Bryce Arrives

It all started the morning I went in for my 39^th week appointment. Everything looked great, and I was dilated to one (basically I was nowhere near ready to pop). My doctor walked out of the room, I put myself back together and just finished buttoning my britches when I felt a warm little trickle. I turned to Jus and said, “So. . . I think my water broke”. He looked as surprised as I felt! However, he dismissed it as a sneeze pee (I know I didn’t sneeze, but there was no arguing with him). We told my doctor, but she thought it was just the gel she used when she checked me, then sent us home.

I decided to do some last minute nesting, during which time no water leakage occurred. Then it was time for work. Something ALWAYS happens as soon as we walk out the door to go to work. Never anything of my doing (like forgetting my badge, headset, book or the like), always something Justin did. That day was no exception. I had just finished locking the door when, UH-OH… there was that trickle again (I guess this time it could be my fault. . . Then again, I can’t take the blame so it was Baby’s fault)! We decided I should go get checked.

My doctor ran a test and sure enough my water was broken! IT WAS BABY TIME! There was a slight problem though, my water broke four hours previously but I hadn’t gone into labor (something called Premature Rupture of Membranes).

Once we had settled in our room I was able to walk around for about an hour, trying to go into labor. When that didn’t work it was time to induce. First, my doctor tried rupturing my membranes even more. Oh boy did it work (at least for a little while)! I finally started having contractions, and they were INTENSE! Within three hours, I was dilated to four. And then I stopped progressing (of course I couldn’t have things go quick and smooth, that just wouldn’t be normal).

I was then put on Pitocin (which is my new worst enemy). Immediately my contractions became more frequent, coming every five minutes. They also became stronger, and lasted longer. In fact, an hour and a half after starting Pitocin my contractions began lasting 20 minutes (which felt like an eternity). During my 20 minute contractions I learned that if I fought the pain, it would hurt even more. However, if I let the pain come and focused on breathing deeply then my contractions were bearable. After having two 20 minute contractions I was taken off the Pitocin, which (of course) made me puke.

After being off the Pitocin for 10 minutes it was started again, but this time only half a dose was given. 90 minutes later, I had another 20 minute contraction. The Pitocin was stopped, and again I puked. For the next seven hours this was my cycle. The worst part about it was that IT WASN”T WORKING. From 8 pm to 7 am I was stuck at four.

Through all this Jus was a trooper! Every time I puked he ran right out of the room. Just kidding, he held me through it all. When I was too weak to stand (because standing was very relieving) he became my legs. When I was unable to form coherent sentences (nich is whormal) he was my voice. He was a true coach (yep, kept chanting “Push it out! Shove it out! WAY OUT!”). He also made sure I knew it wasn’t his fault that I wanted to do this without an epidural (I guess he didn’t want me to blame him for my pain). In all honesty he was perfect, and when I was at the height of my pain I could see how much he loved me, for in his eyes I could see my pain reflected. But enough looking at him I had a baby to push out!

Finally, shortly after 7 am I started progressing again (hallelujah, it’s not like I’d been at this ALL. NIGHT. LONG). Four hours later it was time to push! Justin and a nurse held my feet (they didn’t realize how strong I was until that point). With each contraction, I would grab the back of my legs, scrunch up and push as hard as I could. I remember hearing Justin, my doctor, and all the other nurses in the room (believe me, it felt like I was on display at a museum) exclaim how much blond hair my sweet boy had when they could see his head.

Finally at 11:50 a.m. my boy was born! I heard his beautiful cry and wanted nothing more than to hold him. It felt like forever as the nurses weighed (7 lbs. 14 oz.), measured (21 in.) and made sure he was okay before they finally handed him to me. The moment he was in my arms all the pain went away. He was (and still is) perfect!