Birth Story, Part I

Finally able to write about the events which brought my little sweetie pie into this world, at 40 weeks and three days.

On Thursday morning (Jan 26), I woke up at 9 and thought my water had broken. It wasn't a gush or a lot of liquid. It was just a wet feeling. Steve was going to the gym that morning, and because I wasn't feeling contractions, I thought I would just wait until later to go to the hospital. At around noon, we had carne asada, and I made sure to eat up just in case my water really had broken and I would need to stay at the hospital. From what I had previously read, you're not allowed to eat anything once you're at the hospital. So I wanted to make sure I would have something just in case. After we ate, Steve and I headed over to the hospital. Since I had pre-registered, I just told them I thought my water had broken and I was soon called into the triage room.

A nurse checked me and said she didn't think my water had broken, but she would send a sample of the fluid I did have (which at this point I started to think was just discharge) to be tested. In the meantime, they would hook up the non-stress test to make sure the baby was okay. So Steve and I waited. And waited. And waited. A couple of hours later, a new nurse came in with several tubes for blood and some other supplies. We were like, "What's going on?" She said, "They didn't tell you? You're having a baby today!" Steve and I looked at each other in equal parts confusion, happiness, and nervousness. No one had come back to let us know, so it was a moment of realization that yes, it was time. We would be having our baby. I called my parents and let them know what was happening, and that we would let them know when I was moved into my room.

The nurse drew my blood and hooked me up to an IV. I was a bit disappointed when she did this, because I knew that I wouldn't be having the all-natural birth experience I wanted and prepared for. If we had stayed in Korea, I would have been able to walk around and not be hooked up to any machines. Since I had come back to the States at the last minute, I didn't have time to find a birthing center with the amenities I wanted.

After a long time, I was finally moved to my room.My mom showed up and was able to be there with us. At this point, it was about 4 or 5 pm. We hung out and everyone had dinner--except for me! I was right about not being allowed to eat. I wasn't even allowed to drink anything. All I could have were ice chips. Finally, they checked me again and saw that I still hadn't dilated. At around midnight, they inserted a capsule to help me dilate. Soon after that, I began to have very strong, irregular contractions. At 3 a.m., a nurse came in because she saw that my contractions were too strong and too close together, which was distressing the baby. And I still wasn't dilating. So she gave me demerol to help with the pain. After I got the pain relief, I was able to sleep for a little while. But at around 5 a.m., they realized that I was having contractions but I wasn't feeling them at all. So they gave me pitocin.

At around 8 a.m., I was just about ready to go. I was in so much pain, I asked the nurse for an epidural. This was something I knew I might ask for. She told me that she needed to get everything ready for the baby when he came, as far as warming up his table and getting the tools ready for the doctor. What I didn't know was that I was already fully dilated and she was telling me this so that I would wait a little longer--just long enough for me to start pushing and the doctor to get there, apparently. I tried to wait an appropriate amount of time, but I think I asked her twice more. She told me she was almost ready, but at this point, I was more than ready to push. No epidural for me!

I knew I should have waited, but I called out, "I have to push!" and pushed. The nurse told me to try to wait, but I said it again and again. Each time, I pushed. She came over and realized that I really was ready. So she  started to coach me through it. She wanted me to push through to a count of ten, but in the beginning, I could only make it to about four. On the bright side, it felt really good to push. I kept pushing, and increasing my endurance to a count of ten. The nurse, my mom, and Steve were all coaching me through it. Finally, the doctor showed up, just in time to guide the baby out. I remember seeing the cord around his neck, but they removed it and he cried immediately. They put him on my chest, but took him away really fast.

Everything happened so fast, it didn't register that they took him away so quickly for a reason. He was fine, but the problem was with me.

Part II coming soon.