On Wednesday afternoon, we had my weekly appointment with Dr. Jansky and they decided to do a no-stress test (due to being late and also having an elevated BP) and baby looked great but I was also having contractions about every 5 minutes. They weren't bad, just irritating. Dr. Jansky decided to set up induction for Friday morning but didn't think I would make it. Brandon and I prayed and prayed that I would go into labor on my own before Friday morning. We went to the mall Thursday and walked and walked (even though I had actually been on bed rest... We wanted this baby to come!!) and also had some Mexican food for the spiciness. I almost wanted to drink the salsa I was so determined!! Friday morning, I woke up at about 4:30am to go to the bathroom and when I got back to bed I felt like I was having a mild contraction. I started counting in my head and got to around 60 seconds. I checked the time and 10 minutes later I had another one, and another 10 minutes after that. I decided to wake Brandon up to let him know and we stayed awake. Throughout the morning they became very inconsistent and irregular.
We called our Dr. and she said she could break my water to get things going again and to avoid Pitocin. We got to the hospital at around 4:30pm and she broke my water. It was pretty uncomfortable but not a pain that I remember much. After that, contractions were very regular and getting pretty difficult. I kept tensing up and wouldn't relax but finally got my groove down. After an hour, they started me on a very low dosage of Pitocin because I wasn't "progressing quickly enough". Boy, did that make contractions harder! Sometime that evening, the anesthesiologist (a man) came in and wanted to know why we didn't want an epidural. Brandon began to explain to him (as I was having a strong contraction!!) and the anesthesiologist actually said - "I'd like to hear it from her." Someone was about to get punched in the face! By that time, my contractions were so strong and close together that I barely remember anything that happened. I told him he could leave the option on the table (which is what he wanted to hear) just to get him out of my room!
At one point, the baby's heart rate began to drop and all I remember is them putting an oxygen mask on me, flipping me over on my other side and apparently gave me some kind of medicine to slow my contractions. After what seemed like only a few minutes, baby was fine again. At about 11:00pm I began to feel a strong urge to push and my body started to push without me even trying. I told Brandon to get the nurse and when she checked me I was dilated to 10cm and ready to push. I began pushing and did for an hour to no avail. They gave me an hour break to let the contractions do some of the work. At 1:00am the nurse had me start pushing again and I did for 2 hours with no progression. (All of which was done without an epidural or any other pain medications.) Dr. Jansky said the baby was not passing under my pelvic bone and was essentially too big for my pelvis. By that time I was so exhausted that I didn't know if I could handle anything else. Dr. Jansky said we would need to go ahead and have a c-section and that was around 3:00am. I tell you the truth - the contractions were hard but nothing was harder than the contractions between being told I was having a c-section and actually having the surgery. The pain was no longer for a purpose and was no longer bringing my baby into the world. I was exhausted, in pain, and ready to hold my baby. By 3:42am Saturday, Eli Samuel was born - 8lbs. 1.5oz. and 21 1/2 inches long. It felt like FOREVER before they showed him to me due to meconium. It was definitely a battle but both of us were doing well. I felt a little defeated because I had to have the c-section but what keeps me okay about it is that I tried (BOY, did I try!) and still experienced labor with no pain medications. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through but Eli is here and is so healthy and beautiful! We are absolutely in love. :)