Jack's Story

Thursday (about a hundred years ago) Steve jokingly suggested I really needed to join him and his father when they went car shopping for our new 2 baby car in order to sweeten the deal on some unsuspecting car salesman. Not only was I looking 9 months pregnant but surely I could also subtly rub the baby belly and breathe deeply now and then...

Oddly enough, the first time I went to subtly rub my baby belly, I also let out a deep breath unintentionally... Ironic, but no big surprise - after all I've been having contractions since Tuesday off and on.

Course they continued as the deal did... Dare I say progressed? I didn't feel badly manipulating the poor salesmen as I could not exactly hide them for the four hours such a deal took. On and on they went until about 7pm when they settled back down and got further apart and basically gave me great frustration.

Oo, but wait, there's more.

They came back... around 11pm? And continued and progressed and oo oo ooo I wanted them to stay. And they sort of did. However, Steve still suggested we try to rest. After all, if it was true labor it would find a way... like true love...

Very, very bitterly (as the contractions continued to fizzle again) I lay down for bed. And slept.

And dreamed about very large, very painful, very sharp contractions (though I think Maggie and Chris were a part of the dream). I got up during one at about 4:45am and went for the restroom and only made it halfway. The contractions were so sharply painful, so different than the muscle spasm sort of contractions of pre? early? labor that I actually wasn't nearly as confident that they WERE contractions.

Steve felt differently, especially when I got nauseous. And I didn't want to fight the idea. We waited about an hour to make sure they continued, walking around grabbing things I'd forgotten, spouting off information I needed Steve to give to everyone else that I'd forgotten to tell him, then it was a call to the doc, a call to Zoozy to come over and stay with Abby and off to the hospital we went.

The advantages of a small hospital? Cozy atmosphere, special attention, general relaxed atmosphere. The disadvantages? You can't get in easily in the middle of the night, even when in labor and when you get to the ER there is no one there. One guy looks through the locked doors and when we see him walks quickly away as if he didn't see us. Steve (with a look that could kill and a knock at the door) encouraged him to come near and the ER receptionist came and gave us a wheelchair, then pointed us to the elevator and on to the next phase.

The first RN was very sweet and nice though she gave me the bad news that I was at maybe 3cm. OH yuck... however, she considered that a keeper and there we were! Admitted. Nothing to stop us now. This was really truly going to happen.

I asked for an epidural as soon as it could be not quite rude. First they'd need a blood sample for a blood test.

That didn't happen for another hour.

Then another hour for the test results.

Then the drug pusher (my friend this time) was unavailable (involved in some life saving surgery no doubt - selfish, selfish).

So I basically went about the same time without the drug as I did last time. And I decided that early labor is my transition. I don't like it. It's awful. It hurts. And it wasn't going anywhere.

My most abhorred dilation checking happened a grand total of two times while I was contracting... and I made my unhappiness known... by crying out in pain and agony. Does it hurt that bad for everyone? Apparently not.

Doc came in, more bad news on dilation. Still at 3cm.

Steve used all his muscles and endurance helping with the pain. This time I could tolerate his touch - oddly enough the pain was exactly the same but somehow, in five years, trust or teamwork or partnership or just plain love has made me able to accept, nay need, his help. Unfortunately for him, the pain was intense and therefore the acupressure had to be. Also unfortunately I could not get in a terribly good position for him to help. Needless to say, his back will be sore for as long as mine... but he's not getting drugs to help.

We were in contact with the waiting room via our concierge Samantha and text messaging.

ANYWAY at 11am or so the epidural lady arrived. And I finally started progressing.

I sent Steve off to entertain the waiting room troops so I could rest. There was a lot of messing around between the two RNs responsible for me as my blood pressure dropped and Jack's activity lessened and blah blah blah.

They gave me sugar water and oxygen and basically scared me just enough... not too majorly - it was fairly obvious the one RN was trying to tell the obviously newer one all the different options and challenges they deal with even in a non-emergency labor and using me as a felt cut out player. Course it probably scared Steve more as he had been out when this was happening and came back in to me looking green and on oxygen.

I took a lot of micronaps and really, if Steve hadn't gotten us to bed Thursday night I have no idea how much worse it could have been.

They asked me a key question: "How did your labor go last time?" and I answered I went from 5cm to 9cm as soon as I got the epidural. They exchanged glances and checked my dilation (I couldn't have cared less this time as this time I was blissfully numb).

6cm. (Baby getting squished as he lowered caused the abberrations they were worried about.

Alllright. Not exactly the same miracle dilation as Abby but at least we were getting somewhere. Doc came in not long after.

8cm. Time to rupture the water bag.

Steve was hopped up on coffee and the news that this was going to happen fast and soon. He was hilariously funny about it. Like a kid and a teenager and just plain Steve at the same time.

I was excited but still concerned that pushing Abby out in one and a half pushes was a fluke. I had been way more pilates active during my pregnancy with Abby and just didn't feel like I was as aware of me "power center" this time.

I was right. I didn't get Jack out in one and a half pushes. And no, the punchline isn't that it was only one push. I was three contractions - three pushes per contraction and a final random push. I am SO grateful. I can't... even.. tell anyone how grateful I am that I wasn't pushing for hours. Please, anyone who pushed for hours, that is not meant to make you feel awful, this is just between me and God and a big thank you for it.

OUT came JACK!!

more later...