Wow- how do I even describe the feelings I have now? I don't know how to put it into words yet, but I'm trying. Before I get to that, I better start from the beginning of Hollis' wild journey into the world...
We checked in at the hospital on Monday night, April 12, to begin medicine to prepare for labor induction on Tuesday. My doctor didn't want me to wait too long past my due date because she felt my amniotic fluids might be getting too low and would cause him to be under too much stress during labor and delivery. Tuesday was also my 29th birthday, but that was the last thing I could even think about. I just wanted the Pitocin to do its job and kick me into labor so we could meet our angel. It would have been cool to share birthdays, but God had other plans...
At 5pm Tuesday, after a long day of weak and irregular contractions that lead to only 0.5cm dilation...
yeah- only 0.5... they took me off the Pitocin, sent me home, and said we'd try again on Sunday, the 18th. I was able to go to about 90% effaced, so the day wasn't a total waste. I was an emotional wreck, but we packed up our stuff and came home with the baby still in my belly. I cried, a lot, and went to bed by 9pm.
That night, at 2:35am, I was awake to make one of my hourly trips to the potty. As I climbed back in bed, I felt a contraction start- and it lasted about 45 seconds. Then 16 minutes later, another one, and 17 minutes later, another one.... I couldn't believe it and figured it might just be temporary, like a side effect from Pitocin my body was getting ride of or something... But after those first few contractions, I started getting them about 12 minutes apart. By 5am they were 10 minutes apart and a tad bit stronger. I showered and woke up Craig to let him know what was going on. :) We couldn't believe that it was really happening- I was in the early stage of labor! By 7am the contractions were only about 7 minutes apart. At 8am I felt them get stronger, and were now 5-6 minutes apart. We were thinking about the 5-1-1 recommendation we were given about when to go to the hospital: your contractions come 5 minutes apart, lasting one minute each, for 1 full hour. About half way through that hour... I felt Hollis kicking and moving. I remember telling Craig as he walked by me on the couch that his kicks were so strong and that's when all of the sudden it felt like a giant water balloon burst in my belly! My eyes opened wide- I looked at Craig (who thought that Hollis has kicked me in a rib or something) and started yelling "My water broke! My water just broke!" Luckily we had not unpacked hardly anything from the car from the night before when we came home empty handed. We grabbed whatever we could and hopped in the car. Good thing we don't live too far from the hospital, because the Low Fuel light came on about half way there! The contractions got so much stronger by the time we got checked in. It felt like FOREVER while I was in the observation room waiting to get admitted.
I finally get to the room that will be my home away from home for a couple days, and my nurse (Mary) let me know that I was 4cm dilated! Contractions were good (and so far quite manageable), and I made it clear to the staff that I didn't want an epidural. I'm thinking to myself that I'd probably have my baby in my arms by mid-afternoon. Craig and my mom helped me through labor all day- holding my hands, giving me ice, putting up with my stubborn anti-pain-meds mentality.
Around 3:30pm they told me I had reached 9 cm. By now I'm holding on by a thread, hoping the 10th centimeter happens very soon, because these contractions were some sort of evil. It was insane. I really doubted whether or not I had made the right decision, going natural, but the nurses (Mary shift was about to end so a nurse named Lindsey came in to help me continue) both told me to take one contraction at a time. Craig was so patient with me and supported every decision I made, even though I am pretty sure he thought I had lost my mind.
At 6pm, I'm still at 9 cm. My doctor wants to use Pitocin to regulate and strengthen the contractions to help... Strengthen? Seriously? I felt like I was dying. Then she said c-section, and I still wanted to avoid that if at all possible. She said that I also had the option to get an epidural, then do Pitocin, and that could work. She knew I hadn't wanted an epidural, but my body was fighting every contraction at this point. I gave in (since 4-minute contractions with 1-minute rest was NOT something I could handle any longer) and got the epidural. I was so weak they had to lay me on my side to set it up. About 3 minutes later, I was all smiles. I could breathe. I could put sentences together. I even said to everyone "for the next baby, I'll get the epidural at 5 or 6 cm." Ha- here I was feeling like I was going to shut down, now I'm talking about baby #2. That gave everyone something to laugh about.
At 8:30pm, I meet Terry- she's my 3rd nurse that day due to some shift changes. I'm still 9cm, but the Pitocin had regulated the contractions better. The epidural had given me a chance to relax and regain some energy and motivation for when I could push. My doctor wanted to try letting me push while she forced the 10th cm during the contraction. We tried that a few times, but his head kept going back up after each one. He was just not going to fit. At 8:45pm, the doctor let me know that we had exhausted all options. Hollis was only going to be able to come out by c-section. At this point in the day, all anxiety about surgery was gone. I was instead overjoyed that I knew how close we finally were to meeting our son!!! They came in to turn my epidural into a spinal (going from mostly numb and tingly to completely numb and motionless from the chest down). Craig got his scrubs on and grabbed the camera. My arms were shaking so bad (from adrenaline according to the nurses) and they wheeled me into the O.R. Jimmy Buffet was playing on the stereo- I can't remember what song though. Craig watched the whole thing! As they pulled Hollis out at 9:20pm, all the nurses could talk about was what a huge baby he was. One of them even guessed he'd weigh 9 lb 14 oz. I kept thinking I'd given birth to a monster baby! I heard his first few cries and my heart melted. I didn't cry though, all I could do was smile. I kept asking the nurse up by my head how he was doing. He gave me play-by-plays of how Hollis was and what a proud daddy Craig was, taking pictures of everything. While I was getting stitched and glued back together, they lifted one corner of the sheet so I could see them weighing and cleaning Hollis. Finally the real weight was revealed- 8 lb. 10.1 oz. He was 21 inches long, and had a huge cone head from the pushing that we tried earlier. His first APGAR score was 7, and 5 minutes later he was an 8. He is a 10 on my scale though. He's absolutely perfect. :)
He was greeted by his Grammy and Papa (my parents), Nana and Grandpa Mike (Craig's parents) and Uncle Geoff and Aunt Haley (my little brother and future sister-in-law).
So wonderful, the gifts we receive from God. From my amazing family, loving husband, and sweet baby boy, I feel so blessed... life is good... :)
