Every person called Mom goes through some kind of initiation. It is different for every Mom, and it is a very special and exciting. For me the initiation was called Labor and Delivery. Here is my story of becoming a Mom for the very first time.
On Friday March 2, 2012 I woke up with some cramping, and wondered what it was but didn't worry about it. I didn't worry about it too much because I prayed that morning that if something was wrong I would know. So, just went back to bed to see if more sleep would help. I woke up about 9:00AM and decided that I needed to get on with the day. As the morning progressed, I had a thought occur to me 'maybe this is the beginning stages of labor.' However, I didn't know so I decided to just keep waiting and since it might be I might want to get on with getting things ready. I started by cleaning up LaNina's room. I still had all of her clothes spread out everywhere and nothing put away. I sorted the clothes, boxed up the ones I thought we wouldn't need for awhile, and washed everything I thought we would need the first little while. After her room was clean, I started cleaning all the bathrooms. During this time, I would get a 'cramp' but it wasn't too bad it just reminded me that I wasn't feeling that great, but I kept going. Gaupo game home at about 2:00PM from work and we had lunch and then he went to take a nap. While he was napping I made two pans of Rigatoni for the freezer. By then this 'cramping' was getting worse and I was tired. So, I laid down and about 5:00PM Guapo came downstairs and we talked for a little while. Then he proposed the plan for our date. He said, "Let go to Sam's Club and get the things we need, and the we can get the hot dog combo for dinner."
After I heard this plan I said, "Gaupo, I think I might be in labor."
He replied, "How do you know if you are or not."
"I don't know," I replied.
We dinked around for a few minutes and I deliberated about whether or not it was a good idea to go considering by this time I wasn't feeling all bubbly and full of energy like usual. Yes, even at nine months pregnant I still had energy at night and usually wanted to do things. Anyway, I decided that we should go, so we got in the car and went. On the way there we tried to plan meals for the month, but the contractions were coming pretty strong and I started timing them. They were happening about every 4 minutes. Consequently, about every 4 minutes I could only focus on one thing and that was not losing my breath. They hurt. We arrived at Sam's Club and had only made it through like one week of meals, so we sat out in the parking lot trying to plan them. However, the contractions were not going away so like I said every 4 minutes I was slightly distracted. Finally, we gave up planning and went into the store.
We started gathering what we needed which included a box on New Born size diapers. We only had size one at home and my mom recommended we get some NB. Luckily I took her advice and we picked up a box. Like I mentioned in my previous post I was sure my baby was going to be about 8 pounds so I thought one box would do because we would be in size one before we knew it. As we walked around they started getting stronger. Towards the end they were strong enough that I had to stop walking and hold onto the cart for the time that they were going on. Finally, finished shopping and got dinner. I managed to eat my dinner, but I was feeling pretty yucky by then, but I still wasn't sure if this was the real deal or not.
Gaupo got us home and I went and laid on the couch hoping that a change of positions would cure what was happening, but I was wrong. So, I called the doctor and asked him if he thought I should go to the hospital. He said there is really only one way to know, and that is to just go in and see. Well, I still didn't want to go because I had this fear of being sent home. I only wanted to go to the hospital once. I got up and was going to help Guapo with putting away the chicken, but then a contraction hit and I couldn't. At that point Gaupo said "Go finish getting your bag packed. I will be up in one minute to grab the bags. We are going."
I managed to get my bag packed. LaNina's going home outfit put in her car seat. That is quite a feat for me. So, we go to the hospital, and we get there right before the front entrance closes. Meaning I arrived at the hospital at 9:00PM. Guapo and I go up to the Birth Place. I press the little intercom button and they ask what are you here for?
I reply, " I think I am in labor."
"Okay," they responded and unlocked the door.
Once inside they hooked me up to the monitors and checked my dilation. I was right. They were happening every 4 minutes and I was dilated to a 4 almost a 5. Yes, I am very proud of myself for getting that far without going to the hospital. Anyway at 9:15 I was officially admitted to the hospital.
As we were walking to our room, I got this funny filling like I was going to throw up. However, once we got to the room I was sure and announced that I needed to throw up. The nurse hurry and grabbed a throw up bag, and I threw up. I will spare you the detail of what hot dog and Powerade looked like. After that we got all settled in our room, and they asked if I wanted an epidural. I said, "No not yet." Then they asked if I wanted to get in the jacuzzi bath. "Yes," I replied.
So, my nurse filled up the bath and I got in. Guapo sat by the side and talked to me. It was really nice to be in the water, and for awhile it really did help with the contractions. After awhile the nurse came to check on me and get the baby's heart tones. Then she told us that when I wanted an epidural I need to know that it would take about thirty minutes, so I shouldn't wait till I am like dying of pain to ask for one. I told her I wasn't ready yet and chilled in the bath some more. Then it got a little warm and the contractions were kind of strong, so I decided to get out for a little while. I got out and walked around the room a bit, and threw up. After that I waited a little longer and then told the nurse that I wanted the epidural.
That is when I became confined to the bed. She hooked me back up to the monitors, drew blood, and started running the IV. Then we had to wait for the results from the blood test and the anesthesiologist to arrive. Once all the prep work was done and the epidural was in it was 12:45. They checked my dilation shortly after and I was at an 8. Yes, that is right I made it to and 8 before declaring that I wanted an epidural. I probably shouldn't be so happy, but I am proud of myself, so please don't be offended by this story.
After the epidural was in, they turned off the lights and we went to sleep. At about 2:00 they came in and checked me again and I was at a 10. But, the baby wasn't that far down yet and the epidural was working and the baby wasn't stressed so they decided to just let me labor down for a little while instead of pushing right away. The exact time from this point on are a little foggy, except for the exact time that LaNina was born that time is for sure.
After they thought I had labored down long enough the nurse decided we should try practice pushes. So, Guapo came over to help and we did a couple of sets. On the second one my water finally broke. The nurse stated, "thats cool I have never seen that before." Anyway, I did one more set and then she said "okay we are going to stop and wait for the doctor."
They called my doctor, and while he was coming they prepared the room. It was kind of crazy to see everything. I probably would have enjoyed it more, but I had not had enough sleep. Finally my doctor arrived and he comes into my room in his street clothes. He asks how things are going and where I am at. My nurse said, "She's ready go get changed!" So, he did.
While he was gone we decided to do some more practice pushes, but after like two she said "OKAY, we are waiting for the doctor." So, we waited.
Once Doc came back we started pushing again. I did about three sets of pushes and LaNina was up on my chest. She was born at 4:21AM on 3/3. It was a wonderful experience. I am glad I got to see it (thanks to a mirror). Honestly, it was a really hard really wonderful experience.
If you made it all the way through this congrats! This turned out way longer than I expected but now you know what happened. It was truly amazing. No there are not any pictures of me or labor. That is just something that you will have to imagine because I will say I looked terrible.
On Friday March 2, 2012 I woke up with some cramping, and wondered what it was but didn't worry about it. I didn't worry about it too much because I prayed that morning that if something was wrong I would know. So, just went back to bed to see if more sleep would help. I woke up about 9:00AM and decided that I needed to get on with the day. As the morning progressed, I had a thought occur to me 'maybe this is the beginning stages of labor.' However, I didn't know so I decided to just keep waiting and since it might be I might want to get on with getting things ready. I started by cleaning up LaNina's room. I still had all of her clothes spread out everywhere and nothing put away. I sorted the clothes, boxed up the ones I thought we wouldn't need for awhile, and washed everything I thought we would need the first little while. After her room was clean, I started cleaning all the bathrooms. During this time, I would get a 'cramp' but it wasn't too bad it just reminded me that I wasn't feeling that great, but I kept going. Gaupo game home at about 2:00PM from work and we had lunch and then he went to take a nap. While he was napping I made two pans of Rigatoni for the freezer. By then this 'cramping' was getting worse and I was tired. So, I laid down and about 5:00PM Guapo came downstairs and we talked for a little while. Then he proposed the plan for our date. He said, "Let go to Sam's Club and get the things we need, and the we can get the hot dog combo for dinner."
After I heard this plan I said, "Gaupo, I think I might be in labor."
He replied, "How do you know if you are or not."
"I don't know," I replied.
We dinked around for a few minutes and I deliberated about whether or not it was a good idea to go considering by this time I wasn't feeling all bubbly and full of energy like usual. Yes, even at nine months pregnant I still had energy at night and usually wanted to do things. Anyway, I decided that we should go, so we got in the car and went. On the way there we tried to plan meals for the month, but the contractions were coming pretty strong and I started timing them. They were happening about every 4 minutes. Consequently, about every 4 minutes I could only focus on one thing and that was not losing my breath. They hurt. We arrived at Sam's Club and had only made it through like one week of meals, so we sat out in the parking lot trying to plan them. However, the contractions were not going away so like I said every 4 minutes I was slightly distracted. Finally, we gave up planning and went into the store.
We started gathering what we needed which included a box on New Born size diapers. We only had size one at home and my mom recommended we get some NB. Luckily I took her advice and we picked up a box. Like I mentioned in my previous post I was sure my baby was going to be about 8 pounds so I thought one box would do because we would be in size one before we knew it. As we walked around they started getting stronger. Towards the end they were strong enough that I had to stop walking and hold onto the cart for the time that they were going on. Finally, finished shopping and got dinner. I managed to eat my dinner, but I was feeling pretty yucky by then, but I still wasn't sure if this was the real deal or not.
Gaupo got us home and I went and laid on the couch hoping that a change of positions would cure what was happening, but I was wrong. So, I called the doctor and asked him if he thought I should go to the hospital. He said there is really only one way to know, and that is to just go in and see. Well, I still didn't want to go because I had this fear of being sent home. I only wanted to go to the hospital once. I got up and was going to help Guapo with putting away the chicken, but then a contraction hit and I couldn't. At that point Gaupo said "Go finish getting your bag packed. I will be up in one minute to grab the bags. We are going."
I managed to get my bag packed. LaNina's going home outfit put in her car seat. That is quite a feat for me. So, we go to the hospital, and we get there right before the front entrance closes. Meaning I arrived at the hospital at 9:00PM. Guapo and I go up to the Birth Place. I press the little intercom button and they ask what are you here for?
I reply, " I think I am in labor."
"Okay," they responded and unlocked the door.
Once inside they hooked me up to the monitors and checked my dilation. I was right. They were happening every 4 minutes and I was dilated to a 4 almost a 5. Yes, I am very proud of myself for getting that far without going to the hospital. Anyway at 9:15 I was officially admitted to the hospital.
As we were walking to our room, I got this funny filling like I was going to throw up. However, once we got to the room I was sure and announced that I needed to throw up. The nurse hurry and grabbed a throw up bag, and I threw up. I will spare you the detail of what hot dog and Powerade looked like. After that we got all settled in our room, and they asked if I wanted an epidural. I said, "No not yet." Then they asked if I wanted to get in the jacuzzi bath. "Yes," I replied.
So, my nurse filled up the bath and I got in. Guapo sat by the side and talked to me. It was really nice to be in the water, and for awhile it really did help with the contractions. After awhile the nurse came to check on me and get the baby's heart tones. Then she told us that when I wanted an epidural I need to know that it would take about thirty minutes, so I shouldn't wait till I am like dying of pain to ask for one. I told her I wasn't ready yet and chilled in the bath some more. Then it got a little warm and the contractions were kind of strong, so I decided to get out for a little while. I got out and walked around the room a bit, and threw up. After that I waited a little longer and then told the nurse that I wanted the epidural.
That is when I became confined to the bed. She hooked me back up to the monitors, drew blood, and started running the IV. Then we had to wait for the results from the blood test and the anesthesiologist to arrive. Once all the prep work was done and the epidural was in it was 12:45. They checked my dilation shortly after and I was at an 8. Yes, that is right I made it to and 8 before declaring that I wanted an epidural. I probably shouldn't be so happy, but I am proud of myself, so please don't be offended by this story.
After the epidural was in, they turned off the lights and we went to sleep. At about 2:00 they came in and checked me again and I was at a 10. But, the baby wasn't that far down yet and the epidural was working and the baby wasn't stressed so they decided to just let me labor down for a little while instead of pushing right away. The exact time from this point on are a little foggy, except for the exact time that LaNina was born that time is for sure.
After they thought I had labored down long enough the nurse decided we should try practice pushes. So, Guapo came over to help and we did a couple of sets. On the second one my water finally broke. The nurse stated, "thats cool I have never seen that before." Anyway, I did one more set and then she said "okay we are going to stop and wait for the doctor."
They called my doctor, and while he was coming they prepared the room. It was kind of crazy to see everything. I probably would have enjoyed it more, but I had not had enough sleep. Finally my doctor arrived and he comes into my room in his street clothes. He asks how things are going and where I am at. My nurse said, "She's ready go get changed!" So, he did.
While he was gone we decided to do some more practice pushes, but after like two she said "OKAY, we are waiting for the doctor." So, we waited.
Once Doc came back we started pushing again. I did about three sets of pushes and LaNina was up on my chest. She was born at 4:21AM on 3/3. It was a wonderful experience. I am glad I got to see it (thanks to a mirror). Honestly, it was a really hard really wonderful experience.
If you made it all the way through this congrats! This turned out way longer than I expected but now you know what happened. It was truly amazing. No there are not any pictures of me or labor. That is just something that you will have to imagine because I will say I looked terrible.
