Our day started pretty early at 3:30 AM. Neal and I woke up and got ready to go to the hospital to be induced. We took off from Tulare at around 4:30 and on the ride to Fresno we were overwhelmed with emotion that in several short hours we would be parents and would finally get to meet our princess.
We arrived at the hospital at around 5:15. We were told to be there by 5:30 so we were making good time. I was so nauseous and nervous, I knew what my body was in for and to be honest I was so afraid. I have three blood clotting disorders and was so afraid that birth would be too much for my body to bear and I feared the worse. If you know me you know I tend to be a hypochondriac but this was a real fear. I was afraid my daughter might not ever know me and while I trusted her father to raise her with all the love she would ever need lets face it a girl will always need her mama and I was just hoping God would keep me here to see her and hold her and tell her stories, sing lullabies to, watch her grow and take her first steps, her first smile, to see her walk down the isle someday and have her own children. We entered the hospital and Neal asked where my cell phone was which was ironic considering when I located it I realized there was a missed call from the hospital. We were about to enter the elevators to go to floor six when I called the hospital back and we were informed that we would not be induced right then because they did not have a room or staff available for us. My stomach sank, I was so ready to meet our little girl and I was already scared as could be. We made the decision to get a hotel room and wait for the call to bring our little girl into the world. Emotions ran through me like crazy, Neal knew it too. I was even more scared now.
Finally the hospital called around 7:30 to let us know that they were ready for us to come and have our baby. It was like music to my ears. We got to the hospital and were sent to our private labor room. I was told to change into a gown, was set up with an IV and the Pitocin was given to me to start the contractions. By 9:00 AM everything was started and all we had left was the wait and the pain ;). Dr. Swanson came in and checked me and told me that I was at a 3. Unknown to me he broke my water which was the most unusual feeling for me. It was warm and it just kept coming and coming and coming. I even asked the nurse if it was normal and she assured me that it was. I quickly went to a 4 and around an hour later a 5. It seemed as if things were going quick. Mom and Patrick were there to keep us company and I could tell Mom was a wreck knowing how scared I was of what was to come i.e. the pain. Dad and Patti were there too, Dad was ready with his camera. It was nice to have my family there for support.
The pitocin was really working and the contractions were beginning to get uncomfortable. I didn't feel like talking anymore and wanted the room quite. All visitors left and Neal and I had some time to spend with one another where Neal played on his Ipad and I watched him and was left alone to my thoughts. Things weren't moving really quickly and the nurse came in to check me and I was still only a 5. So she moved me into what I called my frog position. Keep in mind when you go through labor you lose all modesty. In this position my knees were bent to the side and my two feet were touching one another. The chair was positioned so my butt was lower than the top half of my body. Ugh the contractions were getting worse. I soon got my epidural which was amazing for the time being. It wasn't bad at all, in fact the worse part was that I had to bend over during a contraction and not move but I had a great nurse who allowed me to hold onto her and squeeze her tight through the contraction. It was about 7 and shift changes were happening which made us sad because that meant we were losing our great nurse Tanya. A new nurse came in and introduced herself, I can't even remember her name. She checked to see how much I had dialated and I was still only a 5. She moved me to my side and it seemed like things progressed very quickly from there. Within an hour I had gone from a 5 to an 8and Neal was watching the contractions because I couldn't really feel them and he said they weren't coming down and he could tell they were really big and not very far apart at all. All the sudden I start to feel this overwhelming feeling like I needed to push. Madisen was ready to come out. I asked him to call a nurse because I didn't feel like it would be long. A nurse came and checked me and told me that I was indeed a 10 but that she needed to check another patient and call Dr. Swanson. In all my modesty when she walked out the room I told Neal screw that call another nurse I don't have time to wait for her to see another patient. The same nurse came back and we started going through pushing. It was crazy I felt like I wasn't even in my body. My body knew exactly what it needed to do. I had to laugh because I did not scream (like the lady in labor next to me who really scared me BAD) but the pushing pulled a moan from somewhere deep that I didn't start it was like a release that my body did on it's own. The nurse told me that I had to stop pushing until Dr. Swanson got there (yeah right) unless she wanted me to deliver my baby. She even got Neal ready to prepare to help catch the baby. Thank GOD Dr. Swanson showed up. He tried to prep quickly and was upset to find out that the epidural had wore off and I was feeling everything. He asked me to hold off on pushing and I told him I couldn't so away I went and two pushes later our little miracle was in Dr. Swansons arms and her cry was like music to my ears. They immediately placed her into my arms. She was coated in white but she was beautiful and I finally got the moment I have been waiting for when I look into Neal's eyes and know that we created this beautiful little baby and in that moment I saw my husband change into a father which was truly remarkable.
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