Our labor and delivery experience was a good one, but definitely nothing like what we expected. My contractions started around 3am in the morning on Monday, March 30th. They were not bad, they just felt like strong menstrual cramps. After 2 hours of getting up constantly to use the bathroom......since it feels like you have to go, but you really don't, I decided to get up and turn on the computer to get my mind off the fact that I could be a mom in a matter of hours.
After 5 hours of having my contractions 5 min apart I called labor and delivery to let them know. The nurse said that I was way too chipper and that I should drink lots of water and lie down and do nothing to see if my contractions changed. Unfortunately, to my dismay, the contractions slowly became further and further apart over the course of the next 5 hours. They went from 5 min, to 6 to 8 to 10 min apart!!!! This sucks, I thought. So I decided to walk around the backyard. Sure enough the more active I was the closer my contractions were together. Keith and I discussed the possibility of this being false labor again. I was becoming more and more frustrated because I knew my body was close to having this baby, but I couldn't tell Keith 100% that I was in true labor. I couldn't be "wrong" again.
Totally frustrated I went to bed at 9pm. Keith had plans to go to work in the morning so I prayed myself to sleep that I would trust God's plan and that Keith would be around went I went into "active labor". sure enough I started feeling more intense contractions around 10pm and I was really aware of them by the tiime Keith came to bed just before 11pm. For the next 3 hours I timed them realizing they were only 3 min apart and becoming more and more intense. I think I used the restroom a dozen times with no success. I finally took a shower hoping that it would relax me and help me know if these contractions were going to go away. 100% sure that these were becoming more and more painful I walked into the room and flipped on the light, waking Keith to tell him we need to go to the hospital. Within an hour we were finally in the observation room at kaiser. Unfortuantely, we found out that I was still only 1.5 cm dilated (the same I had been for over 2 weeks). I couldn't believe it. I couldn't understand how painful the contractions were and how close they were together with nothing to show for it!!!! The Dr. said that we had 2 hours to wait and see. If I dilated to 3 cm they would admit me, otherwise they would have to re-evaluate what to do with me. As Keith slept on the floor I prayed and prayed that I would be at 3cm and that God would give me the strength to handle the pain, but the pain was becoming so unbearable I didn't know how much longer I could take it.
Luckily, we were blessed with the news that I was at 3cm and got the okay to be admitted. We were in the L and D room by 5am. The Dr. came in to re-evaluate me around 7am. After discovering I was still 3 cm I asked for the epidural. The epidural was placed around 7:30 am. The pain mostly went away, but I still felt it on my L side. Unfortunately, the pain continued to intensify on the L so after 5 or 6 hours of the contractions becoming more and more painful they decided to re-do the epidural. We also discovered I was still 3 cm dilated :(
So we decided to start pitocin 30 min before the epidural was
redone. The second epidural was magic. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't even move my ankles. After a couple hours I was 5 cm dilated.... After another couple of hours to their surprise I was 10 cm, fully effaced and the baby was half way out. They suggested I wait another couple of hours and let the baby descend on his own since he was doing such a good job and the epidural is suppose to keep me from feeling anything. I said what!!!! I feel the urge to push, I definitely feel pain, can I push now?! Luckily they let me push and saw that it was successful. So after 30 or so min of pushing they got the Dr. becuase Axel's head had crowned and little Axel was born 15 min or so later. I couldn't believe it. Little Axel was finally out.....I was in shock that I had a child and that I was no longer pregnant. It was the best feeling in the world.
redone. The second epidural was magic. I couldn't feel anything. I couldn't even move my ankles. After a couple hours I was 5 cm dilated.... After another couple of hours to their surprise I was 10 cm, fully effaced and the baby was half way out. They suggested I wait another couple of hours and let the baby descend on his own since he was doing such a good job and the epidural is suppose to keep me from feeling anything. I said what!!!! I feel the urge to push, I definitely feel pain, can I push now?! Luckily they let me push and saw that it was successful. So after 30 or so min of pushing they got the Dr. becuase Axel's head had crowned and little Axel was born 15 min or so later. I couldn't believe it. Little Axel was finally out.....I was in shock that I had a child and that I was no longer pregnant. It was the best feeling in the world. The pain that is felt during delivery is like nothing I have ever experienced. I can't imagine doing it without medication because it was so incredibily painful. I was one of those "lucky" ones that had the "rare" experience of a one sided epidural and an epidural the "wears" off and doesn't reach my pelvic floor. Regardless, I have so much more respect for women who have had multiple children. There truly are no words that can describe the experience of becoming a parent. I thank God every day for this amazing little person that is know under the care of Keith and I. We are so happy and excited.
We welcomed Axel Keith Szolusha at 5:59pm on Tuesday, March 31st.We left the hospital just over 24 hours later to start the transition into our new life as parents!!!!!
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