I was scheduled to be induced on Mon. April 9, 2012, but my son had other plans.
It all began on Sat. April 7, 2012. I woke up at 4am to some very strong cramps. I went to the bathroom and was surprised to see that I was bleeding heavily and had lost my mucas plug. Excitement started to set in as I realized that I just may be going into labor on my own. I laid back down in bed, but was awoken to strong contractions around 6am. I got out of bed and started timing my contractions. It wasn't until around 6pm that things started to pick up. I was having contractions every 6 to 7 mins. lasting about 45 seconds each. We decided to call my OB around 11pm. We were told to come to labor and delivery. David and I got into the car and headed to the hospital. We were really relaxed considering the circumstances. It hit me on the drive that this would be my last car ride as a pregnant woman. We would soon be hoding our son in our arms.
The Hospital.....
We arrived at the hospital around 1am on April 8, 2012. I was immediately checked into triage and was examined. I was only 1cm dialated and about 75% effaced. The nurse told us that it would be up to the doctor, we may have the baby today or we could be sent home until things picked up a bit more. Thankfully the doctor admitted me and said "Let's have a baby!". I was started on pitocin around 3am. My contractions started coming much quicker and were so much stronger. The pain was getting bad. I was trying to hold off on the epidural for as long as possible, I wanted to expierence everything. After all, we had been waiting almost 4 years for this miracle. I used the birthing ball for about an hour and used my breathing, but around 7am the pain was so intense, I was ready for my epidural. Pitocin makes contractions much stronger and more painful than natural contractions and I was ready for some relief. I had my epidural around 7:30am. OMG, I just have to say that the person that invented the epidural is a GENIUS and my personal hero. ;) I was finally able to relax. Apparently the epidural was the right choice for us because when I was exaimed at 8am I was 4cm dialated and 100% effaced. My doctor broke my water. It was now just time to wait, and boy did we wait! I was fairly comfortable and able to nap off and on until around 6pm. I started to feel pressure and called the nurse. She checked me and gave us great news, 10cm dialated, time to push! :)
I started pushing around 6:40pm. My epidural was now off and I felt like I could feel EVERYTHING. Each contraction brought so much pain. Pushing was so exhausting. My wonderful husband Dave was an amazing coach and he was always by my side cheering me on. I pushed for 1 hour and 45 mins.
At 8:32pm the most amazing miracle happened. At 8:32pm I gave the final push that brought our beautiful son into this world! Priase God!
I can not even put into words how that moment felt. I have never felt as much love as I did that moment. It was absolute pure bliss! I was in complete awe. Pure love took over my mind, body and soul. David's first cry was the most beautiful sound in the world. My OB immediately laid him on my chest and he looked into my eyes. The most beautiful person in the world, my son, David.
David Alexander was born on April 8th, Easter Sunday, at 8:32pm. He weighed 8lbs 13oz and was 22inches long.
