Prior to Claire's arrival, I had only non-painful braxton hicks. My last cervical check had me at 0 cm and very far away from any progress. I was positive that I was going to go past my due date and need to be induced. On April 2nd, shortly after getting home from work and beginning my Spring Break, around 5:00 I began having painful contractions. We were getting ready to drive about an hour to visit friends and I didn't think much of them. While in the car I noticed the contractions seemed pretty consistent and began timing them. they were 3-5 minutes apart and lasting about 45 second each. We made it to our friends and while there the contractions became 1-2 minutes apart but did not seem to be increasing in intensity. They were quite painful, painful enough that I couldn't talk through them. After dinner we headed home and I endured contractions every 2 minutes. At this point I had been having contractions for about 5-6 hours but because they were not getting any worse (although quite painful) I did not feel that I needed to call the doctor. Once home, I took a bath to try and relieve some pain and that seemed to do the trick! Contractions stopped and I headed to bed.
Around 4:00am the next morning I was awoken with contractions. I tried timing them but they did not seem consistent and I kept falling asleep in between. Around 7:00 they became much more consistent- about every 3-4 minutes. I timed them for awhile, walked around the house, chugged some water, and got ready just in case. Sean kept asking me if I should call the doctor but I was in pretty big denial that this could actually be labor. It took me awhile to get ready for the day and finish packing because the contractions were getting worse and I kept having to stop what I was doing to breathe/moan through them. Finally, I called my doctor and he told me to head in. We loaded the car and stopped at Culvers for some food ( I wanted a meal in case they admitted me because I knew I wouldn't be able to eat). Instead of heading to the hospital right away, we stopped at Sam's Club to buy snacks for the hospital. That was extremely difficult walking through the store trying to hide contractions.. I did get some crazy looks. We got to the hospital around 1:00 and they got me gowned and in a labor and delivery room. When they checked me I was 3cm dilated and 70% effaced. The nurse was skeptical that they would admit me. They wait until you are 4 cm and since I wasn't 39 weeks yet ( 1 day away!!) they could not do anything to help me along so I needed to either progress on my own or have my water break. I felt like crying at this point. My contractions were steady and extremely painful and I did NOT want to be sent home. They called my doctor and he told them to let me stay, yay! They started my IV and let me labor in bed for awhile. My contractions were continuing to increase in intensity and still about 3 minutes apart.
Around 2:20 my water broke on it's own! They did another cervical check at 3:00 and I was 4cm and 90% effaced! I was so happy my body was progressing on it's own! I have heard the horrors of pitocin contractions and could not even imagine! After my water broke my contractions became much stronger and were 1.5 minutes apart. This entire time I was having extreme back labor! The pain was so intense, like 10,000 knives stabbing me in the back.
After 8 hours of hard back labor I decided it was epidural time! Kudos to those of you who go without, but that's not for me! I received the epidural at 3;30. Sean was sent out of the room for 30 minutes while they placed the epidural and waited for it to take effect. The actual placement of the epidural was painless! The hard part was sitting still during contractions. The epidural slowly took effect and by the time Sean came back I was a much happier camper! My legs were numb but, although heavy, I could still move them.
I want to stop and add that I loved my nurse! She was so sweet and encouraging and exactly the kind of nurse I needed!
After my epidural I was checked again and was 5cm, still 90% effaced. I was happy with the progress I was making! Now that I wasn't feeling contractions, Sean and I could relax a lot more! We popped Harry Potter into the DVD player and watched it!
I was checked again at 6:30 and was 7cm. At 7:00 the nurse came in and said my contractions were becoming irregular and my heart rate kept jumping so they started me on pitocin. At this time the Bulls game had started so Sean took over the tv and I watched the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy on my Ipad.
At 8:30 I was checked again and I was 8 cm dilated. My body was steadily making progress and time was going by pretty quickly! I remember just every so often looking at Sean and saying, "Can you believe this is happening?" I was so excited that we were finally going to meet our daughter. Around this time I started feeling mild contractions again. The nurse said that was completely normal as I progressed further- I was terrified at how much pain I would eventually feel.
At 9:30 the pain was much more intense and I was feeling pressure with every contraction. I was checked again and had a small lip of cervix left so she was going to give me another 30 minutes. About 5 minutes later I was in as much pain as I was before the epidural and feeling extreme pressure! I waited about 15 minutes and then called the nurse who checked me and said I was complete and ready to go! At 10:08 I began pushing. Pushing was so much harder then I imagined. Since I had an epidural, I did not expect to feel so much pain. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I had a very difficult time controlling my breathing and calming down in between contractions. I threw up twice and was very close to needing oxygen. I was having a difficult time when the nurse says, " Keep going, it is going to become more intense and you are going to feel some burning." According to Sean I looked absolutely terrified when she said that... Finally they called the doctor in and I knew I was close!
After 16 hours of labor and 50 minutes of pushing, at exactly 11:00pm, Claire Elyse entered the world! The moment she was laid on my chest was the most amazing moment in my life. She is the one who made me believe in love at first sight. I was in total awe of her. I remember Sean just saying, "She is the most beautiful girl in the world..." I completely agreed with him.
Claire peed as soon as she came out and had a great set of lungs! She had the cord wrapped around her neck but the doctor got it off right away. We did skin to skin for 2 hours. We were left alone as a family and it was wonderful. She breastfed for about 45 minutes. She had blue eyes and dark brown/reddish hair.
A nurse came in to clean her up and weigh her. She weighed 7lbs, 7 oz and was 19 inches long. Sean finally held her and it was the most amazing sight. They took her to check her and give her a bath. I was to energized to sleep so I spent time texting family and relaxing while Sean slept.
Around 3:30 am we were moved to the recovery room where we would be for the remainder of our stay.
Since I was Group B Strep positive I had to stay 48 hours. We were there until the following Monday, April 6th. Our stay was great and I had wonderful nurses. Claire was a champion breast feeder and a very calm and laid back baby. I was in a lot of pain and very sore but loving being a mom
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| We celebrated Claire's first Easter while in the hospital! |
Overall, I had a wonderful birth experience and am so happy to finally have my little girl! Every pain and discomfort was completely worth it. I have been enjoying my time with my girl and the hubs. I adore my little family. I don't know what we ever did without her!
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