Ten days ago Dan and I ushered in an event that has forever changed us. The words “Labor and delivery” had a vague and rather detached significance in my life before I walked through those sliding glass doors at Timpanogos Regional Medical Center. When I left, they meant so much more.
At 6am on November 27th Dan and I showed up at the hospital ready for the day but having no idea what to expect. We had a scheduled induction because Little Guy was already 6 days late. When I got to the hospital, our assigned nurse Vicki (who was fabulous, by the way) checked me out and said I was probably already in early labor because I was dilated to a 3. She started me on Pitocin at around 7 am and we settled in for a long day.
I sent Dan out to get some food shortly thereafter because, even though I couldn’t eat all day, there was no reason we both had to starve. While he was gone, our OB/GYN Dr. Saunders came in and told me he wanted to break my water to get things moving. I wasn’t sure what “get things moving” meant but I liked the sound of it.
About ten minutes after he broke my water things did get moving indeed. My contractions started coming on strong about every 2 and a half minutes. It was intensely painful, like nothing I had prepared for. Dan was still out grabbing some breakfast and I called him with a message something to the affect “So….much…pain…you…back…now…please…bllurrrhghghg”. He rushed back and held my hand as I gripped the side of the hospital bed and squeezed out tears while the contractions became stronger and more painful.
After about an hour Vicki came back in and checked my progress. She told me I was at a 4 and then said the 5 most beautiful words in the English language; “Let’s get you and epidural”. Oh sweet release.
The anesthesiologist came in shortly and got to work. It was a surprisingly fast and pain-free procedure. I think not being able to see what was going on helped me not be too squeamish about the whole thing. And the fact that he gave me the shot right in the middle of a contraction definitely took my mind off what he was doing.
After about 30 seconds the epidural began to take affect. Dan and Vicki took turns telling me when I was having contractions and asking me if I could feel them. It was wonderful. I felt nothing. Experiencing one hour of strong contractions was enough to let me know that I am not the “natural gal” type. Bring on the drugs.
The rest of the day passed with surprising ease and relaxation. I progressed right on cue, dilating a centimeter every two hours. Dan and I hung out, watched “Cars” and had a good time talking and laughing together. Dan’s parents came in around 2 and we had a lovely time visiting with them. It was not at all what I’d expected. Even knowing I was getting an epidural I pictured labor as a more intensive and less relaxed process. I even took a nap at one point.
Around 3 Vicki checked me again and I was at a 9. She said it wouldn’t be much longer until I could start pushing. About that time I noticed the epidural medication was slowing down a bit on my right side. I pushed the re-dose button and didn’t think much of it. I could handle a little cramping after what I’d felt that morning.
At 4:20 it was time to push. I was at a ten and baby was on his way. After about an hour he hadn’t made much progress. It was then that I realized the epidural was not nearly as strong as at had been. I was feeling more and more the contractions that were coming on strong and frequent. Dan told me later that me mentioned this to the nurse and the she gave him a little shake of the head which he took to mean “don’t tell Robynn the epidural is running out”.
Dr. Saunders came in around 6 and told me I just wasn’t pushing hard enough. I wanted to smack him, but his pessimism motivated me to work harder. By this point I was feeling just about everything and was babbling pretty bad to anyone that would listen. I remember saying some rather nutso things like, “Please just do a c-section!” and “Use the forceps! Get him out NOW.”
Once the epidural wore off more I progressed pretty fast. At 6:45ish Dr. Saunders came in just as Little Guy was about to pop out. He told me to stop pushing, which is a hard directive to hear when you have been told for two hours that pushing is the only way to make the pain go away. After Dr. Saunders got all his baby catching stuff set up he told me to push one more time and….
There he was. The most perfect, beautiful, divine specter I had ever seen. They pulled him out, suctioned him off, and laid him on my chest. Dan was beaming. I was in heaven. This little being we’d waited for for so long was finally in my arms. I’ve never felt closer to God than at that moment when the doctor introduced me to my son. It was a moment unlike I had ever experienced.
They took the baby over to the heating table to clean him off and check his vitals. Dan followed them over and I heard him say, “Eli-his name is Eli.” We’d been waiting to name him until we saw him. I love how quickly Dan was able to know just what we should call him. After they cleaned Baby Eli off and took his APGAR scores (a healthy 9 out of 10) they brought him back over and gave him to me.
It was wonderful. I immediately forgot all the pain and work it had taken to get him here. I just wanted to get lost in that moment and hold my little baby forever. He was so perfect. So wonderful. And he was mine. And always will be.
