when I had Porter.
My blood pressure dropped just a few minutes after the epidural. I couldn't breathe, I started shaking, and blacking out. It's totally common, but it doesn't make it less scary! They gave me a bunch of something, and I recovered!
Around 9:30 a.m., Doctor Meredith came in to break my water and start that induction process. He got there as soon as my blood pressure crashed and made the situation lighter. I am always up for a good sense of humor during those rough moments, so I appreciated him. All they were going to do was start my water and see if things progressed without any other intervention.
After he broke my water, we played the waiting game. I started having consistent contractions immediately after my water broke, but I couldn't feel a thing.
Let me just add how much Trent loved his life during this labor process. Last time he was very heavily involved. Helping me get from place to place and through each contraction. He was stressed, nervous, and exhausted. This time, he picked out woodworking projects, watched T.V., slept, and basically was on a small vacation. He is convinced this is the way to do labor and delivery.
From 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. we played the waiting game. A game that I am NOT very patient at. At noon, I get pretty discouraged because I was only at a 3.5 cm (I was at a 2.5 cm when I came to the hospital), and was basically only progressing a .5 cm every hour. I could've delivered the baby at Noon because the antibiotics were completely given at that point. So after Noon, I became restless. I started thinking that maybe I should do Pit and just get this process over with. But my doctors and nurses are rock-stars and said as long as things are progressing, let you body do what it wants.
At 2:00 p.m. my nurse told me I was at 5 cm. Again, super lame. I still held some hope though. I came into the hospital with Porter at 5 cm. It was once I hit a 5, that I went to a 10 within four and a half hours. So I was hoping that my body might pick up the pace at this time as well.
At 2:45, the nurse came back again with her trainer (my nurse was a beginning and in training). They both checked me, walked over to the sink and began whispering. Finally, the nurse turned around and said, "You are at an 8.5 cm!" I was shocked. It had literally been 45 minutes! The other nurse said that they would still wait about an hour to have me actually deliver the baby. That would give me enough time to get to a ten and have the baby move down the canal. They said if I started feeling more pressure to let them know though.
They literally were out the door for three minutes, if that when I called them back in and said, "I think we are going to have this baby sooner than that." They checked me again and sure enough, I was at a ten and ready to deliver! They started getting everything ready when my doctor had stopped by randomly to see how things were going.
"We haven't done any practice pushes yet, but she is at a ten!" a nurse told him
He decided to stick around and see how things progressed. Well, after ten minutes of pushing, at 3:06 p.m., our little Brooks was born.
From the time they broke my water, to the time Brooks was born was a little less than six hours. I felt no pain (but I am definitely feeling it during recovery), and Trent might never let me try natural again! It was different, but it was still a positive experience. It really has made me think that all birth stories are beautiful. Because in the end you get a little human that is part of you. And I feel so grateful that Brooks is ours!
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