Let me just start by saying that my labor & delivery experience was completely amazing and totally enjoyable! Never thought I'd be saying that about going through labor and delivering a baby, but it is so true.
My story starts on March 23rd at around 7:00am. Jono sells Industrial Batteries for Exide Technologies and his territory is mainly just in DFW, but he does have some accounts in East Texas, too. Well, he had this one appointment in Jacksonville, TX (2 1/2 hours away) that he had been trying to schedule for a few weeks now. He originally had it scheduled for the week before, but it was cancelled last minute. We were so nervous about him making this trip because we were concerned that I would go into labor while he was away. But after my doctor appointment on the 17th, we felt confident that he could make the trip that week without any problems. I had been 2 CM dilated and 50% effaced at my appointment on the 17th, and my doctor said that she didn't feel labor was "imminent" and she was confident she'd be seeing me at my next appointment 1 week later. Unless, of course, my water broke first, which only happens to 1 in 10 women, therefore HIGHLY unlikely. So anyways, I had been having sporadic contractions for the past 2 weeks, and the few days before kept getting woken up in the middle of the night around 2 am with STRONG contractions, but they would never turn into anything. So on the morning of March 23rd, Jono woke me up to make sure it was still ok for him to go to his appointment in Jacksonville, to which I replied, "Of course! Go ahead. I didn't even get woken up with contractions in the middle of the night like normal, so don't worry at all!". Famous last words. After he left I went back to sleep, woke up, checked emails, did some things around the house, and then headed to LA Fitness around 11:15am for my daily workout. I remember thinking about ALL the things I was going to do when I got home to get ready for the baby to arrive. So I get to LA Fitness, jump on the elliptical, and begin my workout.
About 20 minutes into my workout, I felt something. Without being too "TMI" I'll just say that it felt like I may have slightly...well...wet my pants. After this happened I actually thought to myself, "Hmmm, that felt like my water broke, but I really wanna finish my workout!". Typical stupid me. But then I told myself, "C'mon Annie, don't be stupid, go to the bathroom and see what happened." On my way to the bathroom it started to feel like it happened again! So I was becoming a little more convinced, but still not sure. At that point I did the logical thing that anyone would do: I decided to sit in the locker room and google "What is it like when your water breaks?". After about 10 minutes of research, I decided that I was mildly convinced that this WAS HAPPENING. So what was my next step? I called my mom and asked her what it felt like when your water breaks (I was so nervous to call the doctor and be WRONG!!). We talked for a few minutes, and decided that I definitely needed to call the doctor. She told me she was gathering her stuff together and coming over immediately (she was at work). I headed home, jumped in the shower, and when I got out my Aunt B was already over at my house to help keep me calm and help me finish packing until my mom got there (remember, I was only 38 weeks, 5 days). As I finished packing, let's just say that all my doubts went away about whether or not my water had broke-- I KNEW it had broke and I was having this baby most likely within 12 hours or so!
At this point I decided it was time to call Jono and interrupt his meeting to tell him we were going to meet our daughter soon! Unfortunately Jono had JUST gotten to his appointment. But once I told him he promptly cancelled his meeting, jumped in the car, and headed to the hospital! Talk about bad timing! By this time my mom had arrived at my house to drive me and help me until Jono got back from his meeting. We stopped off at the doctor at about 1pm to have them check me before I went to the hospital. They confirmed that my water had definitely broken, and that I was 3 CM dilated and I should head to the hospital!!
(WOW this story seems a lot longer when you're typing it)
We get to the hospital around 1:30pm, check-in, get a room, and immediately get hooked up to machines. The contractions, though mild, start pretty much immediately upon arriving. They tell me that we're going to see if my contractions get stronger and more frequent on their own, and if they don't they'll hook me up to a pitocin drip to help speed things along. In the meantime, they told me to walk the hallways to see if I couldn't get things started on my own. As soon as I began walking around, Jono arrived-- thank the Lord!! I have never been more excited to see him in my life. I definitely started to get emotional at this point. After about an hour of walking around, we decide that things are NOT speeding up on their own, and we needed to start the pitocin drip.
I was definitely nervous to start the pitocin because, in my mind, I was going to go from mild contractions to full-blown wanna kill myself contractions in the blink of an eye. But luckily, this was not the case. Things started slowly and progressed slowly for the next 3-4 hours probably. At about 6:30pm, my dad and Jono started to get hungry, and since things were still progressing slowly I sent them off to the cafeteria to get some dinner for themselves. I mean surely things wouldn't get that bad that fast, right? WRONG. Sensing a theme here? Never send your husband away!! It wasn't long after he left that I started to feel the real deal contractions. WOW. Those suckers hurt! I have NO IDEA how people give birth without an epidural, and if you did, GOOD FOR YOU!! That is impressive! Not this girl. Once the pain got literally unbearable, and too frequent (less than 2 minutes apart), I decided it was time to call Jono and tell him to come back because I was ready to get the magical epidural! Once I called him he was back in no time, and the anesthesiologist arrived within 20 minutes, hallelujah! At this point, I wasn't even nervous about getting the epidural anymore because the pain from the contractions was far too intense to care (which is exactly the point I wanted to get to).
After the epidural, it was all smooth sailing. I was relaxed, calm, and able to enjoy the day! I had family in the room with me all day, keeping me company, and helping the time fly by--and it did! Before I knew it, it was 11:30pm (almost exactly 12 hours after my water broke), and I was 10 cm dilated! Thank God for modern medicine, right?! The nurse then called the doctor which allowed us to wait and "labor down" (a.k.a. allow the baby to move down the birth canal on her own, and painlessly!). The doctor arrived around 12:30 am, we promptly began pushing, and at 12:59am, Miss Lola Kate was born! It was easy breezy and totally magical! I will never forget that moment of seeing our baby girl for the first time. It is absolutely amazing, and you can never prepare yourself for how wonderful it will be. Makes me excited to do it again! Haha. I even said that RIGHT after she was born--so you know it wasn't too bad if I said that!
So anyways, that was my experience. Sorry if it was long-winded, but I wanted to write down and remember all the details! What a wonderful day!
Here are some pics that document the day:
