BIRTH STORY!!!!!

Heather’s due date was May 6^th. Naturally and surprisingly I went into labor on my own on May 6^th. About 9 am I was having weird cramps. It felt like menstrual cramping. I had a couple the other day so I ignored it and went on. I was getting breakfast In the kitchen when I felt a little flow coming out of my crotch. It was enough to dripple a little down my leg. So of course, I stopped (I know I had to of had the weirdest look on my face ha) and went to the bathroom. It was clear liquid followed by blood. It was darkish brown tint. I had a doctors apt that afternoon so I just waited for the doc apt instead of going to the hospital. At the doc office after talking to the doctor she wanted me to go the hospital because of the menstrual cramping, bleeding and trickle all together. After I arrived at the hospital it turns out it was just discharge. And I was put on the stress test just to be safe because of the bleeding. Then I was sent home. That night I was up ALL night. The contractions kept getting bigger and stronger. I started to keep track of them from Constractionmaster.com. The contractions were only 10 min apart and lasted only 30-50 seconds. But boy, It was PAINFUL. I knew something was wrong because it wasn’t close enough in time to hurt the way they were hurting. At 3 am on May 7^th (the next day) I was almost in tears because they hurt so bad. They were jumping from 6 minutes apart to 10 minutes apart and they were all lasting a little over a minute. I knew I was officially in labor; but still didn’t know why they were hurting so bad. I kept track of my contractions all day long. They kept getting closer and closer and hurt a lot more. I planned on going to the hospital when they were 5 min apart. I called family to let them know. I didn’t eat the night before and all that day because I felt so sick to my stomach and on top of that I hadn’t slept. I left for the hospital when the contractions started reaching 5 min apart. My mom took me and the rest of the family was going to come up once I got myself situated and found out more information. When I got there I was checked. I only 50% effaced and barely 2 cent dilated. My reaction was horrible. I seriously thought the nurse was lying. I was thinking no way was ALL of that pain just getting me that far. So they had me walk for an hour. That was close to very painful. Keeping in mind I have multiple physical problems so I have a pretty good pain tolerance. After my walking I was rechecked and I was almost 3 cent and 100% effaced. Since I showed that must improvement in an hour they wanted me to stay. My family came up to show support. The nurses wanted me to keep walking but I was in so much pain I just couldn’t. Turns out It was back labor that was why it was hurting so bad on top of that not sleeping at all makes things more exhausting than what they really are. At 4 cent I was told I could get a epidural. I wanted to go natural on this birth but I was passing out from being exhausted and I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle it. So I was finally able to get the epidural when I was at 6 cent (the doc took so long ). Finally I was getting the epidural. It hurt so bad. He had to try over 3 times. I was having strong and fast contractions so it was super hard to stay still I just wanted to scrunch up in a ball and die. I felt this HUGE release of water or pee. I thought I was peeing when he was putting the needle in so I tried to stop peeing but I couldn’t. I told the nurse stuff is coming out and she checked me and said I don’t see anything. (ha ha I said “stuff is coming out” a lot to the nurse. I was bleeding a lot so it felt weird). Finally the epi calmed my nerves and I was told to take a nap for an hour or so I can be rested and feel better. Only half the epi worked. I felt a little big of numbness in my right knee and a patch on my stomach and that was it. It missed the spots that count the most! Lol. The doc re checked me and I went from a 6 to 9 centimeters in half and hour. So.. No time for me to rest! I was told to start pushing a little bit after that. My mom and two sisters bless their hearts helped me through every step. The nurse I had through the whole thing was the nicest and such a helpful nurse. She really made me feel good even when I said and asked stupid questions lol. I was pushing for an hour and half. Through each push I remember laying my head back and my eyes rolling in the back of my head and trying to stay awake and not pass out. The epi wasn’t working at all the last hour of pushing. I started sweating a lot during the last half hour I guess that is when your body works the hardest. Finally the baby came! She was set on top of me and I was trying so hard to stay focused. She was born at 2:53 am on May 08^th 2008. She weighed 6 pounds and 14 ounces; 18 inches long. My mom kept saying over and over again “she’s so beautiful” and my sister held my hand while I was delivering the placenta and getting stitched up. I was trying to hard to stay focused on the baby and get a good look at her but my eyes kept rolling in the back of my head. Finally, I was able to look at her, hold her and try to feed her. I can’t even tell how I feel about her. It’s something you can’t put into words. I know every mom that just had their babies say that, but it’s totally true. Its hard to understand how you love someone you just met but yet you feel like you have known them forever. You have this HUGE burst of love for such a small thing. It’s an awesome feeling. So I had over 30 hours of back labor, this little creature weighing under 7 pounds put me through so much pain. But I love her so much and would do it all over again. I couldn’t of done it without my family supporting me and being their for me. Even though they saw things they wish they didn’t lol.