On April 27, I could tell we were getting close to baby time. By the point my husband went to bed, I was having contractions maybe every 15-20 minutes. To avoid the debacle from last time, when he went to bed I asked him to set an alarm to check on me every couple of hours.
I slept poorly on the couch, but I did sleep for at least four or five hours. We decided to take the bag to my appointment, and to leave the kid with her grandma (who had come to town for just such an occasion). I expected to be told to stay near the hospital - that things were moving but not active yet.
We sat through a half hour of monitoring. I was annoyed that they had me move from the monitoring room to the ultrasound room before the cervix check. But I walked down the hall in my biggest maternity shirt and gown.
As my doctor was saying that I was overdue with a very large baby and we thought I would be in labor by now, but... And I was telling her that I really thought we were getting going on this labor business... Oh! You're five centimeters dilated (10 is goal) and okay, go to the hospital. Now. In a car. Do not dawdle.
Okay! So we bought some banana bread before we hailed a cab because I knew it would be awhile before I got to eat again. Checked in to the hospital by eleven or so, walking pretty comfortably down the halls. I'm sure I sounded ridiculous. I'm in labor? But I hadn't really noticed?
Paperwork, IV, gown (the nurse was adamant about snaps and that I wear a pink one), talk to the doctor, meet everyone on the floor. Hi, I'm fine. I'm in labor? I guess? But I'm fine. This is so weird. Watched my husband take the couch apart.
i got the epidural placed but no medicine put in. In the bed, out of the bed, trips to the bathroom, "I seriously still wouldn't have called to say this is labor."
Wait. I had my phone in my hand when you walked in. When I'm trying not to be rude, I tend to stick it under my butt. The screen is cracked. Where is it? Let's not flood the bed until we find it.
Water broken anyway but we didn't destroy my phone in the process and it was later located underneath me.
A few more hours passed. No progress. Pitocin. Discussion about Pitocin and scars and osteogenesis imperfecta and fatiguing my uterus and... Pitocin on it is.
Hey! I'm in labor! Oh! This is less than comfortable. Finally.
Five pm. Hi! I'd like to turn on the epidural now. At this point my doctor showed up. Still no progress. She put me in a sitting position and instructed me to stay for an hour. Then we'll check again. Then we can talk epidural. I sit and make horse noises with every contraction while my husband shows me pictures of our daughter. "No more finger painting pictures. Finger paint is stressful. More jumping in puddles. That's fun."
Six pm. No progress on the cervix but I feel like labor is roaring along. Epidural it is! At this point, I'm warned that I need to make real progress or at eight we are taking me to surgery. After the doctor leaves, the nurse says eight is shift change, so it would be a little after, really.
Epidural is on and I'm talking about relaxing and opening up and labor without suffering or hysterics.
7:30: "I'm going to teach you something." Apparently, that's code for "hey, you haven't noticed but it's time to push". After a couple of tries, my doctor says we need to get anesthesiology over here to decrease the epidural by half. "I only know how to turn it off."
Three contractions after they turned it down... Hey! Hey! I'm pushing!! This baby is erupting out of me! Someone get the doctor back!
Push. Count. Push. Here comes the contraction. Push. The doctor says there's some kind of ridge in my vagina. I tell her I know and UCSF cut it, to no avail. She's like "wait, you got this far and... had a c-section?" Yes. Husband confirms.
More pushing. Pep talk time. I'm told I need to stop being afraid and produce the baby. Push! Pant! Push! I need you all to stop so I can hear the doctor!
8:09 pm: what on earth is... I had a baby. That's a whole baby. It's out. I had no idea it was close to happening.
Welcome to the world, my second tiny giant.