We arrived at the hospital (January 7th) around 6am to start the induction. The nurses let us into our room, but we couldn't get started until about 7:15 because another induction had progressed really quickly and the hospital was short staffed. It took about 30 minutes for the pitocin to kick in and contractions to start. I was at a 1.5cm when I arrived, which was assuredly an "okay" starting point.
I had already planned on getting an epidural at a certain point, but I wanted to wait until I was progressed pretty far. For the next 6 hours, I walked laps, sat on the birthing ball, moved around, etc. The contractions started getting pretty strong, and I was SURE I was progressing quite nicely. Around 1:30pm, the doctor checked me, and....I was a 2. I was so frustrated and starting to think that the induction wasn't going to work. The doctor had to wait until I was between a 3 and 4 to break my water due to a weird angle with my cervix. I didn't know how much longer I was going to have to wait, and felt a little defeated. Justin gave me his best Coach Taylor pep talk (too many Friday Night Lights episodes the week before) and we just kept at it.
Me pretending I'm giving birth on the ball. I'm a weirdo. Don't judge.
Around 3:30, they checked me again, and I was at a 3. The doctor broke my water (OWWW) and the contractions immediately intensified. Again, OOWWWW. I opted to get the epidural---I didn't want to chance a quick progression and miss my window to get it. The first time he put it in, only half of my body went numb. I will tell you that the hardest part of that entire labor process was sitting bunched in a ball while my contractions were piggybacking and I felt like puking. The actual epidural was not near as scary or bad as I thought.
The epidural kicked in around 4:00 and it was sweet relief. I applaud anyone who goes natural, because I can't imagine not having the drugs. They checked me at a 4.5, then I took an hour nap. When I woke up, I felt some kind of strange pressure. The nurse checked me again, looked up at me, then said "So...we are having this baby now!!!" I had progressed to a 10 during my nap!
Suddenly, everything got crazy. People were coming in left and right, equipment was being wheeled in, and I was being taught how to push. I had no idea what to expect, and couldn't really feel much. From the first push, my sister saw Kinleigh's head, which motivated me to go into "Get this baby out now" mode. 15 minutes later, my girl was born.
I bawled like a baby. Justin lost it. My sister was sobbing while taking pictures. We were all just a mess. From the second they place Kinleigh on my chest, I knew my life would not be the same. Justin got to learn lots of fun things about her while the doctor stitched me up. We are so in love with our little girl!!!
Thank you to everyone who has called, texted, dropped by, etc. We feel so loved and supported. We couldn't do this without you!
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