I had gone to the doctor for my regularly scheduled appointment on Wed.,

and was told I was only dilated 1 cm and that nothing would happen anytime

soon. I was hoping he would say the opposite, as my parents were in town

until the following Saturday morning (we have no other family here) and it

would have been wonderful to have our baby while they were here. Oh well.

Then on Friday morning my doctor called and said that if we wanted, he

would induce me early Sat. morning for two reasons 1) he was on call all

weekend and 2) he knew I would love to have Ellen arrive while her

grandparents were here. It was tempting, but my husband and I decided that

we wanted to have things happen as naturally as possible. And I wasn't

really due for another three days.

The day after my parents left (Sunday) my dh and I were getting ready to go

out and run errands and I started feeling what I assumed were contractions!

Yipeee! I was so excited and anxious. I remember trying to get ready,

and although the contractions weren't painful yet, it was hard to keep

myself focused on getting ready and out the door. We realized nothing was

going to happen anytime soon, so we went to a street fair close to home and

walked up and down with manageable contractions. That night we went for

another walk, trying to move things along. We went to bed at a reasonable

hour, wondering if we would be heading to the hospital in the middle of the

night.

At around 3am I woke and couldn't sleep. The contractions felt much

stronger and more painful. I woke my dh to help me time them - and when

they got to 5 min apart we decided to go to the hospital. Being that it

was the middle of the night, we couldn't figure out where the heck to park

and what entrance to go in. Of course, we ended up in the opposite end of

that darn hospital! UGH! Not a happy camper. We finally made it to the

triage and got admitted. The nurse was fabulous but unfortunately my

contractions were not the 5 min apart that we thought they were! And I was

only 2 cm dilated. We felt a little stupid - but we were first timers, so

we got over that quick! Then she called my doctor and he told her he would

like us to stay and walk around the hospital and that we would probably

have Ellen by dinner time. The nurse, who cracked us up, recommended we go

home with a sleeping pill and come back when they are 3 min apart. She

said she figured our doc was just trying to speed us along so he could be

home for HIS dinner.

Anyway, we went home, slept, tried to shower, and then all of a sudden the

contractions went nuts! Very painful and close together. Unfortunately

they were only 5 or 6 min apart - and we knew better at this point to go

running to the hospital premature again. So I suggested we go for a walk

around the block/neighborhood. Well, I didn't even get to the end of the

block - I thought I was going to fall over and die! We came back home and

I told dh I wanted to go back to the hospital soon. He was being a dork

about it, saying it was too soon again. The more I told him I wanted to go

the more he made me mad! Finally, when I was running out of positions to

make the contractions more bearable, I told him we are going to the

hospital NOW! I just couldn't take it anymore.

We checked in (again!) and I was only 3 cm dilated. UGH! With how the

pain had intensified so much, I figured for sure I was further along than

only 4 darn cm!!! This was not pleasing to hear. Not to mention, the

nurse that was assisting us in the triage was so very annoying. Way to

cheery considering my state of mind at the time! Then out of the blue I

got the worst charlie horse cramp in my calf. It hurt so bad I couldn't

talk - and my husband just sat there as I tried to tell him to massage my

leg! Once that was over, a different nurse (thank God!) manually

"stretched" me to 4 cm (I didn't know that was possible - but I am here to

tell you that I felt her do it vaginally!!) Then they told us to walk

around the hospital. That was the worst. Not only was my pain horrible -

but having to look like death during a contraction in front of innocent

people in the hospital hallways was not my idea of fun. We came back in 30

minutes and I still wasn't further along. But this time they sent me to my

own room anyway. By now, my hope of having a natural childbirth was a

faint memory in my mind. All I was thinking at this point was one word :

EPIDURAL!!!! And give it to me NOW!!!!!!! The nurse that was assigned to

me told me I'd have to wait until I took in some fluids via IV. Not happy!

As I sat and waited for the fluid to drain I could barely manage the pain.

Through each contraction I don't even think I was able to open my eyes I

was in so much pain. My dh kept asking me if I was having a contraction

and all I could do was raise a finger to signify YES (or, more or less,

what the H*LL do you think I'm having!!!!!!!!!!) I laugh now when I look

back, cause neither me or my dh were doing anything productive during the

contractions to help manage them. No breathing, focus point, massage,

NOTHING! SO much for those birthing classes. I remember my lovely nurse

saying "didn't you guys even take birthing classes?" Like I needed to hear

that at this point!

Every time the nurse kept coming in I was absolutely begging for the

epidural. I'm pretty sure she wasn't happy with me at this point (feelings

were mutual!). My dh said I just about hollered at the janitor to give me

my epidural ! Then FINALLY, the anesthesiologist came and did the epi. All

I can say is, I would have taken 17 of them. The needle in my spine was

nothing compared to the contractions I was having. Anyway, soon thereafter

I was in complete bliss. Oh, and my nurse that I despised a moment ago now

seemed like my best friend.

Shortly thereafter the OB resident broke my water (weird feeling) and they

gave me petocin since I was still only 4cm dilated. By now I was all

rested, and my dh and I were thinking it would be a few hours before

anything would happen. It was 4:30ish so he decided to go to the cafeteria

for some dinner. Seemed like forever and he finally came back. Within

moments I told him I either had to take a BM or push! The nurse thought I

was loosing my mind, but once she checked she realized I was at 10 cm!!!!!

They managed to get the doctor in ASAP and I pushed for about an hour to

hour and a half. The pushing was such an awesome feeling! I felt so in

control for once during this whole labor and delivery! It was great. And

I was able to have enough energy to do what I had to do. Finally she

arrived at 7:57. No tearing and no episiotomy (thanks to my dr. who did

lots of perennial massage to prevent this from happening). Daddy cut the

cord (even though he wasn't so sure if he'd want to). She weighed in at 6

lbs. 14 oz and 19.5 inches long with tons of black hair!!

I wanted Ellen to be placed on my chest and nurse immediately, but a second

after they rested her on me they whisked her away because her lung had some

fluid in it. Once they got her lung cleared they wrapped her up and I got

to see her! She was so beautiful. We were able to nurse for a little bit

which was the most unbelievable experience.

We stayed until the next day at around noon. I couldn't wait to get home

with my precious little Ellen. I will never forget this day for the rest

of my life!