I woke up, feeling sort of crampy. I had, by this point, decided that my first child was never coming out. I was having visions of a teenager, still perfectly content in my womb. So, I didn't think a whole lot about the cramping. Larry was on midnight shift, so he slept all day. When he got up, we went over to my brother's house, to see my little nephew. We took foot long hotdogs and buns, and Todd grilled them for us. Valerie wasn't home, I don't remember now where she was. My mom was there, so we had supper aroud the table. I was having very timeable contractions, every seven minutes, by this time.
The contractions didn't hurt too much, and they weren't very strong, so I was brushing them off as Braxton-Hicks. My nephew was 10 months old, and I spent a lot of that evening in the floor playing with him. I couldn't pick him up that night, though. I tried to get him up on the changing table and had to holler for my mom. We had a very enjoyable evening, and Todd prayed for my baby to be delivered safely and soon.
Larry and I headed home, so he could get ready for work. He, for whatever reason, gets to work exactly one hour before he has to clock in, so he left the house at about quarter til ten. I called my mom, the contractionswere getting worse. She was able to tell when I'd have one, and was timing them. (I was still in denial at this point!) Every four minutes. She finally talked me into calling the doctor. I just didn't want to make Larry leave work, only to be sent back home. So, I called in, and Dr. Patel (whom I'd never met, but she'll play a big part in later entries) was on-call. She told me to go on in. I went in, and was making no progress. They were getting ready to send me home, when Aidan's heart rate started decelerating. So, I was admitted at a little after Midnight, to be given pitocin starting at 5:00 a.m.
Larry had clocked in at 11:00 p.m., and back out at 11:10. He still laughs over that.
At 5:00, the nurse broke my water and started the pitocin. They had been offering the epidural all night. I knew I wanted it, but I also wanted to wait as long as I could, I wanted to know what labor really felt like, in case I never got pregnant again. Once the water was broken and the induction drugs started, I thought someone was ripping me in half. Holy cow, was I ready for that epidural! So, anesthesia came in and put it in and left. It only worked on my right side. That, in turn, made everything happening hurt 500 times more on my left side. Anesthesia FINALLY came back, and gave me a stronger drug. I was so numb! It was wonderful!!!
The progress was slow going (in my opinion, anyway, I just wanted my baby!) At noon, I was dilated to 6. By this time, my mom and mother in law, brother, sister in law, dad, and his girlfriend were there. Dad and his girlfriend said they were going to go get lunch and would be back. When I was checked at 1:00. I was complete, ready to push. So, they turned the epidural way down, to try to let me feel something. I started pushing at about 1:30. By this time, there were about 30 people lining the halls, wating for Aidan. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmother, friends. I pushed a few times, and the nurse realized that Aidan was sunny-side up. She wanted to put me on my side to rest for 45 minutes, and come back and see if he had flipped. She came back later, I believe close to 2:30. I pushed just a few times, and she said, "I need you to stop pushing now." And started calling for help. Her face was panicked. She was pushing that button on my bed, calling for my doctor NOW. Well, Dr. Patel was no longer on-call, it was a doc I wasn't too crazy over. I was sad, and a little angry. This woman just gives off the vibe that she has better things to do. I had one prenatal appointment with her, and was not impressed. She didn't do anything but listen to the heart beat. I had questions. She ran out before I could ask them.
The nurse, Jenny (who will also play a big part in later entries, remember her name!) was calling for help. Yelling at me to NOT PUSH! (I wasn't, I swear!!) Nurses came flooding in. Jenny was standing there, and Larry looked and said he saw the baby's head. I freaked out. Ten years working in nursing homes, I saw quite a few people who were severely handicapped due to being held in at birth, tto "Wait for the doctor." I was having NO PART of that. I said, "I don't want you to hold my baby in!" Jenny said, "Well, I don't want you to push."
I swore I wouldn't, and I wasn't. At least not on purpose... But, at 2:59 p.m., I became a Mommy. My little man flung himself into this world, and I've not been the same since. I didn't get to hold him, Larry did, Mom did, and Larry's mom did, but I had to wait til the doctor came in to see the damage and sew me up. That dingbat doc walked in and said, "Are we ready to have a baby?"
I pointed over to the corner, where my husband was holding him and I said, "The baby's already cleaned and diapered!"
Doctor's reaction? "Oh, shit. Again?"
Again? Seriously? This happens often? Ugh. Well, she finally sewed me up and finished her part, and fled out the door. I FINALLY got to hold my son. The child I had spent my entire adult life praying for. He was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The first thing I said when he was handed to me was "Thank you, God!" Every day since then, I've fallen a little more deeply in love with him. We all have. He's such a blessing to me, to Larry, to our marriage. My whole family is crazy over him. He's such a sweet kid. I'm such a proud Mama.
I don't know how I would have survived his brother, if not for my Aidan Henry.
Aidan Henry
June 1, 2008
2:59 p.m.
7lb, 13oz
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