Labors

Apparently, I just need some really good prompt ideas for blog entries these days. (In reality, I just need to make TIME to write again.)

Grabbed this from Shannon at Rocks In My Dryer this morning, in honor of Labor Day.


How long were your labors?
Bird - 10 hours
Bug - 5 hours

This has always been my answer. The more I think about it, though, I think Bird's was closer to 5 hours.... I will explain myself in the following prompts.

How did you know you were in labor?
Bird & Bug - water broke. I loved it. No question whatsoever that there was a child on the way!!

Bird's water broke in the classic style - there was fluid gushing everywhere. Thankfully, we were in front of Target at the time, so I sent Husband in for lots of bags so that I wouldn't wreck my car.

That was the only indication with her, however, as there were no contractions. And there weren't any for quite some time.

Bug, however, in his eternally helpful manner, plugged up the leak with his head. So although *I* knew they'd broken, the nurses at the hospital did not believe me. Even though I had contactions every 6 minutes - and coming more & more rapidly as time went on.

Where did you deliver?
At a hospital. Very happily. They have medication.

Drugs?
YES.

With Bird, even though my water had broken, my body was not interested in actually expelling her. I ended up on a pitocin drip, and they very nicely gave me the epidural before they started that. That drip started around 1am, and she was born around 6am (hence the 5-hour labor)

Bug was a whole other story. The triage nurses didn't believe I was in labor, since their little test strips did not indicate my water had broken. No matter how many times I'd told them I'd done this once already, they implied that I'd probably just lost control of my bladder and didn't know it.

They finally gave me a bed, since I knew I wasn't leaving the building without a baby. (To be fair, the place was full, and they did give me one as soon as it was available). And since I was in triage, I got to feel the contractions EVERY STINKIN TIME THEY CAME, as they are not allowed to give you meds.

Remember, they did not believe I was delivering that night, so nobody was checking me either. Husband was finally able to convince someone that I was threatening his safety. Which I suppose was fair. I did tell him that I could pull his pancreas out through his nose so he could feel what I was feeling.

Amazingly enough, I was 8cm at this point (I'd only been in that bed for 2 hours). That got them hopping! I was in a room in 10 minutes, and about 9cm. The triage nurse redeemed herself - the epidural guy was waiting for me in my labor room.

Let me tell you - I HELD STILL. And he hooked me up. I hit 10cm aobut 5 minutes later.

C-section?
No.

Who delivered?
Doctors. And just barely with Bug, as he really was in a rush to get out a month early.