Birth Story

Wednesday, Dec 17th:
Katie Konop came over with Ruthie so we could go for a walk around Mayfair Mall- I wanted to "get things moving" you might say- I hadn't had any changes at my appointment the week before, and I was determined to have something change for my appointment I had scheduled after my walk.
Well, I actually had NO changes from the previous week- I was even the exact same weight. The doc and I thought that he would make it to the due date, at least, and that she wouldn't let me go a week past my due date. Oh, well.
Thursday, Dec 18th:
3:00 am- I suddenly woke up cuz I felt like I had to use the restroom. To spare the icky details, lets just say it was icky. I knew something was happening. I went back to bed, cuz they say to try to get as much rest as possible- who knows when I will actually go into labor.
3:30 am- I felt something wet "down there", so I ran to the bathroom. Nope, I didn't have to pee. hmmmmmmm......this is not right- all through the pregnancy I never had issues holding it in if I had to. SO I call Jonathan, who is at work, to let him know that I thought my water had broken. He didn't answer his phone.
4:30- Jon calls back- He asked if I was feeling any contractions. Nothing. I felt relatively normal. We got done talking, and a few minutes later he called back saying the nurses he works with said to GET IN RIGHT AWAY!!
4:45- I called my Doc, and she said that she would notify the hospital that I was on my way in. Oh, and she sounded utterly exhausted!
5:00- I work on finishing packing for the hospital- I thought I would have more time for this part, but no.
5:30 Jonathan gets home- helps me finish packing. Calls Nick and Diana to let Nick know that he just missed me at the hospital- he works on the skybridge to the L&D of the hospital- but his shift ends at 5.
6:00am- we arrive at the hospital- Jon insists that we go through the ER entrance, cuz a bunch of his work friends want to meet me.
6:30am- I am officially admitted to the hospital.
THEN there's a long wait- I WAS having regular contractions every 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 minutes, I just wasn't feeling them. They gave me pitocin to make them stronger. It worked. However, I couldn't get past 2-3 cm dilation, so finally at
10:30 pm, a Dr. came in to let me know what an epidural is, and said that it was available for me, then asked if I had any questions. "When can I get one?!" was my response.
11:00pm they started the epidural procedure- this takes a while. They got it done, but for some reason it wasn't working. They hit the wrong spot in my spine. They had to redo it. Ouch.
FRIDAY, Dec. 19th
Finally the effects kicked in around midnight. The rest is a bit of a blur- I have no idea what time what happened, but I went quickly from 2-3 cm to 5 cm.
3:00 am the nurse said I was at 8 cm. YAY!! she said she would be back in an hour to check on me.
(by the way, they wanted the baby out by 6, because the water broke, there was an increased risk of infection)
3:50 am- I call the nurse "how can I help you?" she asked "you need to check me NOW" I said. She came in, and sure enough, my little guy was starting to crown. So she called the doctor- and a bunch of other people. Suddenly it was a party in my delivery room!
4:10- the doctor (who is not my doctor, unfortunately she wasn't able to be there:( bummer) finally shows up.
4:20 am- Josiah is born after just 5 pushes. Apparently I was really good at pushing, even through the epidural and no mirror.
8 lbs, 1.6 oz 22 inches long. The cord was wrapped around his neck, and he breathed in some fluid, so he had to be suctioned out and given oxygen, but other than that his color was good, and he was making noise- he has the cutest little cry (for now:)

By the way, Jonathan was FANTASTIC through the whole thing- he played with my hair, did pressure point on my back, read to me, put the Simpsons in the DVD for me, watched the baby come out- and told me what was coming out and when- cut the cord, and took the most BEAUTIFUL pictures of our son's first moments. I love that guy!!