The Story Of Us

So here's how it all went down. On Friday, July 8th, my OB told me I was only 1cm dilated and would have to be induced. I went in to the hospital on Sunday night to start a cervix softener called Cervidil. Of course I was very upset about this because I really wanted a natural birth without all of these medical interventions.  Turns out by the time I was admitted and hooked up to an iv I was already 4 centimeters dilated! My nurse called the doctor and we decided not to use the Cervidil and a few hours later the doctor came in and broke my water. Sadly, this didn't do too much. So around 6:30 am on Monday they started me on the dreaded Pitocin drip. The nurse was very sweet and she knew how much I did not want Pitocin at all. So she put me on the lowest dosage and that was all it took. Within five minutes I was contracting regularly. Unfortunately because my water had been broken and his head was not up against the cervix yet I had to lay in bed and I was not able to move very much. They didn't want the chord to prolapse. Finally, a few hours and about 9,000 contractions later, I was able to get on the ball and move around. Here's the thing, when your sciatic nerve is going nuts and your back is on fire, the ball doesn't help! Because of all the monitors on me I couldn't do much else. When I finally started pushing I got to lay on my side which was wonderful! It sounds weird, but it took pressure off of my back and really helped me get things moving. Once his head moved down they had me flip onto my back. That sucked. At this point though I was in so much pain it didn't really matter. I was on another plane, just focusing on getting him out. The pain is indescribable. It was beyond anything I had imagined and it took every ounce of my energy and focus. Honestly, I don't know how much more I could have taken. I pushed for less than an hour and my whole labor was about 7 hrs. That is nothing compared to most. So I guess as much as I hated being induced, it was really for the best because I got to have a faster labor. Who knows how long it would have taken otherwise. I'm still in shock that it is all over. I still can't believe that I did it. I stuck to my guns and fought for what I wanted out of this experience. I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment and pride. It is amazing to me what you can do if you really put your mind to it. I am just so thankful that I had my husband, mom and grandma there with me. They were the BEST coaches and I am so lucky to have them. And now I'm finally a mom. I find myself spending most of my time staring at Cole in awe. John and I keep discussing how amazing he is and how we just can't believe we made a human! We are just so excited for this adventure!