My Labor Story.

After being on bed rest for 3 weeks I was so happy to be back to normal. I went back to work for one day and then had my baby shower. I was supposed to go to work the night after my shower but was not feeling well. I ate a lot of bad stuff at the shower so I thought I just felt bad because of high blood sugar. I was in the baby's room putting things away when I got a strange feeling. I felt sick to my stomach and got very bad blurred vision. Then started seeing spots and bright lights out of my left eye. I came down stairs and sat down. I checked my blood sugar and it was normal, so I tried to eat something. I still was not feeling well and after a little while started getting a really bad headache. I checked my blood pressure and it was very high. I was started to get worried, I was hoping that I didn't have another complication in this pregnancy. I called work to tell them what was going on and they advised me to come in and be seen to rule out pregnancy induced hypertension. So Dan and I got all the bags(just in case) and headed to the hospital. When we got there I was feeling a little better but started to have contractions but they were not painful. My blood pressure was a little high one time and all my blood work came back ok. They checked my cervix and I was 1.5 cm. Since I was now considered full term (37.3 weeks) they told me I could walk to see if I was in labor. So Dan and I walked the hospital. When they rechecked my cervix I had made a little change to 2 cm. This meant I got to stay. The contractions became more painful but were in my back. I kept changing positions to change the babies position and when they checked me again in the morning my cervix didn't really change but they said that the baby was engaged into the pelvis. In the morning I thought they would send me home because I didn't make much progress so I sent Dan home to let the dogs out and rest and told him I would call if anything changed. About an hour latter the doctor came in and checked my cervix and it was now at 3 cm and my contractions were getting closer together so she said "lets break your water and get things going" I couldn't believe it I was so excited, the day I have been waiting for the last 9 months is finally here. I called Dan and I could tell he had been sleeping, I said get back to the hospital we are having a baby today. It was so cute he said "why". I think he was in shock. I then called my mom and family and told them today is the day. The doctor broke my water at 9am and the contractions started to get worse. Then they started the pitocin ( a drug that makes you have more contractions) I walked around and used the birthing ball for a while. The contractions were getting even stronger. My mom, Dan and my sister Leslie were all there for support. I was doing good breathing through my contractions so I sent everyone to go eat while I got in the bath tub. As soon as they left I went form having contractions every 3-5 minutes on a pain scale of 5-6 to having them every 1-2 minutes pain scale 8-9. At this time I was ready for my epidural. I called Dan and said get up here now. I was very proud of myself for going so long with out the epidural, everyone thought I would have to get it right away but I didn't. The epidural was the best thing ever. I am so happy I got it. After my epidural the nurse checked my cervix and I was dilated to 4 cm. I thought to myself this is going to take forever. By 4pm I was only at 5 cm. By this time my best friend Rachel was here as well as my Dad and everyone was hanging out. I finally sent everyone to dinner around 6 and by 630 I was dilated to 9.5cm. It seems that everything happens when I send people away. A few minutes latter I was complete and ready to push. I said get my husband up here now. I pushed for about an hour and a half and Riley was born at 8:26pm. I had the best support team. Dan, my mom, my sister Leslie and my best friend Rachel were all there. Dan was the best husband and support partner. I was very proud of him. He cut the cord and everything. It was so emotional when he was born, Everyone was in tears. I can't even describe how I felt when I saw Riley and heard his cry for the first time. I still cry thinking about it or when I watch the video or look at the pictures. My labor was about 12 hours total and it was the best experience. I would not change anything about it. All the people i love were there. After he was born my Dad, Dad and Diane and Bernie and Mary all came in to see the baby. I had the best nurses throughout my labor and the best thing of all Dr. Kovanda stayed at the Hospital just for me and delivered Riley. This is the best day of my life and I will never forget it.