On Saturday October 18th Quinn had his diaper party, after I drove one of the guys home I had gone to the bathroom and I lost my mucus plug.
Period like cramping/random contractions started around the 1:15am mark on Sunday October 19th. I couldn't sleep so I decided to finish up documents for the realtors clean the kitchen, did dishes, and put away stuff from Quinn's diaper party. I started timing my contractions at 5am, they were becoming fairly consistent, unfortunately around 6am my water broke.
Quinn came downstairs & asked why I was awake. I called L&D and explained the situation and was told to come in. We packed up the car and prayed for a safe drive through Hurricane Ana.
We arrived at L&D around 8am checked in, chatted in the waiting room then I was admitted into triage room to check to make sure the fluid was amniotic and I didn't just pee myself. My 1st midwife was Dana, they checked us into Delivery Room 8 which was HUGE, we turned on football I changed into my gown & net panties and we got through the beginning contractions with hip squeezes. I called my parents to let them know what was going on while Quinn texted his family and called his work.
I started getting shaky so I requested lunch, since I was in active labor but not on an IV or epidural I was given a "liquid lunch" - beef broth, strawberry jello, Capri sun, coffee (Quinn enjoyed that!). This part of the day seemed to fly by, the pattern of contractions stayed and I got on the birthing ball to help position baby for delivery.
After the sun went down the contractions intensified, I kept telling Quinn I couldn't do it anymore that I was done. I wanted to go home, I wanted my mom, and I didn't need to have the baby right now. The midwives saw my pain level increase so they checked me and I was at 7cm and suggested the shower, they wrapped my picc line, turned the hot water on placed the ball in the tub and towels on the floor for my knees and I labored over the ball for quite a while, they brought cold washcloths for my head/neck and Quinn continued to squeeze my hips during contractions and feed me ice. Once I started the screaming during contractions they had me get out and 3hrs from the last time they checked my cervix I was finally 8cm but I couldn't take the pain and another lady was being prepped for a c-section so if I wanted the epidural it was a "now or not for 2 more hours moment." After some wavering I decided to have it placed. The nurse who came in (Roxy) was a fierce little lady, told me exactly how it was gonna be... "Slouch! Completely relax! You've got this... You just have to stay still and breathe through it, once it's placed you can sleep!"
Quinn and I slept for 3hra, after that they did my final cervix check- I was at 10cm and could start pushing! We tried many positions but the one that progressed the baby's head the furthest was the "dead cockroach" ...which is basically exactly what it sounds like: on my back, legs straight up, curled spine. Quinn, and the midwife or nurse helped hold my legs up, especially my left since I couldn't feel that side at all from the epidural, right I could still move on my own just felt heavy and pins/needle like.
I pushed for 3hrs, I was fatigued but it honestly didn't feel like it had been that long... However the midwives were getting concerned seeing as I was getting closer and closer to my 24hr mark of when my water had broken. They called the doctor in to have him check me at my next contraction to see if using forceps around the baby's head would be a feasible option since it was crowning with every push I did but for some reason kept going back in. Turns out my coccyx (tailbone) had been fractured at some point in my life and healed incorrectly. So every time I pushed the baby's head was getting pushed back inside of me when it hit my tailbone.
Once the doctor said that, the midwife gave us the news that the baby needed to come out and at this point c-section was the only option. She told us to take 30min to "collect ourselves" and let this news sink in, then she would send in the anistesiologist (Mark) and the surgeon (Manual) to explain the process. After I cried and told Quinn I felt like a failure he stopped me and prayed for an uncomplicated surgery and a healthy baby. I was given a huge dose of meds via the epidural catheter and my whole lower body felt hot. I listened to all of the c-section risks, etc and signed my life away. About 10min later I was transferred onto an OR bed and wheeled into an extremely bright and sterile room. Too keep from having a panic attack I pretended it was a trip to the dentist with the bright lights shining into my face. I was extremely relieved when Quinn walked in donning scrubs and sat by my head and held my hand.
Once the plastic barrier went up I felt lots of tugging, pulling, and jiggling. I was pretty dizzy at some points but I remember asking Mark a lot of questions. I honestly don't remember the baby being taken out of me or the first cry but I do remember Quinn standing up and peeking over the barrier to tell me we had a boy! After that it's a bit of a blur... I teared up, Quinn followed our son - cut his umbilical cord, a few photos were taken then they were transferred to the recovery ward while my surgery finished. They delivered my placenta and began closing me back up. At one point I remember asking Mark what was burning and he told me very nicely that it was my uterus being cauterized! Good thing I was on crazy pain meds! Once they finished I was wheeled into Recovery Room 2 to meet my husband and hold my son for the first time.
A full 24hrs after timed contractions began Hunter was born. 6lbs 15oz, 19.5in
Part 2 coming soon...
