Birth Story: Part Three

Things were moving fast.  I'm not sure how to determine how long labor had been.  But, technically, I wasn't in labor when we arrived at the hospital.  I would say labor didn't really start until about a half hour into getting induced.  The contractions began coming more frequently and slowly were beginning to get more intense.  I had gone from 2.5 cm dilated to 6 cm in 2 1/2 hours.

At about 4 PM, since contractions were longer, stronger, and closer together I asked again if the portable monitor was available.  No, the person using it was walking the halls.  The nurse suggested some alternatives and I continued to push through the pain.  Chris was a great support.  He was there for each contraction. He rubbed my back, kept a wash cloth cool, and had a calming presence.

Around 6 PM I had begun feeling pressure and I was checked again.  I was 9 cm dilated.  The nurse said when I felt the urge to push to let her know.  It wasn't five minutes later I called them back in saying I felt pressure.  I was now 10 cm and it was go time.  I remember asking the doctors if they were sure I was ready.  I felt like everything had happened so fast.  Little did I realize pushing was actually a god send.  By this point the contractions were highly painful and I was having difficulty breathing through them.  Pushing, although VERY difficult and still painful, felt a million times better than the contraction.  I pushed for a little over an hour and at 7:19 PM our little one entered the world.

I can vividly remember seeing the doctor hold the baby up.  The cord was blocking the important parts (remember, we didn't know the gender of the baby).  As they pulled to cord away, I was able to announce, "It's a Girl!"

It is amazing how in a few quick moments you can go from being in the most pain you have ever experienced to feeling more joy than one can explain.