One thing to know about delivering a baby- NOTHING will go as you had planned in your mind. I started exactly one week before my due date having contractions. Jordan had taken me to Scalini's in Smyrna for the eggplant parmesan. The contractions started about 10 minutes after we got to the car. We headed to church for the last night of our gospel meeting and the contractions continued getting stronger and closer together. We decided that labor had to be started so we needed to make the 30 minute drive to the hospital in Austell... After 4 hours on the monitor, they sent me home. I was told that I wasn't in active labor because my cervix wasn't dilating anymore and that my blood pressure was a little high. I was told to return to the hospital on Saturday for more blood work. I had contractions all during the night and up until Friday evening. We had a specialist appointment at lunch on Friday and was told baby weighed 8lbs 1oz and was in position for labor.
I returned to the hospital on Saturday morning and was told my blood pressure was still running a little high. They sent me home and told me to get checked out at my doctors office first thing Monday morning. My blood pressure was really weighing on me and I felt awful all day Saturday and all day Sunday. My aunt took my blood pressure throughout the day Sunday and it was definitely staying high. She took it Sunday night right before church and it was the highest reading all day -180/110. We then returned to the hospital on Sunday night. The nurses kept me on the monitor for an hour and my blood pressure came down a little. Again, they sent me home.
First thing Monday morning my mama came to my house and drove me to my doctor's office. My blood pressure was STILL high. The midwife on call told me to report to the hospital again so that she could see me and they could monitor my blood pressure. I was at the hospital about an hour before the midwife informed that they were going to have to go ahead and keep me. She told me that they would give me 2 doses of cervadil to soften my cervix and get it ready for labor, and that on Tuesday morning they would start giving me pitocin to start the labor process.
I was given a room at 12:45 and told that the nurse would be in to give me the cervadil at 1:30. I didn't get my first 12-hour dose of cervadil until 2:30. After given the first dose, the nurse informed me that they were busy and that she wouldn't be in to check on me. I would have to call if I needed something. So, the contractions started again with the cervadil. Around 6 o'clock, everyone left me to go have some dinner and let me get some rest. I was able to relax a little while everyone was gone. They returned to my room at 7 o'clock. My daddy was talking to me when my blood pressure cuff (being checked every hour) started going off. I had felt a little warm and thought my blood pressure might be up a little bit. The reading was 240/130... or close to that. We all started to get a little worried. The machine was alarming for a long time and my blood pressure wasn't coming back down very fast. We finally called the nurse to ask for a fan because I was burning up... She came in about 10 minutes later and told me that my blood pressure was up because I had too many visitors... The midwife came in and told me that since my blood pressure had come down some (it was still very high, 170/110) that I needed to rest and not have so many people in my room. She gave me a sleeping pill and told me I needed to rest. I had a HORRIBLE reaction to the medicine. I started crying hysterically for hours and didn't get any sleep. The next morning with my eyes practically swollen shut, the midwife came in and told me she was going to leave the cervadil in until 11. She had originally told us that she was going to take it out and I would start the pitocin at 8 am... 11 o'clock comes around and I was told my a different midwife that she wasn't going to take the cervadil out and start the pitocin until 2.
A nurse finally comes in at 2 and takes the cervadil out. The contractions stopped after a few minutes. She told me a different nurse would be back at 2:30 to give me the pitocin. At 5:30 the midwife came in to tell us that they had been VERY busy and were sorry that they had not had a chance to devote the nurses to me and start my pitocin. (During this conversation she yelled at my mother... but that's a story in itself).
At about 6:30 the nurses finally came in to give me the pitocin. The contractions started right away and were very INTENSE. My water broke on the second contraction. After my water broke, the labor becomes a little blurry to me. I remember ALOT of pain and wanting to know if it was ever going to end. After 3 hours I had dilated to a 3 (which was on target). But after 4 1/2 hours (10:30pm), I was still dilated to a 3. The midwife came in at 11pm and checked my dilation. She told me I wasn't progressing as I should with my water being broken and my blood pressure. She told me that if I hadn't dilated to a 5 or 6 in the next hour, they would be taking me back at midnight for a c-section. 11:45 came and they checked me again. The nurses started prepping me for the surgery. This was a RELIEF because as soon as they took the pitocin off my I.V., it was INSTANT relief from the pain. The next 15 minutes I was rushed, pulled, proded, and finally my family came in and we prayed before they rolled me back to the surgery room.
I was given a spinal block (since I had refused the epidural in the beginning of the pitocin) and they did the c-section... I won't go into all the details of that. I'm not sure if it was the bright lights in the room, or the fact that it was the first time I heard my son cry, but I can remember every detail of the surgery before, during, and after. I didn't get to see Robert when I first heard his cry, but it was the SWEETEST sound I have ever heard. I was terrified before the c-section... and I guess everyone has a fear that something is wrong with their baby before they are born. As soon as I heard his cry and the doctor tell me we had a healthy 8lbs. 1oz. 20 inches long baby boy, I started crying... I had never felt that much joy.
When I was rolled into recovery, I finally got to hold my precious baby boy. I will NEVER forget how happy I felt at that moment in time. Seeing his face in person for the first time is a feeling I will never forget. It felt as though I had known him my entire life. My life was finally complete now that he was here and healthy.
As I watch him sleep right now, I can only pray to thank God that he gave me such a beautiful, wonderful blessing. I pray everyday that I will be the mother that Robert needs. I pray that he will grow up and be a Christian and help many others to know the Gospel as well. I have been given a huge responsibility to raise a child and I will not take it for granted a moment in my life.
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