I can’t believe it’s been a month since baby Kitt’s arrival! What a whirlwind it has been. I knew I better write down these details before I forget them. Overall, I would say my labor and delivery experience was a good one. I felt well cared for and I got to come home with the CUTEST little babe ever – which we are even more in love with today, despite the last month of sleeping no longer than 3 hours at a time.

I should start by explaining that I had A LOT of Braxton Hicks contractions this pregnancy. They began at week 20 and continued every day thereafter. The last few days of my pregnancy, I noticed an increase in intensity (more than just being tight, they started hurting a bit), with less time in between. So, I started timing them. My OB had stripped my membranes on Tuesday and by Thursday afternoon of the same week (see shameless bathroom selfie), the contractions were coming at 5 minute intervals and lasting around a minute. Following the 5-1-1 rule as instructed by my OB (5 min apart, lasting at least a minute, for at least 1 hour), I recorded them for a few hours before finally deciding to go into the hospital around midnight (so Friday). Side note: It happened to be the same night that a massive tanker explosion closed down the freeway, go figure.

When we got to the hospital, they monitored me for a while and determined that while my contractions were very regular, they weren’t “strong enough.” I was told that I could still talk through them, so they must not be painful enough (uh, wut?). I was only dilated to a 2, so they sent me home with an injection of morphine and told me to “sleep it off.” Needless to say, I wasn’t super thrilled about the prospect of going back home. The cute nurse who gave me the injection let me know that often times, when they do this morphine trick, they end up seeing those same ladies back shortly after. She wished me luck and, with a wink, told me she’d probably see me later.

Back home, the morphine succeeded in making me groggy, but it didn’t dull the pain enough to get any sleep (or rest at all). After a sleepless night and a few hours in the bathtub, we went back to the hospital around noon. Contractions were pretty strong at this point, and I was told I had progressed from a 2 to a 6 at home and they were finally admitting me. YAY! It actually took a LONG time to get a room in L&D because they had an unusually high amount of laboring ladies. Winter decided to finally show up this week, and the cold front that brought it apparently also brought a bunch of babies into this world. They gave me some other narcotic as an attempt to dull the pain while I waited for the epidural. The nurses also showed Rhett how to put pressure on my knees or hip to relieve some of the contraction pain. This helped a little, but man, contractions are no joke. Even though I got admitted around 2PM, I didn’t get a room until around 5PM, which is when I finally got an epidural. Oh, heaven. Finally, some relief. I remember having at least 2 contractions while the anesthesiologist was placing the line and I was trying so hard to keep still. One of the nurses held my legs to help relieve the pressure. They kept encouraging me that every contraction put me closer to getting baby here and that I was making great progress – I definitely needed that encouragement. They were such great cheerleaders.

At this point, my team let me know that my doctor wasn’t going to make it due to some family issues. I was sad about this, but I honestly felt I was in great hands with the resident and the attending that were there with me. And let’s be honest, I had the epidural at this point so I was a happy camper. My 2 nurses let me know that their shift change happens at 7PM. They were sad that they probably wouldn’t be with me through the end of my labor, but assured me that I’d still be in good hands.

They broke my water and Rhett and I spent the next hour and a half watching “What to Expect While You’re Expecting,” because we thought it fitting, haha. (Another side note: We noticed that 2 of the ladies in the show were wearing the exact same gownie as me). At around 6:40PM, the nurses told Rhett to go grab something to eat from the cafeteria before all the “good food” was gone. A couple minutes later, at 6:42PM, they checked me again and told me to call Rhett and get him back there ASAP. This baby was coming! So, I called Rhett on his cell and told him to get his food to go. He was back in a couple of minutes with his ham & swiss (important details, haha). We joked with my L&D team that my labor was interrupting his dinner.

I was still laying down at this point and they asked if I felt any pressure to push. I felt a little, but once they sat me up, OH BABY, did I feel it. At that moment, a crash alarm sounded in one of the neighboring rooms and everyone ran out to give assistance. All ended up being okay and my team was back within a minute or two, but a little unnerving, right? At this point, they had to run (literally) to grab the attending because little guy was coming RIGHT THEN. I heard them telling her to come quick because we’re pushing. I literally pushed for 15 minutes and baby Kitt was born at 7:01PM. He cried the second he was out and they put him straight in my arms. Such bliss! My nurse team was so thrilled that it happened before it was time for them to leave, that they ended up staying for another 20 minutes past their shift change to happily help finish up. And the cute nurse who showed up to take over at the shift change? Yep, the same cute morphine-giving nurse I had seen the night before who guessed she’d see me later. She was thrilled to see me back. The doctors helped deliver the placenta and then spent the next 20 minutes stitching me up (I got a second degree laceration, yikes). I wasn’t really paying much attention because I had a tiny, squirmy human in my arms. They checked baby and got his measurements. He was little, but oh so perfect.

They got us moved over to a recovery room where, despite waking us up every few minutes to check on us, we were very well cared for (ahem… Rhett would like to make a plea for hospitals to get better fold-out beds for the hubbies). The next couple of days went by very quickly and we were thrown into the deep-end of parenting a newborn.

Looking back, even though it didn’t always feel that way, my pregnancy went great. It felt like I had every single “normal” pregnancy side effect. Restless leg syndrome, hemorrhoids, hormone-induced night terrors, bad acid reflux, incontinence, round ligament pain, symphysis pubis diastasis, braxton hicks, to name a few. Then there was also the car accident at week 20 that caused some severe costocondritis, leading to 4 weeks of physical therapy. We also went camping/hiking a few times while I was pregnant and then we can’t forget to mention the Pioneer Trek we did with our church group when I was around 10 weeks. What an incredible, challenging and rewarding experience. I am so grateful for how well it went and for all the support I received from friends and family and especially my sweetheart Rhetty-Poo. I am still in awe that I’m now responsible for this tiny perfect human. <3