Avery finally made it into this world. We decided to schedule induction because my doctor was going to be gone the week of (July 4th), which would have been well after my due date. In order to avoid having a doctor we didn’t know handle the delivery, I was induced on Tuesday, June 28th, at 40 weeks and 2 days.
Chris and I went to the hospital on Monday to register for admission. When we went to the Women’s Center to register, they made us wait in one of the labor and delivery rooms. That freaked me out! I got nervous looking around at the big spotlights, the bed with stirrups, and all the equipment to check the baby out after birth. After we finished registering, we went home and had a relaxing night and went to bed early.
Tuesday morning we had to be at the hospital at 7:00. We got up and got ready. I was super thirsty and sad that I couldn’t have any water. We drove to the hospital, which is about a minute away. When we got the Women’s Center, they took us directly to one of the labor and delivery rooms. As we walked in the room, it smelled like smoke or like an electrical problem. The nurse apologized for the smell and said she would get someone in the room to check it out. Then, she wasted no time at all and told me to change into a gown and give a urine sample. After that, I hopped into the bed. Chris was busy trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. We heard a big “pop” noise in the wall behind the TV. Chris moved the TV, and it popped again, and I’m pretty sure I saw a flash of something. It popped one more time before the nurse came back, and the electrical smell got worse.
Amidst all the attention to the electrical problems, my nurse got everything ready. I was hooked up to the monitors, blood pressure cuff, and she started an IV. It was my first IV. My dad always screamed when he got IVs like they hurt very badly. I expected it to be a lot more painful than it was. After the IV was in, they started fluids, and we waited for Dr. Rocha to come by. He came by about 7:45 and did an exam. I was still only dilated to a 3, which was the same as my last regular appointment the past Wednesday. He broke my water, which was pretty painful. I expected it to gush all over the place, but nothing really happened. He said he poked a small hole that would allow it to leak out slowly. He left shortly after that and said he would check in off and on. The nurse started the pictocin drip
Then, the wait began. Chris and I watched our TV and tried to figure out why it smelled so horrible. After a while, the nurse came in and said that some maintenance men were coming by to examine the smell. Two men came in and looked all around the room, smelling, and trying to determine the cause of the electrical smell. They finally determined it was the TV and said they would get a new one.
Around 9:00, my mom arrived, and we spent more time just talking and hanging out in the room. Chris’ mom got there not too long after. We mostly sat around making small talk and wondering about the weird smell. My nurse came in and out checking on me, changing things on the IV. After 10:00, my contractions started to get stronger, but they weren’t as regular as they wanted them to be. The pain wasn’t too bad at first, so I tried not to focus on it.
The nurse came in to check me off and on, and I was still a 3. Chris spent a lot of his time watching the monitors in the room. The monitor displayed all four labor and delivery rooms that had people in them. He told me that he thought I was loosing because the other rooms seemed to have more intense and more regular contractions. When the nurse came in the next time, we asked her about. I told her Chris said I was loosing. She said I was in fact winning with the first time moms. I was only second to the mother who had given birth before. I wouldn’t be winning for long, though.
The contractions started to get harder, and I was ready for some pain relief. The nurse gave me some through my IV because I wasn’t dilated enough for an epidural. The medicine didn’t really help with the pain. It just made me feel loopy and drunk. Shortly after this, the maintenance men returned with the new TV they promised. As soon as they walked in, I had a sensation like I was peeing all over myself and couldn’t stop. My water had finished breaking and was gushing all over the bed. I motioned to Chris and told him that my water broke and that I was leaking everywhere and needed a nurse. My mom ended up going down to the nurse’s station rather than use the intercom with the maintenance guys in there. The nurse came, and the maintenance guys left. The nurse changed the piddle pads on the bed and gave me a towel to put between my legs to help soak up the water.
The nurse checked me a bit later, and I was finally dilated to a 4 and could get an epidural. However, another nurse came in and said I couldn’t get an epidural until I got more fluids. I was disappointed, but I waited and tried not to focus on the pain while I finished the fluids. It didn’t take as long as I thought, and shortly, the anesthetist came in to do the epidural. I had heard from the nurse that it would be a painful procedure. It wasn’t, though. Chris was amazed by the size of the needle they stuck into my back, but I didn’t really feel it. The pain relief was almost instant, and my legs went numb, which was a weird sensation.
After the epidural, I fell asleep for a while. Dr. Rocha came by around 4:00, and I was still only dilated to a 5. It looked like it was going to be a long night. Most of the other women had already delivered by then. Dr. Rocha gave me a hard time that I got beat. I sat up for a while and talked to Chris and our moms. Around 7:00, Joel, Sunny, and Jarrett arrived. They came back for a while to talk. Dr. Rocha came by again and checked me. I was prepared for him to say it would still be a while. However, he stood up and said, “Do you want to try to push?” I just looked at him, stunned. He nodded is head, and I said, “Yes.”
Around 7:40, I started pushing. At first, I couldn’t feel the contractions at all. The nurse, Paula, had to tell me when to push. She said that I was doing a good job and pushing the right way. Chris stood up by my head and very calmly encouraged me and coached me on how to push. After 30 minutes of pushing, Paula said she could see the head, and that our baby girl had dark hair. I got excited because I thought that meant she was almost out. Little did I know, she was nowhere close to being out.
I kept pushing with each contraction. Dr. Rocha came in and out to check on the progress. He and Paula kept telling me I was pushing great and that the baby had long, dark hair. I was getting increasingly tired. It was getting harder to control my breathing, and the pain was intense. I kept my eyes closed most of the time because the pain was so bad. Chris did a great job of staying calm and encouraging me. Dr. Rocha finally changed into his scrubs and got ready to help me. He used his hands to help pull and position the baby as I pushed. I was so swollen from pushing for so long. The combination of the swelling, his hands, the pushing, and the pressure from the contractions and the baby were almost unbearable. I really thought I couldn’t do it. All I remember is praying that God would help me be able to deliver the baby because I couldn’t do it by myself. I alternated between praying and visualizing her head coming out because I knew that would be the signal of the end.
Paula and Dr. Rocha kept telling me that I could have her with the next push. I was so exhausted and in such pain that pushing for the whole 10 seconds was hard. I was losing my breath. Finally, with one big push, Avery was born. The relief was tremendous. She cried a little, and Dr. Rocha held her up for me to see. The baby nurse quickly took her and started checking her and cleaning her. Chris walked between the baby and me and checked on both of us. Avery was so alert. She had the biggest eyes, and she just calmly looked around and took in her new world. After the fact, Chris said he was getting really worried at the end because I was turning purple with each push. I really thought I wasn’t going to be able to do it, and I am so thankful that God helped me through.
Meanwhile, Dr. Rocha rubbed my stomach to help me deliver the placenta. After it came out, I felt much better. The pressure was mostly gone. I watched Chris and the baby as Dr. Rocha gave me some stitches for a tear. Before long, the nurse handed Avery to Chris, and he brought her to me. We were amazed at how alert Avery was. Chris handed her to me, and I instantly fell in love. We looked at each other and looked at her, and it was just perfect. I didn’t care so much about the pain and the hour and 40 minutes of pushing. It was rough, though. I won’t romanticize it too much. It was a painful experience, and Chris said I was turning purple toward the end.
Before long, our family came back in the room and got to see Avery. They all fell in love instantly, too. Jarrett was a little nervous, and then he started to get “sick.” He had to take off one of his shirts and lie down because he was “hot.” He’s so drama. All and all, though, it was a great experience. I could not be more proud or more in love with Chris. He was amazing through the whole experience, and he is proving to be a fantastic dad. I can’t wait to see where this life takes us as a little family of three.
