Tuesday, June 22nd around 9pm I started to feel little sharp pains. I didnt think much of them, it could have been anything, false labor, braxton hicks, who knows. I remember asking my parents if they could run out and get me some McDonalds and my parents knew right away it was that time. It was like my body wanted that last celebration meal. Throughout the night the sharp pains got worse. We tried to time the length of the contractions and the time in between but mine were so random and didnt have a pattern. I thought maybe this was false labor, but my gosh if it was it hurt for not being the real thing. My mom stayed up with me and I used the comfort of my birthing ball for relief, and went for a couple walks around the neighborhood. I remember they tell you to breathe but the pain hurts so bad the last thing you can do is breathe. I remember reading about "hypno birthing" where pregnant women put themselves in a hypnotic state, sort of like an outer body experience, and feel hardly no pain. When my contractions started to get more intense I tried to use this method. I would breathe in slowly and out slowly and relax my muscle through the pain......it helped a lot! I realized the more you tense up, the more it hurts so the key is to relax your body and put mind over matter. I was amazed at how well I was taking the pain. You hear so many stories of other peoples experiences but one thing I have been told and I can state as fact is that you never know how strong you are until you're going through it. Im such a baby but was handling the pain with the most amazing strength!
Throughout the night, like before, my contractions were still not on a pattern so it was hard for me to tell how things were going. I was scared that I wouldnt know when to head to the hospital. I tried to get some sleep and as morning hit [I remember it was around 7am when the World Cup soccer game was on] I wanted to try a hot shower because I heard wonderful things about them easing the pain. I laid up in the shower until all the hot water was gone [and yes, it helped so much!] and then laid in the bed with my mom watching the game. Finally, my contractions started to show 5 minutes apart and I told my mom it was time. We headed to the hospital and from the car ride home until I got checked into my room, I hardly felt the pain of my contractions. Maybe my mind was focused on other things and so distracted that I didnt have time to feel. All I know is when I went to check in [it was around 10:30 am], I saw another woman slumped over in pain and I was just standing there calm and collective thinking, okay I better be far enough dilated and this better not be a joke and I get sent home because obviously im not bent over in pain like this woman. My parents kept asking me, "are you feeling anything" and i was like "yeah im having a contraction right now". I just paced back and forth as if I was rocking Audrey to sleep in my tummy. Finally I was taken to a room where they evaluate you to see your progress and if you're ready to be admitted. Surprisingly, I was 5cm dilated and was able to stay. Some women take hours and hours just to get 1cm dilated. Two weeks prior I was already 3cm so I knew my body was right on track. I loved the nurse who was evaluating me and told her right away I would like to have an epidural. The next thing you know she told me the anesthesiologist was already informed and waiting for me. I was so shocked at how easy and fast things were coming along. The nurse who was assisting me throughout my delivery was the best! She kept me calm and smiling, she had such a funny personality. A fresh, young nurse full of personality. Right when I got into my room I was given an epidural and I didnt even feel the needle go in. They say it feels like a bee sting but It feels less than that. The next thing you know I was in heaven! Just laying in bed not feeling anything! The only problem I had was that I started thinking too much about how weird it was to not feel the lower half of my body, its a scary thought and hard to process. About an hour later I was already dilated to 8cm. At 10cm you can start pushing! My nurse told me she wanted the baby to labor down before she wanted me to start pushing because it would be pointless to push forever, whereas if the baby was already low and pushing would be short and quick. The next thing you know my Dr. came in, checked me and surprisingly said oh yeah its time. It was the weirdest feeling not being able to feel my lower extremities, and when it was time for me to push I was just hoping I was doing it hard enough. I went three rounds of pushing and my baby girl was born! Its such an overwhelming feeling to see what you made and brought into this world, I couldnt help but cry with happiness and at that moment it FINALLY hit me that this was all real. Throughout my 9 months of pregnancy, I still couldnt grasp the idea that I was about to have a baby. I knew that once I saw her for the first time, it would hit me. Hearing her cry did it all for me. I was no longer my mothers daughter, but my daughter's mother. All the nurses were amazed at how strong and advanced Audrey was. When she was getting bathed, she stood up on her arms and knees, she was already lifting her head when you lay her on your belly, and when the Dr. first placed her on me she was sucking her thumb.
In all, I was so amazed that it only took me 4 hours to give birth to Audrey! I checked into the hospital at around 10am and Audrey was born at 2:29pm. I had such a wonderful, effortless experience. My mom was jealous that I was all smiles and felt no pain the whole time. I had an awesome team who helped make my experience the best it could have been. Im very blessed at how well my delivery went. I would like to believe that working till my 8th month, the walking, staying active, building my strength, my preparations, and my positive energy made this delivery go so well. Childbirth should be nothing to fear. You can make your experience what you want out of it. I remember being wheeled through the halls to my post partum room with my baby girl in my arms and seeing the woman from check-in still pregnant, in pain and walking the halls to ease her contractions. I already had a baby and she was still trying, she was probably pissed to see me, lol. Just goes to show each person is different.
