On Wednesday, September 7, I woke up and went to work at 7:30am. around 9:30am I started feeling intense contractions. I knew I had my weekly appointment with my OB at 4:20 that afternoon (I was about 38 weeks pregnant). Since I knew I had the appointment, I thought I would try to eat a small snack and see if I could stick it out for the rest of the day. At about 11:00am, the time I was scheduled to go to lunch, I decided that I was not in any shape to be at work, and decided to go home sick. I called my OB and was able to get in earlier at abot 2:00pm instead. I had a feeling this would be the day, however, Jeremy was in Ohio on a business trip. I called him when I got home from work to alert him that I was not doing to well, and he decided to try to leave his meeting early to try for an earlier flight home.
At my OB appointment, I had my normal check and the doctor checked my cervix, he said I was 4cm dilated, and he decided to strip my membranes (still not entirely sure what that means)! As I was getting ready to walk out the door, he said "I would be surprised if you do not go into labor tonight." A little nervous, but incredibly excited, I drove myself home and made sure I had all of my things in order to go to the hospital.
About a half hour after I got home, I started getting intense contractions that were about 15 to 20 minutes apart. At this time, Jeremy had already gotten to the airport, but was unable to get on the earlier flight, which meant that by the time he landed in Chicago it would be well after 7pm and still had a 2 and a half hour drive from Chicago to home. I COULD NOT let myself progress any further!!! I called my best friend and alerted her that she was on call in case I needed a ride, but she was at work and had class that night, so I did not want to bother her unless I absolutely had to! I decided not to call anyone else in case the contractions subsided like they have before. I stayed home, I had a snack, and I layed down and waited....
By the time Jeremy landed in Chicago I was contracting about 8 to 10 minutes regularly. I could not sit still, but I did not want to walk around for fear of not having Jeremy there to take me to the hospital. Jeremy called me back once he got to the car (about 20 minutes later) and I was now contracting every 2 to 3 minutes with little relief in between, I HAD to go to the hospital NOW! Jeremy called his brother, who lives about 15 minutes away, and he was willing to drive me to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital, my Sister-in-law was already there in the lobby waiting to help me up to the labor and delivery floor. I was taken to triage where I was again checked (still at 4cm) and given some pain medication via IV to give a little relief. Jeremy arrived while I was still in triage, and was very thankful he did not miss the birth of our first little boy!
at about 9pm I was taken from triage to the labor and delivery room, where I was admitted and told that the baby would be born by 6am...note to doctors, do NOT give a woman a time when the baby should be born! I sat on the birthing ball, I sat on the bed, constantly felt the need to get up and go to the bathroom, but still did not feel comfortable. about midnight, I still was only at 4cm, so the doctor decided to break my bag of water and start me on some pitocin to hopefully increase the contractions. At this time I also decided that I was ready for the epidural, which surprisingly was not as painful as I expected! After the epidural kicked in, I was actually able to get a good couple hours of sleep, which I apparently needed very much! 6am came and went, and still no baby to be had. I was checked again at about 8am, and I had progressed to 5cm, thats it! The doctors started discussing the option of a C-Section at this time, and I was extremely upset with even the mention of it. They let me labor a little longer, then decided that for my health, and the health of my baby, a C-Section was necessary. I signed the waiver with shaky hands, and listened as the Anesthesiologist discussed the procedure to me.
Then, as I was getting ready to be wheeled in to the operating room, I heard the words that no mother wants to hear when she is about to give birth "crash" and all the doctors had to leave to assist in an emergency (both mother and baby were just fine in the end). at about 11am, they checked me one last time, still at 5cm with no progression, so they wheeled me in to the OR to start the C-Section. I cried the whole way down the hall, I cried when Jeremy could not be by my side for the first few minutes while they prepped, I cried during the whole experience.
at 11:56am I heard the most glorious sound of my entire life, my baby's first little cry. They did not peek him over the curtain like you see on the baby shows on tv, but they did take Jeremy away to see him get measured, weighed, and cleaned off, and Jeremy was able to cut the cord at that time. It felt like at least an hour had passed, but it was probably only a couple of minutes, and Jeremy and baby Jace were sitting by my side! I cried again, he was so little (not really, he was 8 pounds 10 ounces) and perfect, and at that moment, I became a mother!
The doctors said that due to his size and the fact that he was slighly angled, he would not have come out naturally, The C-Section may possibly have saved both of our lives, and for that I am thankful. I did not feel like a failure, I knew that I did the best I could, and I am so very thankful and blessed to have such a healthy baby! We stayed in the hospital for 4 more days, and were released to go home, now we are getting to know this special gift of a baby, and learning about each other every day! I wouldn't trade my birth experience for anything, because in the end I came home with a happy, healthy baby boy!
Jace Tyler Clist 9/8/11 8lbs 10oz 20 inches long
