It was Thursday May 8, and I woke up pregnant, yet again. Gary took the day off because we had our 40 week appointment, which I clearly never thought was ever going to happen. I went to my last Momtourage brunch of the year, our Tea and Testimony party. I was able to enjoy time with my friends, and the delicious chicken salad they serve each year. I joked that I was still pregnant just so I could go to the meeting... that I had plans of going to the doctor and having a baby that day.
At our 2:00 doctor's appointment, the nurse told me that my blood pressure was a little high. Not high by normal standards, but high for me. I saw that as my golden ticket into Fairview.
Dr. Trunzo came in and did my exam, just to tell me that I was at 3cm. I was pretty sure she was lying to make me happy, as I had been at 2.5cm for a month. We discussed the induction plan for Sunday, 5/11. I filled her in on my blood pressure sitch and she told me they'd take it again at the end.
The second blood pressure came back 2 points higher, so my sweet sweet lady doctor decided to send me to Fairview to get induced. Gary had his "oh wow, this is going to happen" face on, and away we went. We had to stop home to get our things and get Scarlett settled in with Grandpa.
Getting our things turned into me changing Scarlett's outfit 4 times and braiding her hair. Gary decided now would be the time to update his iPad. By 5:00 we were finally out the door. Grandpa brought Scarlett a game that kept her distracted, and she couldn't care less that I was saying goodbye to her. I saved my tears for the car.
We arrived at the hospital around 5:30, and didn't get checked in until 6ish. Dr. Samanich came in discussed our options with us, strongly advising against induction. He actually suggested going home and waiting for another week, saying that 40 weeks 4 days was the "most typical" day for having a baby. We decided to meet in the middle, and instead of getting pitocin, I had them break my water to see if anything progressed. (And then I yelled at him for scaring me.)
Progressed it did... I immediately started having contractions. I labored for about 2 hours before getting the epidural, with Daddy rubbing my back, Moppy stroking my hair, and the sisters taking turns coming in to help.
When they started the epidural, I was still only 3cm dilated. During the administrating process, I was having some pretty serious contractions. Before they started the medication they checked me again and saw that I had transitioned to 7cm. I was ready for the drugs to start kicking in!
After a few adjustments (my left side was still not numb), the meds kicked in and I felt nothing. We spent the next few hours laughing and enjoying ourselves. Around 11pm the nurse told me it was time to start pushing, even though I didn't feel quite ready yet. We tried a few pushes and took a break. At midnight we started up again, and worked until 3:25am when our precious boy was born. I was sure to point out to Dr. Samanich that I had made it to 40 weeks 5 days, clearly past the average time to have a baby :)
At 7lbs 2oz, 19inches long, Robert Barrett Lewis is here.
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