Now where was I....?
Right. Zach and I had just spent a weekend relaxing with family and friends, before dozing off late Sunday night on the couch.
I began stir around midnight. I rubbed my eyes and fumbled around for my phone to check the time.
I was laying there awake and uncomfortable when I suddenly felt a strange pop and a gush of liquid. I apologize if this is more information than anyone wanted to know, but it felt similar to peeing in my pants.
I nudged Zach, and told him I was pretty sure my water had just broken. Zach is not one who likes to be woken up, and he later told me that he was about to get very upset with me...until he realized the reason he was being awakened from his blissful repose.
We called the hospital to describe what had happened, and they said to go ahead and come on in. I remember feeling pretty calm. I changed into something more comfortable, we grabbed our hospital bags, and headed out. We sent a text message to family, telling them we were heading to the hospital but that nothing would probably happen until at least the morning. You see, at this point I was feeling a tiny bit of pressure but almost no contractions at all.
We got to the hospital sometime around one am and sure enough, they checked me in OB Triage, and I was only about a centimeter dialated, but because my water had broken I was moved into a delivery room.
Everyone said to "get some sleep". One of the most ridiculous statements ever uttered. I tried, but was too amped.
Family started to arrive in the morning, and continued to arrive throughout the day. I told many people later who asked about our experience, the first twenty-two hours of labor were pretty boring. We hung out for the day, watched episodes of our favorite TV shows, and were basically bored.
I wasn't progressing much. The doctors started pitocin at some point during the morning, and I still don't think I was progressing much. I was told several times to let nurses know when I was ready for an epidural, as we had already discussed our decision to include that in our birth experience. I finally said, I'm still not feeling a ton (just pressure and discomfort) but let's go ahead. That was around mid day.
Late in the afternoon, I was getting tired and overwhelmed. I had heard someone say that they really don't like for your labor to go longer than twenty-four hours after your water has broken, as you and the baby run the risk of infection. I am so thankful that no doctor or nurse ever mentioned the word "c-section", because I was beginning to worry myself about it. We were going on twenty hours since my water had broken, and there just didn't seem to be much progress.
Eventually it was time to clear the room of everyone except Zach and focus and talk about our options.
Finally, a nurse came in to check my progress. She said I'm just going to see where we're at. It will probably be a few more hours, though. She nonchalantly takes a look, then says wow. Not only are we ready to push, but your baby has a head full of hair. (That may have been a graphic detail)
In an instant, the room seemed to transform. They had me almost ready to go when a nurse came in and said that our doctor was prepping for an emergency c-section that had just come in, and we would need to wait a few minutes.
At that point, I remember being really concerned about this other child. I couldn't stop wondering if the mom and baby were ok. Someone mentioned an accident of some sort and I began to wonder if the doctor wouldn't arrive for our delivery with a heavy heart. I never did find out.
The doctor showed up. We pushed for about forty minutes. It was the most physically taxing and exhausting forty minutes of my life. And at 9:59 pm, on November 14, 2011 Marion Piper was born to us. She came out screaming, and calmed down as soon as she was laid on my chest. I was elated and exhausted.
Not long after, Zach sent out the text to our family in the waiting room.
seven pounds three ounces and beautiful.
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