Fortunately, there was change. I had dilated to a 4 and was closer to 90% effaced. I really expected Dr. Wayman to admit me right then, but she didn't. She did, however, tell me very seriously that if I even thought I was in labor to go straight to the hospital and not to wait until my contractions were 5 minutes a part like they tell you in birthing classes. At the end, she said "See you next week... but probably before."
I called Beth as I left because she was going out of town that weekend and we were both nervous about me going into labor when she wasn't here. She was as disappointed as I was, but there was nothing we could do. I went shopping and cooked dinner. Devin took a few belly shots and we went to bed.
Around midnight, I woke up having to go to the bathroom. I thought I felt what might be a contraction. I went to my closet to get the stopwatch and climbed back into bed. As soon as I did, I felt another contraction. That was it. Two contractions and I woke Devin up to tell him it was time and he jumped out of bed... moving faster than I had ever seen him as he wasn't packed for the hospital. I told him not to rush... that we had time. In fact, I even put a little makeup on. By the time we were leaving the house, my contractions were coming every 5 minutes and before we got to the hospital, every 2.
Since it was after hours, we had to go in a different entrance than we were used to. We couldn't figure out where to park and I was starting to think I was going to give birth at any minute so we parked way out in the middle of nowhere and had to walk a ways to get inside. Devin laughed later saying that he should have at least dropped me off at the door, but neither of us were thinking straight. Devin also discovered later that he could have literally parked right by the entrance we had to go in!
We went up and even though I had pre-enrolled, there was still a ton of paperwork. I could tell the nurse helping us didn't think I was really in labor so I kept trying to tell her that I was already dilated to a 4 and that my doctor had told me to come right away if I thought I was in labor. Another nurse (who ended up being MY nurse) stepped in and told me to go change in the room across the hall and that Devin could fill out the paperwork.
After I changed, the first nurse (the one who didn't seem to think I was in labor) examined me and just as she was asking "Has your water broken?" My water broke. She looked at Devin who had joined me and said "Well, you guys are here to stay."
Devin had already called Beth to prep her that we were at the hospital so he called her back and she started to driving. Devin then called his family to tell them that Baby C was on the way.
The first nurse left and the second nurse came in and told me that she would be staying with me. She was a flurry of motion as she tried to get paperwork signed and everything going. I started a weird shaking thing where I couldn't hardly write or function. Devin was having to fill out most things which was a pain since he didn't know all of my info. At this point, a lady was wheeled down the hallway screeching in so much pain that I decided Baby C could stay right where she was. It was seriously the most pain I had ever heard anyone be in.
My nurse helped me move to a wheelchair so I could go up to the labor and delivery floor. I was in a lot of pain by this point. My contractions were back-to-back which I didn't know could happen. I couldn't get my breath and the shaking was making it even more painful. The nurse said the shaking was happening because of the hormone change and covered me in a lot of blankets.
Once in my permanent room, my nurse again started moving in a million directions, but came in at one point and celebrated that we were first on the list for the anesthesiologist to visit. Apparently, he was on his way to the hospital and my nurse wanted to make sure that all of my blood work and paperwork were in so that he would come to our room as soon as he arrived.
I told her about the lady we heard screaming in pain and she said "Yea, we're ahead of her!" I would've felt bad, but I was too happy and in too much pain to be gracious enough to let some surpass me on the epidural list!
When the anesthesiologist came in, I was so happy I could cry, but the man was soooooooo slow that I could hardly stand it. I was more than ready to sign away my house, car, and whatever risks were involved, but he talked and moved with such precision that my contractions were no longer the only annoyance I was experiencing. I told him about my scoliosis and how I didn't know if I would even be able to have the epidural. He halfway looked at me and said "You're skinny. It won't be a problem." Sweeter words had never been spoken.
While the anesthesiologist was there, I heard Beth arrive, but they wouldn't let her in until he was finished. Beth still says that I made labor look waaaaay too easy which I always laugh at because she missed the "real" labor!
The next few hours were spent with a lot less pain and a lot of nurse visits because our little girl's heart rate kept dropping. They put me on oxygen and moved me on my left side, but there were still some scary episodes. I was preparing for an emergency C-section which was my biggest fear going into pregnancy.
A little before 6, my nurse said I was fully dilated and that she was calling Dr. Wayman again to tell her it was time. Dr. Wayman asked how I was feeling and then begged for a quick shower. She promised me that her day would be so much better if I could just give her 15 more minutes. I was feeling fine so I told her to go ahead.
The nurse asked me to start pushing and clearly relieved, she said that our little one's heart beat was actually better when I was pushing so I should be fine with having a vaginal delivery. Right around 6, Dr. Wayman arrived and serious pushing started. I never really found a comfortable position though and was having a difficult time pushing the way they wanted. Always the perfectionist and people pleaser, I remember feeling frustrated. At one point, I asked if I could scoot up a bit and thankfully, another nurse saw my face and said "Are you going to throw up?" and immediately handed me a cup.
Everything went absolutely crazy. The whole room freaked out and I became incredibly scared, but I was throwing up and couldn't stop long enough to ask what was going on. Fortunately, Dr. Wayman saw me and said "Michelle, throwing up causes the baby to come faster and we weren't quite prepared so everything is fine, we are just trying to get into baby arrival mode."
A few more pushes and I heard Beth say "She has hair!" I started tearing up because I couldn't believe she had hair. Then I heard a Dr. Wayman say "Oh, that's the problem" at the same time Beth gasped and another nurse said "Oh!" My heart absolutely stopped. Again Dr. Wayman saw my face and said "Her cord is wrapped around her neck twice. She's okay, but it's the reason her heart rate has kept dropping." She instructed me to stop pushing and after getting the cord unwrapped, our little one made her official appearance at 7:13 a.m.
As Dr. Wayman laid her on my stomach, she led Finley into the O-S-U hand motions. I was so thankful that we discovered Beth had gotten it on video. I just love that Dr. Wayman and I had the kind of relationship where she knew how big of fans we were... and as a graduate herself could fully appreciate it.
Unfortunately, the worse part of labor was just beginning for me. After I held Finley, the nurses took her to clean her up and I could sense things weren't going as expected. Dr. Wayman had asked the nurses to prep her C-section that was next, but then asked them to stop the prep. I was in a lot of pain and Dr. Wayman kept asking them to up my pain medication. I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but finally was told that I was bleeding and they couldn't get it to stop. A nurse happened to be leaving my room and Dr. Wayman saw two other doctors in the hallway. She yelled frantically for them to get a sonogram machine and by this point, I was more scared than I had ever been. At some point during this, they had given Finley back to me and I was trying to concentrate on her, but I had to pass her off because I was becoming so weak that I couldn't hold her any longer. Dr. Wayman told me that if they didn't get the bleeding to stop in the next couple of minutes that they would be taking me to OR. I wasn't sure exactly what this meant, but I knew it wasn't good. Fortunately, the bleeding did stop and though I had lost a lot of blood and was weak, I was okay.
All of my nurses were wonderful and all of them came back to check on me... clearly, they had been really worried about me and I so appreciate it. I didn't realize how bad things were until much later when I talked to my friend who is a nurse. I also talked to Dr. Wayman and she hopes that my next delivery will be better (and thank goodness, I get to have a next delivery!) and that she will have a particular drug ordered for me to take as soon as I'm in labor.
Anyway, our little girl was (and of course, still is) absolutely beautiful. Her complexion was much more olive than I was expecting and she had much more hair as well. She was also extremely alert and very peaceful. She stole my heart instantly and I knew that I would do anything for her. I knew that I would love her immediately, but I had no idea just how much or how incredible it would feel to become a mom.
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