Play By Play!

Many people have been asking how my labor was, etc. It was great as far as I am concerned! Here is a play by play:

Monday Night (10/25) - We arrived at the hospital, and I was given a dose of Cervidil to prepare my body to begin dilating. The plan was for me to receive Pitocin first thing in the morning to begin contractions. My doctor informed me that 1 in 10 women actually start contractions on their own after receiving Cervidil.

Tuesday 3:30 AM (10/26) - I wake up feeling contractions! I had gone into labor without the help of Pitosin! Luckily, the contractions were mild, and I was able to doze on and off for the rest of the night until my doctor arrived for her rounds.

8:30 AM -  My doc confirmed that I was indeed in labor, but that my contractions were still pretty far apart and was approximately 3 cm. She decided to break my water in an effort to strengthen and speed up my contractions. IT WORKED! I immediately began feeling some pretty intense pain, with contractions about 5-6 minutes apart.

10 AM -  I decided to try a little water laboring! My hospital room came with a jacuzzi hot tub, which was AMAZING! I was able to relax in the tub for over an hour while listening to music and reading a magazine! The contractions were still painful, but the warm water put me into a zone that allowed me to work through them.

11:30 AM - The tub only helped with the contractions for so long...and they were beginning to be unbearable. My plan all along was to get an epidural, so I decided that it was time! I was extremely pleased with the epidural...it made the remainder of my labor fantastic! I was given a pretty strong dose...and was unable to even wiggle my toes (some women are able to almost walk with an epidural...not me!)  To be honest, my body was so uncomfortable over the last few weeks...that I welcomed the lack of "feeling"! For the next few hours, I was totally relaxed...took a few naps...chatted with Ryan and his family, watched some TV...it was great!

2 PM -  My doctor checked my dilation progress and I had not dilated past 3 cm. She decided to start giving me Pitocin to augment my labor...hoping that stronger contractions would help me dilate faster. Since I was already numb from the epidural, I did not mind the start of Pitocin, and felt no change in my labor.

5 PM  - Carson's heart rate drastically dropped. The nurses suspected that I had been lying in a way that was squishing his umbilical cord, causing the drop. They had me roll around attempting to release the cord...and eventually even had me on my hands and knees! Let me tell you...being numb and trying to get on your hands and knees is quite amusing! It took the help of about 5 nurses! Once Carson's heart rate was stabilized, my doctor checked me again...and this time I was 5 cm. A little progress...but not much...we began to joke that perhaps Carson would be born on the 27th instead of the 26th...

7:30 PM - While sitting around chatting with Ryan, my mother in law, Alyse, and Ryan's grandma, Debbie...I began feeling a weird pressure sensation "down there" which was surprising since up until then I had not felt much of anything anywhere! I casually mentioned it to the group, and then to my nurses, and we all seemed perplexed as to what might have been causing it, as I was barely 5 cm only a few hours before. Eventually one of the nurses decided to check my cervix out of pure curiosity...and wouldn't you know...she couldn't find my cervix...because Carson's head was almost crowning!! I had gone from 5 to 10 cm in 2.5 hours!!!

8:26 PM -  After approximately 10 pushes, baby Carson was born! I must admit, it was flawless! My contractions never really sped up past 4 minutes apart, so we had to wait quite awhile in between each contraction before I could push again, totaling about 45 minutes of pushing. I used a towel tied to a birthing bar to help focus my pushing, since I could not really feel what I was doing due to the epidural. Ryan was an amazing coach, did a great job of holding my left leg and giving me updates on my pushing progress. Carson was placed immediately on my chest, and the three of us were instantly in love!

All in all, a fantastic birthing experience!!!