Around 9:30 I accepted that yes, these really are contractions, but maybe I could still make my family's Thanksgiving dinner! Never mind the fact that the contractions were less than 10 minutes apart - they weren't THAT painful. And surely, I wouldn't need to go to the hospital for just a little bit of pain! I almost started making the apple pie I had signed up for, but luckily I have a husband who talks me out of my crazy.
About an hour later I told Dustin that we were probably not going to make dinner after all. And 30 minutes later I announced that we better actually pack our hospital bag and get there STAT, because these contractions were not messing around (less than 5 minutes apart, lasting at least a minute, and...ouch).
The entire car ride down there I fretted between worrying that (1) we had waited to long and it would be too late for my epidural and (2) the hospital would tell me it's false labor and to go home.
We got to the hospital around 11:30 and I was very relieved that I got to skip triage. I got changed into my very flattering hospital gown, and waited. When the nurse checked me I was dilated to a 6. I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn't being just a huge baby about the contractions and there really was something going on down there, and I asked for my epidural ASAP.
The good news about having a baby on a major holiday is that the labor & delivery unit was pretty empty, because who wants to be induced on Thanksgiving? So the anesthesiologist was actually waiting outside the door for us to be ready for him. I do love that service.
By the time the epidural kicked in I was an 8.5. And let me say, more power to all you natural-birth ladies, but oh boy am I thankful for modern medicine! Life was pretty good after that.
I napped for a bit and by 2:00 I was a 10, but my doctor had me wait another hour before pushing. My doctor showed up at 3:05 and told me that most first-time moms push for 1-3 hours.
Hearing this, Dustin took the opportunity to use the bathroom, thinking that he was in it for the long haul. As I pushed through the first contraction, the nurse started yelling at Dustin to get out of the bathroom because he was going to miss it. Dustin ran out and at 3:16 PM, after the second contraction, our daughter was here.
My doctor marveled that she was going to make her Thanksgiving dinner at four. What can I say? I am a people pleaser.
Kayla Renae, thanks for not making us wait until your due date to get here.
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