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December 25, 2009Merry Christmas! Waking up on that morning, I never thought things were going to go in the direction they did. Erik made us our traditional Christmas Day waffles & we enjoyed some time just laying around the house. That afternoon, we headed to the movie theater. On the drive there, I had my first "real" contraction. For the first time, I understood what women were talking about. You really do know the difference. Contractions continued throughout the movie. The Blindside...I would still recommend it. Great movie. I will probably have to watch it again though...I was somewhat distracted every 10-15 minutes. Thank goodness I decided to get milkduds.
By the time we got home from the movies, we decided to start timing the contractions. Erik whipped up some awesome chili & cinnamon rolls for our Christmas dinner. That chili is now famous for getting labor kicked in to high gear. Our neighbor friends came over that night to hang out & celebrate Christmas. We had some friends over for some Christmas fun. The men battled it out on their iPhones, & the ladies sat around & talked. Although our conversation was interrupted every 7-8 minutes by a contraction.
That night, sleep was nowhere in sight. It felt like I had Evander Holyfield warming up for the big match using my uterus as his punching bag. I looked over at my handsome husband sleeping so well. Snoring. Enjoying his precious sleep. I wanted to treat him as my punching bag - but decided to let him sleep. One of us should get some rest.
December 26, 2009
By 7am I finally decided to wake Erik up & asked him to time the contractions. They had increased to 7-8 minutes apart. We laid in bed for a while but I eventually got up & took a shower hoping it would relax me. Nope. Around 11am we called the hospital. The nurse said that I would most likely want to come in to the hospital within a few hours. We called the hospital again at around 1:30 & our doctor was on call. I spoke to Dr. Miller & after hearing me have a contraction while on the phone, she suggested that we head to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital about 2:20 pm and Jeanette checked us in. I got strapped up to a couple of different monitoring devices.
We arrived at the hospital about 2:20 pm and Jeanette checked us in. I got strapped up to a couple of different monitoring devices.
I was 90% effaced and only 1 centimeter dilated. Boy was that discouraging. We decided to go home to continue laboring there, but not without a sleep aid. Jeanette gave me a morphine shot so I could sleep when we got home. The nursing staff told me they expected to see me back before midnight.
When we got home, we ate some leftover Christmas ham & green bean casserole & some icecream.
Then the morphine nap began. When I woke up, the contractions had slowed down significantly. I was pretty bummed thinking that maybe I had been in false labor. So we played Super Mario Bros on the Wii to distract from the contractions. We went to bed, slept for awhile….until…
December 27th, 2009
I woke up at about 3am experiencing more intense contractions. By 5am, I started timing the contractions & they were about 5 minutes apart. I got up to go to the bathroom & lost my mucas plug. Gross? Yes. But after that contractions were about 3-4 minutes a part. After an hour of laying there miserably, I woke up Erik & we called the hospital. The hospital was expecting us & by 7am we were out the door.
The drive to the hospital was treacherous. TREACHEROUS. The hospital is only about 5 minutes away, but we had to stop 4 different times b/c I couldn't handle the bumps in our Jeep when I was having contractions. We arrived at hospital and Jeanette was back for another shift and was our nurse again. This time I was 4-5 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. We were NOT leaving the hospital without the baby this time.
Around 8:30am, my good friend Cynthia arrived to support the Hustad family.
Mary Kay, the nurse anesthetist, was the hero of the hour. She came in at about 10:30am & gave me an epidural.
That didn’t last too long because at 3:30 there was no progression. Jeanette started me on some pitocin to help move things along. 5:15 Jeanette came in to check my progress. With a big smile on her face she told us that I was complete & we could start pushing soon.
At 5:30pm we started pushing. I was laying on my side. I was having a hard time pushing in that position, b/c lets be honest, who poops while laying on their side? We moved so I was laying on my back & the pushes started coming much more naturally. I could feel the pressure from each contraction making it easier b/c I had the urge to push.
December 27th, 2009
I woke up at about 3am experiencing more intense contractions. By 5am, I started timing the contractions & they were about 5 minutes apart. I got up to go to the bathroom & lost my mucas plug. Gross? Yes. But after that contractions were about 3-4 minutes a part. After an hour of laying there miserably, I woke up Erik & we called the hospital. The hospital was expecting us & by 7am we were out the door.
The drive to the hospital was treacherous. TREACHEROUS. The hospital is only about 5 minutes away, but we had to stop 4 different times b/c I couldn't handle the bumps in our Jeep when I was having contractions. We arrived at hospital and Jeanette was back for another shift and was our nurse again. This time I was 4-5 centimeters dilated and 100% effaced. We were NOT leaving the hospital without the baby this time.
Around 8:30am, my good friend Cynthia arrived to support the Hustad family.
About that same time, I decided to head to the whirlpool to try to relax. The whirlpool was nice for the first 20 minutes, but then a hurricane of nausea began with each contraction. I thought I could handle it, but the contractions started to come fast & furious & were about 2 minutes apart. I looked at Cynthia & decided it was time for an epidural. So we got out of the tub & headed back to the room. That 25 yards was the longest walk of my life.
Mary Kay, the nurse anesthetist, was the hero of the hour. She came in at about 10:30am & gave me an epidural.
I went from shear agony to complete relaxation in about 5 minutes. It was wonderful. I was able to take a nap for a while. At 2pm, Jeanette came in & I was 6 cm.
Shortly after 2pm, Dr. Miller decided it was time to break my water. She also inserted an IUPC to measure contractions more accurately. The contractions were strong so no need for pitocin. “Good job uterus!!!!”
That didn’t last too long because at 3:30 there was no progression. Jeanette started me on some pitocin to help move things along. 5:15 Jeanette came in to check my progress. With a big smile on her face she told us that I was complete & we could start pushing soon.
At 5:30pm we started pushing. I was laying on my side. I was having a hard time pushing in that position, b/c lets be honest, who poops while laying on their side? We moved so I was laying on my back & the pushes started coming much more naturally. I could feel the pressure from each contraction making it easier b/c I had the urge to push.
Dr. Miller arrived shortly after beginning pushing. Dr. Miller told me that I was an excellent pusher & baby should be here soon! After about 30 minutes, everyone started shuffling around the room to prepare for the baby. Erik & Cynthia were cheering me on through every contraction. After only 45 minutes of pushing through contractions, the baby was crowning. They told me to reach down & touch her head. Let me tell you...that was the craziest thing I have ever experienced. Amazing. Surreal. She was almost here.
On December 27th at 6:14PM, Evie Ailene Hustad born. She was 7lbs 6 oz & 19 ½ inches long. She had dark curly hair like her mommy & was absolutely beautiful.
Thanks for writing this all down - I love reading people's birth stories. Your labor and delivery sounds crazily similar to ours...I keep meaning to write it down but haven't had the energy/time yet. Hopefully sometime in the next few weeks before the memory fades too much!
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