It's Been One Week...or six...

since he looked at me...pretty sure life has changed forever.

Now it's been a little over 6 weeks & I'm still not done with his birth story...time flies...here's first instalment... I'll continue to add to it as I get time...ha.

Time goes by pretty fast when you live in 3 hour increments... a week ago I was at home trying to sleep between contractions that were coming every 3-5 minutes, our sleepless nights had already begun. The contractions had started Wednesday afternoon. Here is a little outline of how it all went down. (mainly so I don't forget all the details) It's kind of long, but it did go on for like 2 days, so bear with me or don't read it, your choice...

Wednesday, September 8th

I had a doctors appointment that morning & a funeral to attend that afternoon so I took the whole day off. I had no idea that when I left Birmingham on Tuesday that I wouldn't be back to work till after Thanksgiving.

8:30 - Meet with Dr. Ribal, the only doctor in the practice I hadn't met yet. I'm really glad that I did get to meet her...At first she said the same things that I had been hearing for 3 weeks...no change, about 90% effaced but not even a centimeter dilated. Then, she asked if any of the doctors had said anything about my pelvis/pelvic bone being in the way...nope, no one had said a word. That's why I had been in so much pain, the little dude was just smashed against my pelvis...good to know. She decided that I might not dilate because little man might not get far enough down & that even though she thought he was small (she called 6-7lbs), that he might not fit. We talked about a c-section being a possibility, I freaked out a bit on the inside. We set another appointment for the next Wednesday & the Monday after that. If I hadn't gone into labor on my own by the 20th (3 days after my due date) then they would induce, see if I could dilate & go from there. I left the office thinking I was in for the long haul...it was going to be at least another 10 days or so before we could see the little man... Called Brock, cried a little. I was so over being pregnant, I'd never had an IV (which the thought of really, totally freaked me out), & never spent the night in a hospital, so the thought of major surgery even being a possibility just about sent super hormonal me over the edge...

1:15 - On my way to the funeral, feeling kind of weird, but what's new. Super sad for my friend Tracy, she lost her daddy, I'm tearing up in the car, this could get ugly...

1:40 - The first contraction of this loooonnnggg process hits. It felt totally different than any of the Braxton Hicks that I'd been feeling. Almost like someone was trying to rip the little dude right out of me through my belly button... Awesome, good thing it only lasted about 30 seconds.

2:00 - Another one, about 30 seconds, having a really hard time concentrating on the funeral, but at least I'm not bawling my eyes out, nobody likes to see a blubbering super pregnant girl.

2:00-3:00 - The contractions continue to come about every 20 minutes & last for about 30-45 seconds, totally bearable, but very distracting. I don't have actual times or intervals, I'd left my phone in the car, yes, my phone...contraction counter? yep, there's an app for that...

3:30 - Leave the church, call Brock & let him know what's going on. Trying not to get my hopes up, start timing them on my phone.

5:30- Brock gets home. I've made some progress. The contractions are MUCH more painful (I had no idea how painful it was going to get), couldn't walk & couldn't really talk through them, they're lasting about a minute each time but the interval is really sporadic. Sometimes 4 minutes, sometimes 10... Brock packs Montana's stuff for Ponderosa, makes sure that our stuff is ready, pays bills & I sit in the recliner, walk, lay down, just try to get comfortable...

8:30 - about the same...Brock talks me into eating a grilled cheese, it takes me forever to eat it between contractions. We talk about what to do, I REALLY don't want to be the girl that cries wolf, if we go to the hospital & they send us home I'm going to be devastated...

10:30 - Trying to sleep in 5 minutes sections is really impossible. Contractions are still about a minute long, random intervals...anywhere from 2 minutes to 10, ugh...really? If this is false labor so help me...

Thursday, September 9th


1:30am - Starting to shake after each contraction, we call the doctor on call, still really worried about being the girl that cried wolf, but the pain is really getting to me & the intervals are around 3-5 minutes... she calls back about an hour later & tells us to come in, might as well get checked out. Brock gets everything packed & I pace the floor in the kitchen never getting far from the counter. I panic a little when we pull out of the drive, next time we are at the house we will have a tiny little person with us. WOW!


3:30 - Admitted & checked...1cm...are you freaking kidding? The contractions are still really wicked but it seems that no one really cares except Brock & me & we don't hold the keys to the pain meds.


4:30 - still 1cm, still contracting every 3-5 minutes for at least a minute, still no sleep, still no meds...


5:30 - still 1cm, still contracting every 3-5 minutes for at least a minute, still no sleep, still no meds... we start walking the halls, I have until 7:00 to make some progress or they're sending me home. NOT going to be the girl who cries wolf. walk, contract, walk, contract...


6:30 - still 1cm...blah...blah..blah... walk some more, they give me 45 more minutes...


7:15 - still 1cm, I get a shot of Demerol & they start the discharge process & tell us to come back when the contractions are 2-3 minutes apart...I start crying...wolf... devastated. Night shift nurse says she'll see us tonight...


7:30 - headed home in tons of pain, the Demerol didn't dim a darn thing...haven't slept since Tuesday night, beyond tired.


7:30 - 12:30 - contract, sleep, walk, contract, sleep, try to eat, contract, contract, contract...I took a bath, we walked laps around the house...contractions are about 3-4 minutes apart & I'm dying a little with each one...Brock calls the doctors office. I want to be checked for progress before going back to the hospital. When Brock tells the nurse that my contractions are closer & longer that the "5 & 1" rule she of course tells him to take me to the hospital, he pretty much says, 'been there, done that...& we're coming to the office before we go back' she agrees, tells us to be there around 1:30.


1:00 - leave the house again, I tell Brock that I'm not coming back without the little man. Take Montana to Ponderosa, curse on every bump...contractions for about 24 hours now...so not what I signed up for...only child?


1:30 - Trying not to make a scene in the waiting room, now a 2...progress? Dr. Hudgins tells me that I'm in active labor...really?? I could have told you that...back to the hospital we go...but we stop at Sonic first, I need some ice, Brock needs lots of caffeine...pretty sure there's no rush. Brock calls my mom, tells her that hopefully we will have a baby in the next 24 hours...


2:00- back at the hospital, waiting to be admitted, trying not to make a scene in another waiting room. Poor girl from the admit office freaks out a bit each time that I have a contraction...I want to scream, "quit flipping out & just finish the stupid paperwork...OMG!"



3:00 - day shift nurse is less than a peach...pretty much tells me I'm in false labor, that it could go on for weeks like this, that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought & that I would probably be going home...I nearly punch her in the nose... STRIKE ONE lady, I'm not above asking for a new nurse. She claims that I'm only a 2 - well, duh! I left the doctors office about an hour ago & it's taking me 24 hours to get that far, ugh...even mild mannered Brock is pissed...

4:00 - still 2cm, still contracting, still dying, still no sleep, still no meds...Miss Less Than a Peach makes a comment on the contraction monitor FROM HER DESK AT THE NURSES STATION, "patient able to talk, no moaning or crying during contractions," she hadn't seen me contract unless she had a hidden camera somewhere. STRIKE TWO!

5:00 - still 2cm...talk of getting sent home. It literally feels like someone is grabbing the little man & yanking him right out of my stomach every 2 minutes, contractions are lasting 2 minutes..you're really going to send me home...Miss Less Than a Peach says that she is trying to talk the doctors in to letting me stay until they can come check me at 6...but that I might still have to go home...dying, each minute seems like hours...

6:00 - Doctor Hudgins comes in with some crazy lady doctor that has a HUGE pink flower on her headband. Now I'm a 3, maybe a 4 according to the headband doctor. I get to stay!!! TAKE THAT DUMB NURSE! She says we'll have a baby by midnight doctor Hudgins says by the next morning...either way works, the 10th is dad's birthday...
They both wonder why I hadn't had any pain meds...ugh...& they start the process of getting an epidural. PRAISE THE LORD! (note the time, 6pm) Night shift starts at 7 so Miss Less Than a Peach tries to start my IV, keyword, tries & fails miserably, 3 times..Brock has flames coming out his eyes & I am trying not to scream in pain...STRIKE 3! YOU'RE OUT!!
in comes nurse number 2. She tries on the other hand & fails miserably, but just once. SO not a fan of getting an IV. They hook up the fluids & tell me that I have to have a full bag before the epidural, should take 20-30 minutes... I can do this... Dr. Flower Headband comes in, wonders why they sucked at getting my IV & why nobody had been doing anything about the fact that little man was starting to struggle with each contraction...she rolls me on my side (which made the contractions much worse) & I think I get some oxygen. I say think because Brock took a picture of me with an oxygen mask on but I don't remember it at all. He says it happened before they broke my water...

7:00 - 8:30ish -super nice night shift nurse is back...Dr. Flower Headband & Nurse Super Nice say I'm a four & they break my water - GROSS - little man is really starting to struggle & I think this is when they decide c-section. I freak out a little. Several different people come in including the epidural man & they can't figure out why my IV isn't working, it's been about 30 minutes & the bag of fluid is still pretty much full. Nurse Super Nice ask a ton of questions about me & the baby, she enters them in the computer...the rest is kind of fuzzy. I remember sending some text about having a c-section & I for sure remember that I still didn't have any pain meds... Little man is still struggling & everyone is moving faster, I'm getting worried...epidural man is trying to hand pump the fluids in because they can't do the c-section until all the fluid is in...Brock puts on his scrubs, I get prepped...

Sometime around 9 - Epidural man is still trying to get the fluids in, Dr. Flower Headband is starting to freak me out about little dude's heart rate...Brock prays & they wheel me back. He can't go until after they finish the spinal (no time for an epidural now), I am beyond freaking out...It takes the epidural man more than 20 minutes to get it all done, he said it usually takes him 10 tops. I'm shaking & squirming with each contraction, they can't find little man's heart beat for like a minute & I panic...everyone is moving really fast & I remember someone turning on the radio...weird...once the spinal takes they move me to the operating table & bring in Brock. The spinal is awesome! No feeling at all... I could contract for days with that thing, to bad it took close to 30 hours to get it... I fight to stay awake.
The whole surgery part was so weird...I could feel everything but it didn't hurt at all. I hear Dr. Flower Headband something about little dude being face up & looking at them & that the cord was wrapped around his neck...they pull him out but I don't hear him cry... a few seconds felt like an eternity, but he finally does...9:46pm Bronson Gene was 'born' 6lbs, 8z & 19 inches long. I remember Brock telling them his name & I remember the epidural man noticing that Miss Less than a Peach left the filters in my IV which is why it wasn't working...nice, her greatness carried on even after she left...
They start to put me back together, Nurse Super Nice takes our first family picture (I look like I've been hit by a train) Brock goes with Bronson to the nursery & I fall asleep for the first time since Tuesday night/Wednesday morning...


The beginning