Eddie's Birth Story - Part II

Eddie's Birth Story - Part I

At 12:30 pm, we left our apartment and headed to the hospital. Since we were only 4 blocks away, we walked. As we made our way down the street, I wondered if anyone had any clue what we were doing. Maybe the fact that Ed was carrying my pillow and I was carrying a Boppy gave us away? Or maybe the grimaces on my face did. Because in the few minutes it took us to get to our destination, I had several contractions.

Within a few minutes of arriving at the hospital, things stopped being fun. As we checked into triage, I was no longer comfortable sitting in a chair. I remember reading that when you move from early labor to active labor, your focus turns inward, you're no longer talkative and become less aware of things going on around you. I can confirm that's exactly how I was feeling at this point and my memory of what happened next is pretty hazy. I could sense Ed and the triage nurse around me, but was no longer able to interact with them normally.

I was examined by the nurse and she determined I was 3.5 cm dilated. On a scale of 1-10, my pain was about a 4 and I declined an epidural, feeling like I could wait it out a little longer. Ed and I laugh about this now, because the nurse left and within minutes, I started to lose it. The contractions were suddenly so strong with very little rest in between. For what felt like forever, I paced the tiny triage room, stopping only to sit on the toilet or lean over the garbage can feeling nauseous. My declarations of "I don't like this" and "I don't want to do this anymore" quickly turned to "Fuck it. I want the epidural." I commanded Ed to go find our nurse and tell her to have the anesthesiologist waiting for me in my labor and delivery room. I was out of control.

By the time we got into the L&D room, I was moaning and squirming all over the bed. My eyes were clenched shut most of the time, but I could sense Ed next to me, pacing and trying to coach me through breathing. The nurse told me anesthesia was backed up and it would be a bit before I could get the epidural. I was near tears, saying I couldn't handle another contraction on my own. I irrationally told anyone who would listen that I would give them cupcakes (?!) if they could help me and asked Ed if he would pay someone to make this go faster. "Is that the anesthesiologist??" I asked about anyone who walked into the room wearing scrubs.

Finally, he arrived and I could have kissed him. Ed was kicked out of the room and they sat me on the edge of the bed. After several minutes, I had the numbing shot in my back and then the catheter was inserted. I instantly felt tingling down my legs and by the time the doctor finished everything back there, I was a new woman - calm, relaxed, sleepy and happy. Ed returned to find his demonic laboring wife back to her old self, smiling and joking with the doctor and nurse. I don't think I've ever seen him more relieved.

It was 2:20 pm and we had been at the hospital for about 1 1/2 hours. The nurse checked my cervix and saw that I had dilated from 3.5 cm to 7 cm in that time. Our little guy was certainly earning his nickname "Fast Eddie!" I was advised by everyone to take a nap because it wouldn't be too long before I was ready to push...