I really wanted to type this out a long time ago but for one reason or another never did. Now that Maggie is 6 months old and taking regular naps I have finally decided to take the time to do it. So without further delay, here is Maggie's birth story.
On Sunday, October 4, 4 days past my due date I was still pregnant and not really showing any signs that I might go into labor. I'd had a few Braxton Hicks contractions but nothing that really stood out. When I went for my 39 week check at the doctor's office they started talking about scheduling and induction if I didn't go into labor by 41 weeks. I had been hoping and praying that I would go into labor on my own and have a natural delivery so talk of an induction really didn't appeal to me. I talked to my doctor about waiting for an induction as long as possible and she agreed that they would go to 42 weeks but I had to come in and have extra ultrasounds. I was fine with that, anything to buy myself some time and not be induced. So, back to October 4th, Will and I were sitting in church on a Sunday morning and as I sat there, the more I thought my water may have broken. Something just didn't feel normal. Sure enough at the end of the service I stood up to leave and felt a slight trickle down my leg. I was so embarrassed to be going through this at church. Not just in public but amongst all the proper, well-dressed little church ladies. I walked quickly to the bathroom after telling Will that my water had broken, my friend Jennifer came with me. She helped me calm down a bit and then her husband walked me to our car, which Will ran ahead to retrieve. On the way home I called my mom, my dad and other family members. Will called his parents as well. I remember waiting for contractions to kick in but I really wasn't feeling anything noticeable.
Once we got home I took a shower and changed clothes while Will made lunch. We went for a walk to try and get things going but still I didn't feel a thing. I should have taken a quick nap but for some reason my curiosity got the better of me and I wanted to just make sure that Maggie's heart rate was right where it needed to be. We called the doctor's office and let them know that my water had broken but I wasn't having contractions yet. They told us that I needed to go to the hospital right away. So, we took our time getting all our stuff together and packing up the car. Once we got to the hospital the confirmed that my water had, indeed, broken and I was stuck there. They also told me that I hadn't dilated any more since my doctor's visit that previous Wednesday. I was 2 1/2cm. Once we got to our room and situated the first thing that I was asked was if I wanted to start pitocin. I declined and started walking the halls. At that point it was about 3:00 in the afternoon and I still wasn't feeling anything. I had been hooked up the fetal monitor for a bit before walking and was having contractions but not big ones.
So, Will and I walked the halls for a really, really long time. I wasn't making any progress and my contractions weren't getting much stronger at all. My mom got to town around 10:00pm and she walked the halls with us for a bit before heading to our house to get some rest. After she left we continued walking and about 2:00am my contractions started getting strong enough that I needed to take a break from walking each time they hit. At about that same time they started making me sick. So, our nurse decided to check my progress and then I was going to try and sleep some. When they checked me I had only dilated 1 1/2 cm in over 12 hours. I was really getting tired and the subject of pitocin kept coming up. I really wanted to deliver completely naturally so I kept putting it off. Finally at about 6:00am I still hadn't made any progress and we were worried about a possible C-section. (They don't like you to go more than 24 hours after your water breaks because of risk of infection.) I decided to go ahead and see if I could make some progress on pitocin. I was really bummed but I felt it was better than having a c-section.
Once the pitocin started I could really feel my contractions but I was still able to handle them. However, every 20 minutes they were increasing my dose. At about 8:00am I was checked and had made hardly any progress. I was becoming more and more discouraged because we were about 4 hours from our 24 hour mark and I wasn't even half way there. The pitocin was really starting to make my contractions so strong I couldn't relax during them and I didn't know how much longer I could stand it. If I had been making progress I felt like I would be able to tough it out but with the lack of progress I felt like I needed and epidural. I felt like I had failed and all the preparation we had put into having a natural delivery was out the window. At that point I decided that ultimately I wanted to have a healthy baby, that was most important. I asked for the epidural and received it pretty quickly. The effects were immediate and I felt like a new person. I was finally able to get some sleep. I slept for about 3 hours. When I woke up the nurse checked my progress and I had managed to go from about 4cm to 7 in that time I slept. That was encouraging! They increased my pitocin again to see if I could progress the rest of the way in the next couple of hours. At that point we were well past the 24 hour mark.
At about 4:30 my nurse came in to check me to see if I'd made any more progress. I was really praying that I had made progress so that we could try and eliminate the possibility of a c-section. When she checked me she asked me what I would be happy to hear. I told her I would be happy to her that I was 10. She asked me what my second choice would be and I told her 8... then she asked "how about 9 1/2?" I was so relieved! We were almost there and I would get to meet Maggie! The nurse left the room to give our doctor a heads up and said she would come back in about 30 minutes. She had been out of the room for 10 minutes tops and I all of a sudden had a really strong urge to push.
Will called the nurses station and my nurse came right back into the room. She said we were going to push me through that last 1/2cm. So, that's what I did. I pushed for about 20-30 minutes and while I was doing that all the other nurses were coming in to get set up as well as my doctor. I didn't feel like I pushed for that long. They did have to use the vacuum on Maggie just for one quick moment because her heart rate was dropping a little and I was having a tough time getting her past a certain point.
Maggie arrived at 5:21pm. The first thing I noticed about her was that she had a dimple. That and some big cheeks. I held her for a few minutes before the nurse took her to be weighed. After she was weighed and cleaned up a little they gave her to Will who had been so anxious to get his hands on her. In fact, after the nurse took her he kept asking "Can I have her now? Can I have her now?" I think after about the third time he asked and was told no he went to sit on his hands at the other end of the room. I still don't know if he was sent over there or her went on his own.
Once we things calmed down a bit and everyone left the room the three of us got to spend some time together. It was great! Maggie was perfect! She went to sleep almost right away. After a bit my mom came into the room and got to hold her. Will's mom brought us some long awaited food and then it was just the three of us again. The nurses didn't take Maggie to give her a bath until much later that night and while they did I got some rest. Will went with them.
And now, six months later, we have our Maggie. She is growing so quickly and I never thought six months could go by so fast.
