Brady’s birth: Part 2

After being wheeled to the hospital, still feeling pretty certain that this baby was totally not about to be born, I was given a room in Antepartum.  I was hooked up to the monitors and given an IV.  I asked why an IV was necessary, telling the nurse I was just getting checked out and maybe even going home soon.  Was she certain I needed one?  Oh yes, she explained, if my water breaks we are in an emergency situation and “will have a lot of people in your room fast.”  She even told me not to hesitate to rip the call button OUT OF THE WALL if my water broke while she was away from me.  I told Guy and the nurse that I was here for good now, if I had an IV already, I wasn’t about to leave and then have to get a new one.

A few minutes later my midwife came into my room with a flush face and breathing heavily.  The nurses in labor and delivery were panicking and kept calling her office telling her to get up there.  She checked me again, determining that I was 5 centimeters dilated still, 85% effaced and my bag of water was bulging.  According to the monitor I was having regular contractions but I didn’t feel a single one.  Not even an ounce of pain.  My midwife said we were going to be having this baby today, as soon as they closed up the office.

I was completely astounded.  This is in no way how I ever thought my delivery would go.  This was too much like the Birth Day episodes I watch on Discovery Health everyday.  We quickly updated our family and got a hold of our photographer who rushed right over. 

As they wheeled me from Antepartum into L&D one of the nurses told me they had booked the OR for 5:30pm.

“Okay, what time is it now?” I asked.

“Five.”

This was all happening too fast.  Just two hours ago I was sitting in the waiting room for a routine check up with absolutely no intentions of having a baby.  I don’t know that I could really even comprehend what was going on, I just kept laughing and saying “What the hell??”  My room was full, nurses were handing me things to sign, putting wrist bands on, giving me an ugly paper hat, the anesthesiologist was explaining the spinal tap and I drank some very nasty liquid to keep me from aspirating during surgery.  I didn’t have my camera, my bag, the car seat, NOTHING.

I felt like there was so much left undone.  We hadn’t molded the belly cast or installed the car seat base or taken the final belly photos, to name a few.  I didn’t enjoy being pregnant and had been ready to get that part over with, but I hadn’t gotten a chance to say goodbye to it yet. 

None of that mattered though.  Brady was ready.

The hospital wouldn’t let my husband into the OR until after the spinal tap was administered (how sad is that?) so my midwife stood in front of me holding my hands as I cried.  It really hurt but it was over quickly and before they could even lay me down onto my back I could no longer feel my legs.  I didn’t want to feel anything, I was so terrified that I would.  I didn’t understand the concept of feeling pressure and pushing but not pain.  Suddenly I couldn’t feel anything and although that was obviously a good thing, it scarred me at the same time.  It was so weird to have no feeling in your body but your arms.

Guy sat with me, rubbing my head the whole time while I cried.  I cried through most of the delivery.  I hated that I could hear the doctor say things like “scissors” and did not want to know a single portion of what was going on behind the drape.  I yelled at Guy to talk to me, tell me a story, something, and every time he would pause to take a breath I would yell, “keep talking!”

Then the doctor said, “Okay, you’re going to feel a lot of pressure now.” Just like they do on TV.

My whole body was being tugged from left to right trying to pull the baby out and all of the sudden…

“Happy Birth Day!”

And I met my son.  My beautiful, precious boy I had waited so long for.