thomas' birth story

It sort of started on May5th. I had pretty bad back labor pains that night. Steve decided to not go on his day trip the next morning. Then nothing happened for five days while Steve was home. I was sort of disappointed because I would have liked to have had Thomas on Mother’s Day, May 9th.
Anyways, on Tuesday May 11 we decided Steve should just go back to work since nothing was happening. I had great day even though it was rainy out. I took the kids to the library, built a huge train track with the kids in the living room, and finished my last quilt project. That night we went to church for a Relief society meeting. I had great time chatting and laughing with friends. Everyone thought it was so funny how my belly would shake when I’d laughed. We got home about 8:30 and I put the kids to bed. I went to bed around 11.
At midnight I woke up because I thought I started to wet the bed. I went to the bath room and check the bed. It was dry. Whatever, back to sleep. I woke up an hour later with the same sensation. Now I thought something was up. I wasn’t sure if it really was my water breaking because with Marie it was like a flood. I called Steve. He was over nighting in Rochester, NY. I was scared. He told me he’d call Sister Bell, a lady from church who had been a Lamaze coach. She was to be my ride and support until Steve could get to the hospital. I called my doctor who said I should come to the hospital to get checked, “it’s better to be on the safe side.” I also, called Megan our neighbor to come over and stay with Peter and Marie. I gathered my things and read about water breaking as I waited for the ladies to arrive. I wasn’t in pain just very nervous. Megan came and then Sister Bell.
The hospital ride was about 40mins and I didn’t feel anything. When we got to the hospital and I stepped out of the car I felt a little more drain. No one was at the front desk when we got to the hospital. Sister Bell called out, “is anyone there?” as we walked down the hall. A security guard appeared and showed us to labor and delivery. As I got into my hospital gown and checked in Sister Bell went to park her running car. Once she was back they still hadn’t checked me. I still wasn’t convinced this was real labor. Yes, I was contracting, but it wasn’t bad. I could still carry on a conversation. At 3am a nurse finally came in to check me. I was at 4 cm. Now I was convinced. I called Steve first to update him and then my mother in law, Melinda, so she could start on her way down. Sister Bell stayed with me until Melinda arrived at 6:30am. I did not have too many strong contractions during that time so they decided to give me pitocin at 6am. I also ask for an epidural at that time because I remembered how painful pitocin made labor with Peter. They didn’t give me the epidural until 7am so shortly after Melinda arrived I was in serious pain. She held my hand and helped me through it all until the epidural set in. I was at 7cm by 7:30 am and feeling much better. I called my family in Minnesota to tell them what was going on. My sister was getting ready for her college graduation that day. My mom said, “Wow, it looks like it going to be a big day for both of my girls.”
I didn’t progress much after that so the doctor wanted to increase the pitocin. The nurses changed at 7am. When the new nurse came in she asked something like “isn’t your husband suppose to be here?” I began to cry and Melinda had to explain why he wasn’t here yet. She also had to tell the doctor why I wanted to wait on increasing the pitocin.
Steve finally arrived at 10:30am. I was very relieved and happy to see him. The pitocin was then increased. Around noon they checked me again and I was at 10cm. They said to just let them know when I was ready to push. At about 12:15 I was tired of waiting around. I was ready to push. Melinda asked if she should leave, but we said she could stay. I didn’t mind her being there. She had helped me through so much of it.
I asked for mirror before I started pushing. I am so glad I did. I found watching to be very motivating and interesting. It took about 8 pushes and Thomas was born at 12:27pm. He didn’t cry much, but the doctor said some babies don’t. He weighed 7lbs and 11oz and received two 9s for his Apgar scores. He was prefect and we were so happy to be holding him in our arms. Melinda was crying as was I. It was the first time she had seen a birth.
I’m so thankful for all the ladies that help through this birth. I was very scared when I realized I might have to do it alone. However, someone was there for me every step of the way I cannot say thank you enough. My heart is full of gratitude.