Our Birth Story – Part 3

They went to get a room for me in labor and delivery on the 3rd floor. They also got special permission for me to eat (not usually allowed) and for me to walk around for two hours to try and get my labor progressing naturally. Once we were in the room (around 11pm) the hospital cafeteria was closed until midnight. I didn’t want to wait that long to eat, so Josh quickly left to go get us In-N-Out burgers. (I hated to have him leave!!! I know he hated to leave me too. But we were both really hungry, and we knew we wouldn’t be eating for a while. I should have just had him run to the vending machines, but oh well!) After we ate, we started walking the halls. Or he walked, and I pounded. I couldn’t believe the thundering feeling it produced when I walked, LOL! I’ve never felt heavier or more awkward than I did in that ‘lovely’ green hospital gown and hospital sticky-footed socks. But I was a woman on a mission…walk and walk to get this labor progressing! I can’t count the number of times we walked up and down that long and lonely hallway. I was so glad to have Josh by my side throughout this. We would periodically go back to the room for a quick rest or bathroom break. They told us the doctor would be coming in around 1:45 AM to talk to us and meet us. At around 1:25 AM we were back in the room and the doctor came in and introduced himself.

He told me that I could walk to Los Angeles and back and that it wouldn’t make this baby come any faster. He said that if my labor didn’t progress in 24 to 36 hours, I would be having a C-section. Yikes! That scared Josh and I so much. We both wanted a natural delivery so badly! (Plus it terrified us to think of being in the hospital that long! Poor Shadow!! We hate leaving her!) He said that they were going to put me on Pitocin (the absolute smallest dose possible, at least) to jump-start my contractions and make them stronger and faster. We both objected of course, but he said it was mandatory. So many of the no-no’s on my birth plan were going right out the window! 🙁 I was scared. I was excited. I was….I don’t know exactly how to describe it. It was surreal, and the night kept getting progressively more surreal as labor progressed. So here it was…labor was actually going to be progressing now. We had a wonderful nurse with us named Tatum. She was very familiar with the Bradley Method (husband-coached natural childbirth) and was so helpful to both of us at all times.

I was hooked up to the fetal heart monitor and the IV of Pitocin and fluids. The contractions started getting stronger and closer between almost immediately. I could feel them more distinctly and noticed that they were stronger, too. Things were still feeling as normal as possible in that situation. But things started getting a little hazy at some point along the way. That was when the second phase of labor (which probably began around 3 AM or so) was starting. You read about it in books, but it’s so different when you’re experiencing it. You’re just LIVING it. I think things were a bit hazy from the pain and intensity of the contractions. I was just so focused on how I was feeling, and how to cope that I wasn’t too aware of my surroundings. Things were like a quiet, dimly lit blur for a few hours then. (I had wanted the lights dim in the room during labor.) I remember at one point looking at a previously black window and noticing it was lightening to a gray color as dawn was arriving. I will also always remember Josh’s quiet encouragement; his beloved voice telling me to breathe through my pain during each contraction. He was so strong, so confident, so encouraging. I will always be indebted to him and grateful to him. I truly couldn’t have done it without him! He was amazing. I still can’t believe how well he did with the coaching! I mean, I’m not surprised he did a great job…I always knew he would…I just am so in awe of him always!