Maggie's Arrival

We are all in "the fog" as I like to lovingly refer to the first few weeks and months with a new baby. Little sleep makes change seem like such a bigger adjustment. But we are plugging along and trying to recognize small accomplishments each day (like showering, getting a 15 minute nap, or getting dishes in the dishwasher).

Before I let too much time slip by I wanted to "journal" our experience with Maggie's arrival. So for those who would like to know, read on--for others I will try for a more interesting post when I am more rested!

It all started the morning of Sunday, April 26th, I woke up and was having contractions about 10 minutes apart. Nothing painful or anything, but fairly regular. I did have the feeling pretty strongly that "today was the day", but didn't want to jinx it. I talked to Brad about it, but since he was teaching in Elder's Quorum and I was doing Sharing Time in Primary, coupled with the fact that I wasn't really in any pain, we decided we would just do the usual and go to church and not worry about it until things started moving along further.

We went to church and continued throughout our day with things staying about the same. By about 5pm my contractions were getting a little closer--7 minutes apart, and were starting to be a little more uncomfortable. We just decided we would wait until they were the standard 5 minutes apart or less before we went into the hospital as I definitely didn't want to go in and get sent home. Well by about 9:30 we talked about everything and decided since I was pretty sure I was not going to make it through the night without having this baby, it would be better to get Ella to the babysitter's now, than call them at 2 in the morning and have to make the switch then. So we called our good friends the Millets and asked them if we could bring Ella over for the night. The plan was that Brad would take Ella over and put her to bed at their house and then come back home and we would go to the hospital when things were "for sure".

Within minutes of when Brad left my contractions went from 7 minutes apart to 2-3 minutes apart and started becoming painful. I called over and asked him to not "take his time" and come soon so we could go to the hospital right away. I proceeded to pack my bag in between contractions and when Brad got back we were ready to go.

We got to the hospital about 10:45 and checked into the emergency room and was then sent to Labor and Delivery. I was in between contractions when we came upon the nurses station, so I smiled and said hello, which apparently made the charge nurse think I was not very far along. They took me into a room and didn't even want me to get on the bed until, as the nurse said, "they were sure I was a keeper."

I had the feeling that things were moving pretty quickly and probably should have been more vocal about it, but was afraid to say so and then find out I was wrong and that I was just being a wimp! It was so different than with Ella (where I was given pitocin and had an epidural) so I just wasn't for sure. Anyway, they didn't even check me for the first time until about 11:15pm, I was at a 6. She told me she would find the anesthesiologist so that I could get an epidural. Within about 15 minutes, while I was still being "monitored" I told the nurse that my contractions were very, very strong and I was starting to feel like I needed to pushed. She checked me again, said I was at a 9 and immediately called the other nurses and told them to call the doctor and tell her to come right away. Within minutes there were 5 nurses in the room. I told them I REALLY needed to push now. They started yelling at me not to push, to which I yelled back, "I have to push"! (On a side note, I guess it was just at this moment that the anesthesiologist walked in, heard what was going on, and turned right back around. . .he knew there was nothing they could do for me at that point!)

To make a long story not quite so long, I pushed once and Maggie's head came out, pushed twice and she was here. It was amazing how my body just knew what to do. Although, I'm glad I was in a hospital, it was incredible to think that I could have had her just fine without any of that there. She was born at 11:37 pm, less than a half hour after they first got me into a room on the Maternity Ward. It was super crazy. I was still on the bed they had covered with sheets just in case I wasn't "a keeper". They didn't even have time to break down the bed, so there were no stirrups or anything like that. Maggie was born right onto the mattress without a doctor there at all (no OB or pediatrician), just a nurse who was yelling at me to stop pushing. There was a different OB (not ours) on the floor at the time and he came running when he heard all the commotion. But by the time he got there, Maggie was already out and to the warmer.

It was the most intense thing I have ever experienced--like nothing I could have imagined. To be honest, I think I could handle the contractions without any pain meds (although they weren't pleasant), but the actual giving birth part was something that I hope I don't have to "feel" that way again. During the birth I screamed like I have never screamed before. It was so weird. . . while I was yelling I was totally embarrassed that I was doing it, but just could not seem to control the sound that was coming out of my mouth. I am not at all a screamer, and that reallly shocked me, as it did Brad. (Actually, at the hospital I made hime promise to keep that part about me screaming a secret, but now looking back, I do find it a little funny). When I talked to my mom (who had all 4 kids naturally) about it afterward, she said , "See, it's not that bad is it?" I laughed and told her it has been a long time since she had kids. . . she must not really remember. To be honest, even sitting here typing this up now, I'm not sure I even remember. But what I do know is in that moment, and the moments that followed shortly thereafter, I told myself that an epidural is definitely the way to go. I never could have imagined what it all felt like, and I don't plan to the next time around. From my experience, I would go with the epidural!