Welcome to the World!

Almost 2 weeks ago on December 17, 2012 we welcomed baby number 4 into the Daniels home.  Nicholas Owen Daniels was born at 8:24 am.  He weighed 9lbs & 6oz and was 21.5 inches long.  Yep, he was a bruiser.  So here is the story leading up to the birth.

I was scheduled for an induction on Thursday the 13th.  It was an outpatient induction where they give you gels to soften your cervix.  I have had this done with all 3 of my children and it had never put me into labor before (not even on the 2 that were a week overdue) but this time I was going into the induction expecting that it wouldn't put me into labor and prepared to go home, hoping that over the next week, the gels would help my body get itself ready.  But unfortunately the hospital was too busy and postponed my treatment indefinitely.  I didn't hear back the next day and so I figured it was a no-go.

So I was surprised on Sunday (which was my actual due date) when I got a call from the hospital at 4pm saying that they had room for me to do my induction if I could come in right now.  We hauled the kids to my mom's and prepared ourselves for a long, uneventful night in the OB triage at the hospital.  When we got there I was dilated to a 1 and not really effaced at all.  So we started the treatment.  After the first round (of 3) there was no progress.  After the second round I started having mild contractions about 4 minutes apart, but much to my disappointment there was still no progress with my cervix.  The contractions continued steadily for the rest of the evening but by 2am, I was still only about 50% effaced and dilated to a 1.5cm.  As expected, I was sent home.  Luckily my mom had agreed to keep the kids over night and bring them to me in the morning because it was so late.  We got home at 2:30 and went to bed, but I didn't sleep.  The contractions had been coming about 4 minutes apart since 10 pm but now they were finally starting to get stronger and longer.  Around 4:00 I got up to use the bathroom and that simple act put my body into overdrive.

All of a sudden the contractions started getting really hard and coming really fast, about  2 minutes apart.  I got in the shower hoping that would relax me and thinking that the contractions would settle back down but they hurt so bad I couldn't even stand so I got out of the shower and woke up a sleeping Alan.  I have never experienced "labor" before.  I've always had an epidural by this point.  But I am a pretty big wimp so needless to say, the rest of the evening went about like you'd expect in a Hollywood Comedy.  We rushed out the door and I screamed and cried all the way to the hospital (a very long 30 minute drive) and into triage, saying ridiculous things and trying not to swear or be rude to my husband.  They checked me and in the 3 hours I was gone I had made it to 90% effaced and dilated to a 6.5cm.  I still didn't get my epidural for almost another hour and spent that hour trying not to pass out or yell at the nurses to "get my drugs to me faster". 

I know everyone responds to pain differently, but I have no clue how ladies do this without the epidural.  I am not being dramatic when I say that I couldn't have finished labor without mine.  By the time the epidural came, I couldn't even sit up to get it.  I just laid there, clinging to the rail on the bed in a crumpled up ball.  Way past the screaming stage, I just laid there whimpering and moaning and trying to remain conscious.  Finally my drugs came, I settled down and then started all of the apologies to the staff for acting like a huge ninny.  I was embarrassed until the next night when someone else came in screaming just as loud.  That made me feel a little better.  It was probably 6 am by the time I got the epidural and so I waited in relative comfort for the next few hours.  My doctor showed up around 8:10-8:15ish and we started pushing.  A few short minutes later we discovered that we had another boy!

And that is pretty much it.  Well the less detailed version.  Minus the excruciating pain, it was a pretty easy labor.  Definitely my shortest and the only one where I didn't need either the pitosin or an episiotomy!  I feel really good and Nicholas is such a good baby.  He usually sleeps for at least 6 hours at night already (hopefully that doesn't change) and only cries when he is poopy or hungry.  Plus I can already comfortably walk, sit & sleep on my stomach.  My back and hips barely hurt by now and in the last 13 days I have lost 25 pounds!  I'd say this was a great way to end my baby making/having experiences!