Ummm my water broke

This was the weirdest feeling ever! Seriously.

I was already awake. Baby Girl had already woken me up with pressure, but it wasn't bad. I just couldn't sleep. So I got up, took care of the dogs, pooped to try to deal with the pressure, made Matt's lunch, and washed the dishes.

Matt woke and asked how I was feeling. I told him about the pressure. Then I told him he was going to work and to get in the shower. This was my first day of bedrest and I was planning on enjoying it by myself!

At 6:05 he got out of the shower.
At 6:10 my water broke. Imagine the sensation of a water balloon (that you weren't 100% conscious of) getting caught on something and rupturing inside of you. That's what it felt like. And then a gush of liquid. I jumped back out of bed (last thing I did quickly for days). And hobbled towards the bathroom. When I told Matt, he was skeptical at best. I was the girl who kept thinking I was in labor when I wasn't. So I showed him my pants... They were soaked.

We called the doctor. We packed the car. Oh shit - let me just tell you - real contractions, the serious kind, oh wow do they hurt. Yup. You will know. Which is awful since with your first kid, you actually don't know anything. Imagine ... well I don't know really how to describe it. Oh yes I do - imagine your insides are trying to be ripped out by an alien that has taken up residency in your body for the last 9 months. And is getting evicted and making a huge scene about it. Then hit yourself with a hammer and you might be halfway there. Back to the story. We called the grandparents-to-be from the car. Then we stopped at 7-11 for coffee. Again Matt was skeptical. And I told him he could.

So we got to the hospital and checked in, again, you know, like we did on Monday. Only this time, they checked me in a lot faster. They kept offering me a wheelchair, but I turned it down - sitting was worse than standing. So checked in and then they checked to see if my water actually broke. It only happens on its own or first in 10% of labors, so they assumed (like Matt) that I was wrong. Test came back negative. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! But on the flip side, they did confirm that I was in active labor and I was admitted to the hospital for real. 

I hobbled down the hallway, slowly, having a contraction halfway there. So admitted and attached to the IV. I had to have a full IV of fluid before they would give me an epidural - which I wanted badly and seriously. The pain was seriously uncomfortable. So I was hooked up and then the doctor came in for my epidural. He hooked me and numbed my down. But 45 minutes later - it hurt again and I could feel it. So I called the nurse and asked for more. She checked me and realized that my epidural was no longer turned on - seriously. It was off. No wonder I could feel things. So they called the doc back and he fixed me. And I was good to go. 

At this point, I was comfortable and thought about taking a nap. The next few hours happened slowly and quickly all at the same time. 

Let's talk dilation. At my doctor's appointment on Tuesday, I was only 1 cm dilated. I was the same the week before. We didn't think it would happen all that quickly. Boy were we wrong. Within the first hour, I was at 3. I think around the next hour, I was 5. Repeat this process again and again and by 1pm, I was at 9+. At 2, I was ready to push. 

I felt pressure in my butt. I still had the epidural - so pressure is the only way I can describe what the contractions felt like. And then there is pushing. I did that. Let's fast forward a little bit. 

For the next two hours I pushed. And pushed and pushed. And I was making a lot of progress - except that she wasn't coming out. So I gave the doctor permission to cut me and make more space. He said that I wasn't ready yet - but I'm pretty sure I just said I was. Oh well. He said another 30 minutes and I said no. Within 10 minutes, she was out. I told him I wasn't waiting any longer. I told him.

10 hours after I said my water broke. And on my first day of bed rest. At 4:38pm, weighing 6 lbs 15 oz, and 20.5 inches long, Eliana Beatrice made her entrance into our lives.