Once again, this post is more for my benefit since I'm still not writing in my journal regularly. It is detailed and contains all the correct terms, so feel free to skip it.
February 16 was my regular weekly check up with my doctor. I had told him repeatedly (as I had told almost all my friends) that I was fine going late with this baby and that, if possible, I wanted to have him March 1. So at my weekly appointment we joked about having the baby February 29. We had joked about it before and, once again, I mentioned how I wanted to wait until March. He proceeded to check my cervix (I had been 3 cm dilated again but only about 30-40% effaced) and we talked about something else while he was doing so. He finished and after we finished our conversation, I asked if there was any change. He replied "Well, you're still a three, but it's a loose three so I went ahead and stripped your membranes just a smidge." I was floored. Stripping my membranes with Aurora sent me into labor the same day. I was not ready to have this baby and I was nervous about what stripping my membranes a "smidge" meant. I didn't say anything to him at the time and left. I needed to go to the fabric store and, while there, I started cramping. Not contractions, just strong cramps that were completely inconsistent in time and length.
I got home and tried to take it easy and the cramps subsided off and on. Greg had to be somewhere at 6 pm and didn't get home until 5:20 pm. Then Aurora needed a bath, which I hadn't done in months because it's hard to lift her in and out of the tub when I'm that big. But she really needed one and I decided to do it anyway. By the time Greg got home at 8 pm, the cramping was painful. We put Aurora to bed and that's the point where we both got a bit nervous and thought maybe this was serious. I was in complete denial on the outside and inwardly having a panic attack. Again, I was not ready to have this baby. I hadn't packed for the hospital. I hadn't pre-certified with our insurance. I was supposed to present at a church activity in 4 days. Laundry needed to be done. We were supposed to go grocery shopping that Saturday. I hadn't made the blankets or car seat covers (the fabric was why I went to the fabric store). I hadn't passed an exam for school I wanted to. My sister-in-law, LaDonna, wasn't flying out to help me for just over three weeks. People that were on my list to take Aurora were either out of town or would be very inconvenienced. I called my sister, Kristen, to ask her to be on call for overnight--just in case. Greg took our main car to put gas in it. I refused to pack for the hospital. I was supposed to have ONE MORE WEEK!
By the time we went to bed, the cramping had stopped but I was having bad back pain. I didn't know what back labor would feel like and my doctor hadn't told me what position the baby was in, so I thought maybe the baby was just moving down. We went to bed and I was able to sleep a little amid the tossing and turning. Greg was able to sleep marginally more. Finally at 5 am I was so uncomfortable that I gave up and got out of bed. I started playing around on the computer but the back pain was getting more intense so I started timing it. Turned out the back pain was coming every 5-7 minutes and lasting for 30-40 seconds. Hmm, sounds like labor. I was still unsure though since I had back pain with Aurora two weeks before she was born simply because she was moving. With Aurora, it lasted about an hour and then stopped. At 6 am, I decided to get int the tub and try to relax. It helped a lot and the back pain even stopped for a while. Still, after not sleeping well and being in pain, I decided Greg was not going to work that day. At 6:30 am I got out of the tub and told Greg what had been happening. The back pain started up again and by 7 am I decided we were going to the hospital to see what was going on. I started packing for the hospital and called the insurance while Greg got ready. Since it was now morning, I texted my friend Stephanie and asked if we could drop Aurora off. Of course she said yes, so Greg got Aurora dressed and ready to go. By the time we were ready at 8 am, I was in significant pain and breathing through each episode.
After dropping off Aurora, we got to the hospital around 8:45 am and they wanted to triage me before deciding to admit me. At 9 am, I was already 5 cm dilated and 100% effaced (stripping my membranes helps your cervix efface...obviously it works really well on me). They admitted me and hooked up the IV penicillin. I have a type of strep called Group B Strep that the baby can contract through the birth canal, so I have to get penicillin before delivering the baby. They wanted me to have two doses, and each dose has to be 4 hours apart. So, since they started the first dose at 9 am, they didn't want me to deliver until after 1 pm. The back pain was still intense and they wanted me to lay in bed while getting the penicillin. That's when I asked for the epidural. Luckily the anesthesiologist was fast and I was much more comfortable shortly. At 10:30 am I started throwing up and asked them to check me again. I was already 7 cm and the nurse said my water was really close to breaking. Since they didn't want me to deliver for another 3 hours, the nurse said they weren't going to check me again and wanted me to try to not move much. Fine with me since I had the epidural.
We hung out, chatted, watched TV, and played around on the internet until 1 pm. They started my second dose of penicillin and said they were going to go call my doctor. A few minutes later, my doctor's partner walked in and told me that my doctor was skiing with his family that day and wouldn't be here to deliver the baby so he would take care of it. I was so much more mad after that. He stripped my membranes, forced me to go into labor, and then he LEFT? Not okay. I had met his partner before, though, so I was comfortable with him delivering the baby. They checked me again and I was almost 9 cm, so the doctor came in and broke my water. By 2 pm, I felt different and called the nurse. She came and checked me and I was 10 cm dilated, so we started pushing. After a few contractions, she had me stop and went to get the doctor. The doctor came in around 2:20 pm and we started pushing again a few minutes later. After just a few more pushes, Derek was born at 2:32 pm. I only pushed for about 10 minutes total. It was pretty funny because a medical student AND a nursing student were both following my case (with my permission) and so the doctor was explaining stuff to the medical student more than he was talking to me, but the nurse was great so I didn't mind.
He's really been an angel so far, except he takes forever to eat (about an hour each feeding) and consistently fills his diaper within 10 minutes of us changing it. He's a lot like Aurora in that he's textbook newborn....I can usually set a clock by him eating every 3 hours. He was jaundiced the first week and had to have a UV light blanket for a couple days, but now is doing much better. His two week appointment is tomorrow and I'm positive he's above birth weight, so at least he's getting something from eating so slowly (or maybe so much?). Aurora loves him and kisses his head several times an hour, waving goodbye and kissing him before she leaves to go somewhere, before a nap, or before bedtime. More pictures very soon.
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