Labor story and what I actually needed
Anthony’s house was in the running for an award. I don’t know the details or for what, I just know that a photographer was coming and in true Anthony fashion our home needed to look like no one actually lived here. We woke up Sunday morning and immediately began scrubbing from top to bottom. I was in the house arranging flowers, he was outside redoing the mulch. I was cleaning the counters, he was using a q-tip to clean the cracks between the floor planks. It proceed in this fashion until 6PM when I was absolutely starving and decided to order dinner. After waddling around on my feet all day, I was looking forward to sitting down, eating, and being done. I got my things together and proceeded to walk into the garage, where I kept the only pair of tennis shoes pre-laced loose enough to fit on my feet. The second I bent over to grab my shoe and pull it closer to me, I felt a little gush of water. My brain definitely knew what was happening before I actually registered it, because I thought I just peed myself, which happened all the time. I VERY calmly walked into the house, looked at Anthony who was on a ladder scrubbing the sliding glass door with a squeege and the following conversation took place.
Me: I think my water broke
Anthony: No, it didn’t. Are you going to pick up dinner?
Me: Yep, I’ll be right back.
I think I was in shock, because I wasn’t due for two more weeks and wasn’t ready at all. I left, drove down the street, picked up dinner and came home all while contracting. When I got back Anthony very sweetly asked if I was okay, to which I explained that no, I was definitely in early labor. I ran up the steps and got into the shower, because after cleaning and sweating all day the last thing I wanted was to be dirty in a hospital bed. It wasn’t until I was out of the shower and getting dressed in my closet when the contractions started to pick up. I stood there leaning with both hands again the wall when I BIG gush of water finally came out. I called my hospital and my doctor asked if I wanted to come in or labor at home, which I LOATHE hospitals and wanted my stay there to be as short as possible. And I had nothing together, so I really had no choice but to stay home and pack. Into my purse I threw a long phone charger, my iPad, and a travel skin care kit that I always have packed. Then I grabbed a tote bag and threw in a labor gown, because I absolutely refuse to wear a hospital gown, high waisted underwear, because again I’m not sure why right after birth there’s a standard of wearing diapers and feeling even shittier about myself, normal sized pads, nursing bras, grip socks, an outfit to leave in, and pajamas for after labor. I’ll do a separate post about postpartum, because that’s the part of labor as a first time mom I was dreading the most.
Contractions sucked, but only for 30 seconds to so. They just felt like my body was tensing up, they weren’t really a centralized pain and the way you can feel them coming is weird. At the beginning I walked around, then sat backwards on the toilet, and then when they got really bad I stayed on my hands and knees. I had FaceTimed my sister and I was perfectly normal, to crying, back to perfectly normal. She said it was terrifying haha. Laboring at home was actually pretty good with the exception of Anthony being in the shower/packing the entire time and his mom being there. He had called her to get the dog and she’s the nicest woman I’ve ever met, but I was contracting while feeling like I also had to “host”. I’m not sure of the exact feeling, but next kid it’s just me and Anthony during that time.
Once I felt like I was going to die, I made Anthony pack the car and drive me to the hospital. I delivered at a hospital 45 minutes from out house, so the car ride was annoying. But again, the contractions weren’t that bad. I was having a regular conversation with Anthony, then crying, then back to normal. And again, the way ti could feel them about to hit, I just grabbed the seat belt and did these guttural groaning nosies. Anthony made fun of me and said it sounded like I was having sex. I can assure you, those were NOT pleasure sounds.
Once in the triage room, I was checked and I was at 6CM!!! I was beyond proud that I got to 6CM before getting to the hospital. 6CM had been the number I had been putting into the universe the entire time I was pregnant. I was sent to my delivery room and asked for an epidural. This was the worst part. The contractions were closer together, so I felt like I couldn’t get break. You have to sit with a super curved spine (very uncomfortable), while not moving, during big contractions. There’s only one big pinch, which again, quick not terrible. My ansiologist was kind of a dick though. Talking or just filing the silence helps me deal with anxiety, so I was trying to communicate what I was feeling, for the simplicity of it made me feel better and he just gave one word answers or said okay. Also, Anthony didn’t have to leave or do anything special, he just sat in front of me letting me squeeze his hands.
After my epidural was placed, I got a catheter which I didn’t even notice. It was one of the things I wasn’t looking forward to after spending hours of research and watching labor videos. My epidural either failed or wasn’t placed right, because I felt way more than I should have. I was laying on my right side with a peanut ball between my legs, just guttural groaning for two hours Again, I have had a centralized pain, except for once I was at 10CM I felt massive pressure in my butthole. There was this one con
