I wasn't really surprised that Josh was born 3 weeks early. His due date, March 14, resulted from the first ultrasound to establish a date. We had a feeling that he would arrive either in late February or early March. I don't think I could have survived if I carried him to full term. My belly was out to *THERE* and I was getting tired all the time.
On Feb. 19, 2002, I got an email saying that my friend, Erika, had given birth to Baby Reid the night before. Erika and I have been friends since college. We started and graduated from UT at the same time, got married a few months apart and now were expecting our first child at the same time. That evening, Duc and I visited Erika at the hospital. I was feeling more intense contractions the last week or so, but it was becoming more frequent when I visited Erika. Maybe the smell of the hospital triggered them... That night, Duc and I finished packing my bags just in case...
Around 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 20, I got up to goto the bathroom, something I did at least once every morning since becoming pregnant. This time, there was a weird feeling with each contraction. I kinda realized that my water broke but my contractions weren't painful yet. In childbirth class, we were told that we shouldn't goto the hospital until we couldn't walk or talk during a contraction.
Luckily, I had an 8 a.m. doctor's appointment that day. When the doctor examined me, he said, "We're having a baby today!" I had dilated to 2 cm and was told to head to the hospital.
I don't know how we remained so calm during all this. Actually, I was relaxed; Duc was pretty nervous and was acting like any impending father would do. We stopped at a coffeeshop on the way to the hospital so he could get his daily dosage of java. That seemed to calm him down.
At the hospital, they hooked me up to all these systems that monitored my contractions and the baby's heartbeat. It was so reassuring to hear his little heart pump so fast. The contractions were coming more frequently but didn't hurt. They were just annoying. After about 2 or 3 hours of this, the nurse said my cervix had dilated to 5 cm, the magic number that's needed to receive an epidural. They requested an epidural for me and began giving me pitocin, a drug that speeds up labor. It also makes your contractions more intense and painful. My contractions were beginning to hurt but wasn't unbearable. Luckily, I received my epidural before the intense pain could set in. The only side effect of my epidural - and with most painkillers for me - was nausea. I threw up at least half a dozen times that night. It's not fun when you have to push everywhere....
The next 4 to 5 hours were spent waiting for me to get to 10cm - full dilation. During that time, my parents and Duc's mother came to the hospital. We're allowed as many people as we want in the delivery room as long as the staff could perform their duties. I originally only wanted Duc in the room, but since my parents drove 3 hours from Bay City upon hearing about my situation, I decided to allow both mothers in the delivery room.
Around 5 or 5:30 p.m., the nurse said we could start pushing. That moment was so surreal for me. I couldn't believe I was going to deliver something in my belly! For almost 2 hours, I pushed along with my contractions. The doctor and nurses said they could see his hairy head but my pelvic bones weren't separating enough for his big head to come out.
About 7 p.m., the doctor gave us 2 choices for getting Josh out: try forceps or C-section. We chose to try forceps first. If that wouldn't work, we would have to go with a C-section.
I was wheeled into the operating room and prepped for a possible C-section. There were nurses everywhere. It was a dizzying moment. The operating room was cold and so uninvitingly bright, a stark contrast to the warm, calm, low-light atmosphere of the labor and delivery room. Duc was really great throughout the whole process. He held my hand while I pushed the baby out. It took two pushes and the doctor pulled him out. As a matter of fact, the epidural was working so well that I couldn't feel him come out. I was still pushing when I heard the baby cry!
This whole process is still a blur to me. I was so overcome with feelings of unconditional love when I saw Joshua for the first time. I can't believe I'm a mom to someone who is totally dependent on me for life and love. Well, at least for the next few years until he decides he knows everything.
I'm having so much fun being a mom nowadays. It's been a real learning process, and I'm sure I'll enjoy being a mom for many years to come!