[Intro]
[Part 1]
[Part 2]
Even though I was already feeling pressure, the doctor checked me right after I got the epidural and said I was still only about 5cm dilated. I was clueless as to why this labor was so incredibly painful, but would soon find out...
Meanwhile, Gummie got a fun case of the hiccups. I could feel them even with the epidural and Mike and the nurse could hear them on the fetal monitor. It was uncomfortable, but pretty cute, and helped me to relax as I took it to mean that she was going about her business just fine, despite the awkward adventure down the birth canal.
About two hours after receiving the epidural (5:45pm), I was feeling constant pressure and decided to page the nurse. Ten minutes later, it was still just Mike and me in the room and I was feeling LOTS of pressure. We were both getting a teensy bit nervous. So I paged again.
At 6:00pm, the doctor showed up, checked my progress, and said, "time to have a baby!" She asked me if I could wait 10 minutes, which I said I could, and then she disappeared. 15 minutes later, we were still alone and I was dying to push. We were both getting a bit nervous again. Thankfully, the doctor and nurse returned then and we were able to get things started.
Well, I started pushing, and nothing really seemed to happen. After a couple of rounds of pushing, I got the vibe that something wasn't quite right. The doctor kept digging around inside of me (not fun, in case you were wondering) and finally let me know what was up: the baby's face.
I had recently had a talk with one of my good friends about this phenomenon, so I wasn't completely in the dark. The conversation replayed in my mind as I waited for the next contraction...
There in that hospital bed, I vowed to take any/all advice from my hippie friends seriously from that moment forward. If you've been wondering why my family suddenly only eats organic food or why we have decided to go no 'poo, there is your answer.
I can now vouch that labor is really painful when a baby goes through the birth canal face up. And I was finally beginning to understand why I was feeling so much pain/pressure so early on in this whole process.
Anyway, I continued to push during each contraction and my nurse continued to express more and more urgency in her voice and face each time we started a new round. She was definitely making me nervous. Despite paging an unusual number of people, my doctor stayed calm and smiley and encouraged me to keep pushing. I tried to focus on her demeanor, which was much more relaxing and positive than the nurse's.
Meanwhile, Mike was pulling a Casper on me. Apparently he had also picked up on the nurse's concern and the unusual amount of people now in our room. "I need to sit down," he says. One lady took a look at his colorless face and said, "you better lie down, because I am not taking care of you if you pass out!" Poor guy.
After a bit more pushing, I felt like some progress was actually being made. But, the intensity of the nurse and the random lady who yelled at Mike heightened, so I guessed the progress was putting even more stress on the baby. I was worried, but my doctor still seemed confident. She gave me an episiotomy (I won't explain this word... if you don't already know what it means, you don't want to know) and the baby was out of there after a couple more rounds of pushing, at 6:36pm. Whew!
I heard Montgomerie's sweet cry and breathed a sigh of relief as a couple of the people standing by (I'm assuming the others were in case I needed an emergency C-section) took her to the baby tanning bed to assess her. Aside from a bit of bruising on the forehead, she was healthy as could be! I was exhausted, but I was also elated. My first three thoughts were:
- Holy hair!
- Look at those chubby cheeks!!
- I need a nap.
After all of the immediate postpartum stuff was taken care of (I don't think anybody wants to read about that, right?), we were transferred to our postpartum room, where I would recover for five freaking days. That's another story though.
