If I had to hear my nurse say this ONE.MORE.TIME. I was going to scream. Wait, I think I did scream...? Anyway, let's talk about the fun stuff - - - pushing those babies out! C-section mommies, you're an entirely different world that I know nothing about. If someone out there wants to share her C-section experience, let me know and I'll be more than happy to post.
Ok. Now where were we... oh yes. Delivery Day. After being in the hospital for over 24 hours, having my epidural reapplied 5 times (only to run out by the time I started to push), having my catheter emptied half a dozen times, and meeting almost every nurse/doctor/janitor on duty July 1st - 2nd, I was ready to push. I was MORE than ready to push. Whether I wanted to or not, it had to be done. The contractions were literally off the monitor and my body was ready to get that big boy out into the world. I was ready for his daddy to carry him for a while!
For some reason, my body just would not dilate. I came in at a 3, and even 20 hours later, I was only at a 7. It was the longest process of my life. Every single time a nurse would come in and check me, only to tell me there had been little to no progress, I would begin to tear up. I was so ready to not be pregnant anymore. I was so ready to meet Tristan. I was so ready to pee in a toilet and not in a bag.
After 26 hours of being in the hospital (of course my labor had started much earlier at home the day before), it was time to push. I hadn't eaten in over a day, my body was exhausted and the pain level was pretty high up there. I didn't realize that the pain of pushing was much worse than contractions. Maybe it was because I was giving birth to a 2 month sized baby, but whatever it was, it was too much. Remember when I said I wished I could have taken a couple of time-outs?? Yeah. Unfortunately, that's not an option.
I never threw up during my entire pregnancy, until I was pushing. The strain, plus the pain level on an empty stomach, pushed me to the point of nausea. I remember looking at John and saying, "I'm going to throw up." He stood there, unsure of what to do next. I then said (or maybe yelled...) "Get a bag!" To which he promptly ran around looking for one.
After pushing for 45 minutes, having Tristan crown, and finding out that my doctor was busy delivering a baby in the room next door, things got a little chaotic. The nurses were trying to find another doctor, telling me to wait and not push for a little bit, while I was um, let's say, getting a little loud.... hey, I was upset! First you tell me to push, push, push and now you're telling me to "hold off a minute"? Um. No. The doctor literally had enough time to walk in, put on new scrubs, turn around and in one push, out came Tristan with a HUGE POP. Yeah. That popping sound? It was me...I had a second degree tear which required around 18 stitches. Yeah. It's just as bad as it sounds.
With that being said, at 7:21 am on July 2, 2014, my pushing stopped (all that yucky other stuff that you would normally have to push out just fell out thanks to um, yeah, you know....gross, right? But I'm telling you the real story here so you'll know what to expect). It was over. The pain of course lasted a good week later, but I wasn't focused on that. I was focused on my 9 lb, 1 oz, 22 inch healthy baby boy.
If I can give you any advice based on my experience, it would be this - - bring something to keep you occupied. I wished I had brought a movie, a book, a journal, magazines...whatever. I never expected things to progress as slowly as they did. I probably wouldn't have been able to have focused on much else, but at least I could have tried.
The entire birthing process is hard, trust me. But that's just it. Of course it's hard. And that's why YOU were the one chosen to do it.
Ok. Now where were we... oh yes. Delivery Day. After being in the hospital for over 24 hours, having my epidural reapplied 5 times (only to run out by the time I started to push), having my catheter emptied half a dozen times, and meeting almost every nurse/doctor/janitor on duty July 1st - 2nd, I was ready to push. I was MORE than ready to push. Whether I wanted to or not, it had to be done. The contractions were literally off the monitor and my body was ready to get that big boy out into the world. I was ready for his daddy to carry him for a while!
For some reason, my body just would not dilate. I came in at a 3, and even 20 hours later, I was only at a 7. It was the longest process of my life. Every single time a nurse would come in and check me, only to tell me there had been little to no progress, I would begin to tear up. I was so ready to not be pregnant anymore. I was so ready to meet Tristan. I was so ready to pee in a toilet and not in a bag.
After 26 hours of being in the hospital (of course my labor had started much earlier at home the day before), it was time to push. I hadn't eaten in over a day, my body was exhausted and the pain level was pretty high up there. I didn't realize that the pain of pushing was much worse than contractions. Maybe it was because I was giving birth to a 2 month sized baby, but whatever it was, it was too much. Remember when I said I wished I could have taken a couple of time-outs?? Yeah. Unfortunately, that's not an option.
I never threw up during my entire pregnancy, until I was pushing. The strain, plus the pain level on an empty stomach, pushed me to the point of nausea. I remember looking at John and saying, "I'm going to throw up." He stood there, unsure of what to do next. I then said (or maybe yelled...) "Get a bag!" To which he promptly ran around looking for one.
After pushing for 45 minutes, having Tristan crown, and finding out that my doctor was busy delivering a baby in the room next door, things got a little chaotic. The nurses were trying to find another doctor, telling me to wait and not push for a little bit, while I was um, let's say, getting a little loud.... hey, I was upset! First you tell me to push, push, push and now you're telling me to "hold off a minute"? Um. No. The doctor literally had enough time to walk in, put on new scrubs, turn around and in one push, out came Tristan with a HUGE POP. Yeah. That popping sound? It was me...I had a second degree tear which required around 18 stitches. Yeah. It's just as bad as it sounds.
With that being said, at 7:21 am on July 2, 2014, my pushing stopped (all that yucky other stuff that you would normally have to push out just fell out thanks to um, yeah, you know....gross, right? But I'm telling you the real story here so you'll know what to expect). It was over. The pain of course lasted a good week later, but I wasn't focused on that. I was focused on my 9 lb, 1 oz, 22 inch healthy baby boy.
If I can give you any advice based on my experience, it would be this - - bring something to keep you occupied. I wished I had brought a movie, a book, a journal, magazines...whatever. I never expected things to progress as slowly as they did. I probably wouldn't have been able to have focused on much else, but at least I could have tried.
The entire birthing process is hard, trust me. But that's just it. Of course it's hard. And that's why YOU were the one chosen to do it.