Around 5 in the evening on November 2, I started having quite a lot of pelvic pain. I wasn't sure what it was because I don't recall having this issue with the girls. I figured maybe the baby was just moving down into a lower station and it was a step closer to labor. I was pretty uncomfortable but after a couple of hours, it went away and I had relief from any pain for more than an hour.
8:30: Very strong contractions started, but they were about 15 minutes a part.
Around 8:15, I decided to go lay down in bed for awhile, because I started having some cramping at that point. While laying in bed, I got a very strong contraction. It concerned me a little because there was a lot of pressure and intensity to the contraction. It wasn't a standard pre-labor contraction as I knew them to be.
I told Dustin how I was feeling and he asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital. I said no. I wasn't sure if labor was starting, and even if it was, I wanted to do as much labor at home as possible. I hate hospitals.
I had a couple of more intense contractions over the next half hour. The kind where you have to stop and just breathe; I couldn't talk or move. We had just put the girls in bed and Dustin was getting in a shower in case we were going to the hospital that night and he wouldn't get a chance to have one for awhile.
9:00: We decided to head to the hospital. On the way out the door, my water broke. It was a mad rush to the hospital after dropping the girls off at their grandma's house.
After a bit, I knew we needed to go. I mean, I wasn't totally sure I was in labor. But the intensity of the contractions concerned me. I suggested to Dustin that we take the girls to his parents'. He said, "Ok...you mean, just in case we need to go to the hospital later tonight?" And I said, "No, because I think we need to go to the hospital NOW."
The girls were great. They hopped right out of bed, threw a few more things into their overnight bags, and headed right to the car. I decided to put on a little make-up and get my hair up. When Dustin found me gripping the edge of the sink in pain, he insisted I grab my bag and we go. So I changed into a fresh set of clothes. I figured once I got to the hospital, I would change into a gown, so I would just wear the clean clothes home and then not have to pack any.
About a minute after doing this, I said, "Oh! Oh no!" Dustin looked at me pensively and said, "Your water just broke, didn't it?" "Yes," I said, "Yep, my water broke. We have to go, NOW."
(My water didn't break with the girls. The doctors broke my water, but once they did, things went REALLY fast.)
As we headed out the door, I commanded Dustin to go back and grab me a towel. When he ran back to me, he handed me a small dish towel. I laughed at its uselessness, at which point, I lost a lot more water. We needed to go!
We dropped the girls off at Dustin's parents'. They were already given the heads up that we were coming in. Because we were in such a rush, we just pulled over and called goodbye to the girls while they ran inside by themselves. Then Dustin booked it to the hospital. I was concerned. It was going to be around 30 minutes to get to the hospital; I could easily be pushing within that time limit. We had seen it happen before.
As we were driving into Champaign, Dustin and I were talking and realized we had left my hospital bag at home! I was soo diligent about packing my bag; I probably had it ready to go around 37 weeks. I even had a list nearby to remind myself to pack a couple of last minute items, and instructed Dustin beforehand on being responsible for getting those things in case I was too out of it. Well, apparently we were both too out of it, because I thought he grabbed it, but he thought I grabbed it. The reason this was so maddening to me was because all my cameras were in my bag, including my phone. Dustin's camera on his phone does not really work. I didn't have that much else in the bag and it wasn't important. But no cameras! So I was all mad at Dustin, but I apologized as we walked into the ER doors because I didn't want to be in a fight with my husband on the day our baby was being born. LOL. He assured me he would get it to us. Our friend Dan drove it up right away.
9:30: I got into the delivery room around this time and the contractions picked up quite quickly. Labor lasted about 1 1/2 hours. It was very hard and intense, especially as it had turned into back labor.
Thankfully, the contractions held off until I actually got into the delivery room and suited up, which was close to 9:30pm. They were about 10 minutes apart, then quickly advanced to 6 minutes apart. I was thrown for a loop. During the last half hour, maybe, the contractions went from the front to the back; it turned into back labor. I didn't realize this at first and assumed that my back was intensely sore. I tried different positions, but when that only made it worse, I realized it had turned into back labor. It was brutal. I was almost crying. Maybe I actually was, I'm not sure. At one point I told the nurse that I could tell I was close to pushing. She was going to do a cervical check to make sure I was progressed enough to do so, but I vehemently told her no; like I needed the extra discomfort! The nurses were a little worried. The on-call OB was in another delivery. They rushed downstairs and woke up one of the midwives. I continued to labor for about another 10 minutes. At no point during my labor did I see a doctor or midwife.
And finally it was time. I told the nurse that it was time for me to push, and she said, "NO. Wait and let me get someone." And she left the room. I was like, "WHAT. I did NOT drive 100mph to get here in time only for you leave the room when the baby is definitely coming!" (I didn't actually say that.) But she was back within a minute with the midwife, Mrs.Eden. And the work began.
Luke Watchman was born at 10:58pm on November 2nd. He weighed 9lbs, 3oz, 20.5in. There were no complications. Dustin was able to pull the baby out and cut the umbilical cord. They laid him down on top of me. No one told me the gender of the baby, until I heard someone say He. I said, "What? It's a boy?" They gasped and said, "Oh, you didn't know?" I couldn't believe it. I wasn't really surprised, but wow, now I have a boy.
I felt good after labor. This was not the case with the girls at all. But after Luke came, I didn't have a hard time getting up and moving around. I didn't feel queasy. Dustin ran down to the cafeteria to get himself some food and I ate some of his french fries. But I mostly snacked on the peanuts I brought. Everyone seemed pleasantly surprised with how well I was moving after labor, myself very much included.
We only had to stay about 24 1/2 hours after baby's birth. So we came home around 12:30 in the morning on Wednesday. I did have to request that my mother-in-law bring me some clothes to change into, since I had arrived at the hospital in wet clothes. Luke slept the whole way home.
Luke is doing great. Nursing is going well.He has already had his first well-baby, and everything looks really good.
In case you are wondering, Luke's middle name comes from Isaiah 52:8. It's a scripture of praising the Lord and watching for His work to be done. This scripture speaks a lot to me.
We are thrilled to have our precious baby. I had just the labor I wanted: I went in on my own, and it was fast. He is doing so well. What a blessing!
Please continue to pray for our health and well-being. This is such a tiring phase of life, and Dustin especially really struggles with lack of sleep.
Praise the Lord!
Now for the pictures: (One thing I will say here is that I felt like the two days after Luke's birth went so incredibly fast that I wasn't able to take the time to take really good pictures. I still don't have a full family picture yet and that makes me sad.)
I have more pictures on my other camera so I will save for the next post.
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