When we first found out I was pregnant we thought we were due Christmas Day. I was pretty bummed about it. After I progressed further into my pregnancy my date changed to December 15. We were relieved to say the least. We schedule an appointment at the hospital to be induced December 22. I would be a week overdue and we would still get out of the hospital by Christmas Day.
Once we knew we were in the clear for Christmas, we kept saying "as long as she's not born on Ryan's birthday" (December 2). As my pregnancy progressed I kept telling Ryan that I knew she was coming early. He pushed my worries aside and reassured me that it was very rare to have your first child early. On Sunday November 30, I woke up feeling strange. I told Ryan I felt really sick and that I was sure I was going in to labor this week. I was showing the same pre labor signs that I had been showing the entire week so once again Ryan assured me I was just excited to have her here and that all would be well until her due date. Monday December 1, I schedule a birthday celebration for Ryan. I was exhausted that day but my party planning obsession took over and I finished the food and decorations just before everyone got there. It was about 9:00pm when people started gathering coats and heading home for the night. I sat down on the couch and relaxed for the first time that day when GUSH. Yup, right there in front of all of our friends and family my water broke on my living room sofa. I sprinted for the bath tub while my sweet sisters in law cloroxed the couch. Everyone pitched in to get the house back in order while I sat in the tub helpless. After leaking in the tub for 20 minutes I shoved a towel down my pants, packed my hospital bag, hugged our loved ones goodbye and left for the hospital. We arrived at about 10:00pm.
My sweet mother was waiting at the hospital entrance with a smile on her face that gave me the confidence boost I needed. "Are you ready to have a baby?" She asked as I nodded my head.
I walked to the check in desk and told the nurse my water broke. "Are you sure" she asked. To which I replied something like "positive, it's still running down my legs". They whisked us to our birthing suite and got me prepped for labor. The nurse told me we were in for a long night.
After an hour with little to no dilation the nurse told me the doctor wanted pitocin administered because the longer I went with my water broken the higher the risk of infection. It was about 12:30am when she administered the pitocin and by 1:30am I was ready for the epidural. By 2:00am I was dilated to a 3 and by 3:30am I was a 5. By this time my catheter was feeling rather uncomfortable and I wanted to rip it out. I insisted to my mom that I wanted to sit up. The epidural was wearing off and at 4:00am we called the nurse in to discuss upping my epidural. I told her I wanted it to wear off a little because I wanted to be able to feel while pushing but I couldn't make it much longer. She checked my cervix one last time and said "oh, looks like you're ready to push" after one push her eyes widened and she told me not to do that again until the doctor arrived. I told her my body wanted to push and she told me I could start. Around 4:15am I started pushing and at 4:20am the doctor ran into the room, helped with the tearing, grabbed the baby and delivered her at 4:28am December 2, 2014. Ryan lost his birthday but gained so much more.
I will NEVER forget how it felt. Ryan and I just kept looking at each other saying "this is our baby, we made this". Ryan was smitten and I couldn't believe she was ours. All 6lbs 10oz 18 inches.
