I love epidurals (Labor Story)

Short Version:

4 hour labor

4 am : at home started counting contractions

5:15 am : arrived at the hospital - dilated to 7cm at triage

6:15 am : epidural (hallelujah) given - dilated to 9cm

7:38 am : Andrew born!

Long Version:

I knew Andrew would make his arrival early. Mostly because I was dilated 3cm at 37 weeks and at my 38 week appointment, I was nearly 4cm. My doctor stripped my membranes to see if my body would start labor on its own (rather than be induced October 5th). That night, I felt a little off, but wasn't experiencing any contractions, so I just kept busy cleaning and went to bed early. I told my mom that there was no way anything would happen, so not to worry or get excited. I also sent a text to meet Lore & Mandy at the park in the morning.

I woke up quite a bit in the night with a little tightness, but nothing significant and I was sure my mind was playing games with me. Around 3:45a I thought that something might actually happen, but hoped it would be a few hours so that we wouldn't need to call anyone in the middle of the night. I started writing them down at 4:00a and they were surprisingly close together - like every 5 minutes or so - whoa! They started getting stronger and we finally called Lore at 4:45a and she raced over to our house so Rachel could sleep (thank you, Lore!). By 5:15a we arrived at the hospital and the contractions were really tough. I was very uncomfortable and started panicking that I wouldn't be able to get an epidural. At triage, they checked me and I was dilated 7cm so they hurried me back to delivery to get everything started. They were going as quick as they could and my nurse was saying, "My patient wanted an epidural yesterday." And that is exactly how I felt - I had never experienced these strong contractions with Rachel and frankly, I was miserable (and I'm a big baby) and I was starting to panic. You see, I get really stressed out about the whole pushing part and I couldn't imagine trying to push a baby out while struggling through painful contractions (way to go, pioneer women, but an epidural was made for me!). I also don't have a very high tolerance for pain and this was really pushing my physical and mental limits. Brandon was fantastic - he kept calming me down and encouraging me - he was a rock star.

Around 6:15a, they got my epidural in (YAY! YAY! YAY!) and it was so much better from there. I was able to calm down and focus and make some phone calls to family. They checked me right after I got it and I was 9cm dilated. Some may say that if they knew they'd have a short labor (mine was about 4 hours this time around, compared to 11 hours with Rachel) that they would definitely be able to do it without an epidural, but not me - I needed it for that last hour. It was worth every penny too (side story: we paid cash for this little guy since I couldn't add maternity coverage to our private insurance plan).

I pushed for just under an hour. After my first pregnancy delivering a 9 pound baby, I figured this one would just slide out :) but this one was different because my contractions really slowed down so a lot of the hour was just waiting in between contractions (sometimes 5 minutes apart - yes, it was a little awkward but who really cares at that point). But Andrew and I finally figured it out and he was born at 7:38a. What a special moment that is - I was overcome with emotion and could hardly speak. And I felt overwhelmed with so much love for him and I was so happy to have him here.

It was an amazing experience. And it went much quicker than I had anticipated - I didn't have much time to worry. To be honest, I couldn't have said that about the labor with Rachel - I think I was in shock after I had her and I remember specifically thinking that I knew why people only had one child. I'm not sure why, but the only way I can describe how I felt with my first was pretty terrified at how everything happens. I didn't have any bad feelings towards her, just a lot of anxiety about the labor/delivery and hoped I would quickly forget how miserable I had felt. This time around, I was pleasantly surprised and honestly felt a ton better. I was also able to see that the body is incredible and that the delivery is a natural, beautiful thing.

I was also so grateful that I had made the decision to deliver with Dr. Huish at Banner Gateway. It was the same doctor that delivered Rachel and he is fantastic! Earlier in the pregnancy, I had considered a maternity package plan at Maricopa County Hospital for women without maternity insurance ($3500 for doctor visits and a vaginal delivery with an epidural). It really was a difficult decision because Maricopa would have been more than half the price of delivering at Gateway, but I went with Dr. Huish because that's what I felt was right and would be the best choice for our family.

We stayed in the hospital with Drew for about 30 hours and I just loved being there with Brandon and this new, special spirit who we immediately fell in love with. Lore took care of Rachel for the day and even brought her to meet her new baby brother. It was precious and it was nice to be there as a family for a few minutes ... then Rachel got all loud and hyper and I was ready for her to go back with Lore and return to the peace and quiet with our little newborn. :) Nana and Papa arrived later that night from Orem - they drove down as soon as they heard I was in the hospital. Rachel was so excited to see them and it was great to have the extra help!