Labor & Delivery

Just as a warning, this post might be long and boring to some of you. So sorry for that! But I wanted to remember my labor experience so I wrote a lot of it down so I wouldn't forget it. But I always enjoy hearing labor stories because they are all so unique. I was so scared to deliver Aiden the entire pregnancy. I didn't know what contractions would feel like and if I would know I was actually in labor. I know a lot of girls get nervous about delivering. It really helped me by talking to people about what they went through because I knew what to expect. And I know some of you that read this have not had babies yet so maybe this will be interesting to read. So here's my story:

In the middle of the night on Wednesday I woke up having these weird cramps. I would be in pain for about a minute and then they would go away for about 8 minutes. Then they would come back and last about a minute again and then come back a few minutes later. The cramps were pretty painful but I thought they were just "braxton hicks" or false labor pains because they didn't come at the same interval of time every time they came. Plus it was five days before the baby was due and I was convinced in my mind that Aiden would come late. So I woke up Nate and told him I was feeling weird, but I didn't think it was nothing. He stayed up with me for a while then just went back to sleep. Well I was up all night watching the clock. Then I went to my doctor's appointment that morning but didn't tell the doctor I was having these pains cause I thought he would just say it was false labor. So all day Thursday I just kept having the same cramps. I had heard people describe contractions that made their entire body ache and tense up, but for me I just felt pain really bad in my abdomen. They just felt like the most horrible cramps in the world. All day they kept at random intervals though and I heard when you are in labor they will come more consistently. I called my mom a few times and she told me I was probably in labor and to go to the hospital but I just didn't want to get sent home so I wanted to wait for a while to see if it got worse. Her and Becca came over later and she told me I needed to go to the hospital. Anyways, I couldn't handle the contractions any longer that night at around 11 so Nate and I went. We said a prayer we wouldn't be sent home because I had heard many stories of people being sent home because they were not in active labor yet. I couldn't handle the contractions anymore so we prayed we could stay at the hospital. Anyways, we got there and they checked how much I was dialated. Then I waited their hooked up to a monitor for an hour and they checked me again. You have to dialate 1 cm in 1 hour in order for them to keep you and I only dialated a 1/2 cm. But the monitor was showing that Aiden's heart rate would drop dramatically every time I had a contraction. So they admitted me because they said they had to keep an eye on me. So they brought me to a room and gave me an epidural right away. They work wonders and I am so happy I got one to relieve the pain I had been having for nearly 24 hours! I was really shaky before I got one...for nerves and partly from just being in labor so it helped relax me. So the doctor broke my water and I just had to lay in bed for a while. It was in the middle of the night and my mom came and Nate was there. They were talking and stuff but I was completely out of it. The epidural made me feel like I was in another room from them. (But it was still worth it). They gave me pitocin to speed up the process but it made the contractions really hard and Aiden's heart rate dropped dramatically each time. That really stressed me the entire time and I could not relax. I was so worried something would be wrong. The doctor came in and told me the umbilical cord was probably around his neck making that happen. I laid there thinking the baby would never come. I had to lay different ways because when I was flat on my back Aiden's heart rate dropped a lot. Finally around 9 it was time to push. It was a long night! It was really calm in the room while I pushed...my mom held one leg and Nate held the other and the nurse (who was such an amazing nurse) helped me. Nate's mom came in part-way through the pushing and was there for the experience too. After about 45 minutes, they ran and got the doctor. At that point I felt I had to push that baby right out because the pressure was more than I could imagine (that was the worst part of it all when I couldn't push and I wanted to so bad). Anyways, the doctor came and after a couple of contractions, Aiden was out! There were so many emotions going through Nate and me that we were both crying. I was still kind of out of it from the epidural but I got to hold Aiden right at first. It was truly an amazing experience. So for all the girls that read this and have not had babies yet, all of the pain is worth it. I truly believe the Lord watches out for us and helps us through pain and trials. Here are a few pictures from that day:


He was a big boy weighing 8 lbs 9 oz. The first thing I remember some one saying when he came out was how big his hands and feet were! Here's Aiden right after he came:


Here's Nate holding him for the first time. This picture is so precious to me: