It all started on the 2nd, just a day after my due date (for the record my original due date was the 3rd. They moved it to the first after she measured big at the anatomy scan...anywho..) Actually, it all started on the 1st...my due date. I had my 40 wk appointment. I had considered asking my midwife to strip my membranes, but didnt know if she would go for it and debated whether I should mess with nature anyway. I had read that getting your membranes stripped didnt work unless things were ready to go anyway. At my appointment she checked for progress (there was none from my last appointment) and while she was down there she "roughed me up". Her words, not mine. That, I guess, is what you do when someone hasn't progressed enough to have their membranes stripped, but it's the next best thing. I left the appointment feeling no different. The next day I noticed that I was loosing my mucus plug. I didnt think anything about it really because my sister had lost hers, but didnt deliver Levi for another week. However, that night around 11pm I started having what felt like cramps. I knew they were probably contractions, but they were very irregular...some as far apart as 30 minutes. I tried to sleep, but as time went on they got more intense and closer together. At 3am I decided that I should try to get some sleep, so I snuggled in next to Derek and tried to sleep through any pain I was having. It wasn't 10 minutes later when I felt a huge pop. It could be compared to when your hip pops, but it doesnt happen at your hip! haha! I then had a small gush of water. I sweetly (but very excitedly) patted Derek on the shoulder. I was saying his name and patting him gently...nothing. A little harder and a little louder...nothing. Finally, I nearly shouted "DEREK!" He came to his senses and I told him my water had broken. He asked if I was sure...umm...yes. The extremely intense and regular contractions started instantly. They were strong enough I couldn't talk through them and were every three minutes from the get-go. I was directed to come in when they were every 5 minutes apart. I had hoped to labor quite a bit at home, but due to the fact that they were so close together and it seemed there was meconeum in my water, we thought it would be best if we headed on in. Derek was running around frantically stuffing things in a bag. I was oohing and ahhing. We hopped in the car and sped to the hospital. When we got there we quickly registered and they allowed me to skip triage because I think they could see I was already in the midst of active labor. I dont think they needed a monitor to tell them that. I got changed into my robe, got settled into my bed, got hooked up to the monitors so they could check Campbell's heart rate. It took forever for them to get a steady read on her heart rate, so I had to stay hooked up to the monitors for a while. That was super annoying. Once they had a good 30 second read I was able to take the monitors off. I had hoped to labor by walking and sitting on a birthing ball, squatting, all these different positions to help speed things up. Unfortunately, the pain was SO intense all I could do was lay there, focus on this spot on the ceiling and pray I made it through the contraction. I did this for several hours before the nurse suggested I get in the tub. Let me tell you...that tub was a God-send. I stayed in there for a while...I dont know how long...and then had to be monitored again. After each contraction I was so exhausted that I would drift off to sleep until the next one woke me up. Looking back now I dont remember the pain that much, but when your in it...it's bad. After I was monitored and they got the steady 30 second read I knew I had to do something different. Yes, the pain was intense, but it was the sheer exhaustion that was really getting to me. I asked the nurse for a pain killer. She gave it to me and I got a nice nap. An hour later I was awoken by another doozy of a contraction and it was back to it. This went on for 10 hours. Suddenly I felt an intense urge to have a BM. I told the nurse I had to go, but she informed me that that's how you feel when it's really time to push the baby out. She checked me, but I was only 7cm. Not long after she checked me, I knew I had to get her out. It's a pressure like you've never felt before. I was terrified they werent going to let me push until I had reached 10 cm, but they told me to go ahead and try pushing. I heard them calling my mid-wife and I knew I was about to have my baby girl. I ended up pushing for about 45 minutes to an hour and through 3 cm (ouch). I remember looking at my mid-wife and telling her I didn't think she was going to come out. She did. They plopped my beautiful, covered-in-nastiness baby upon my chest and the rest is history. It was truly love at first sight. And now my little love is waking up, so I better be going. Here's the first picture of our little beauty.
