Better 2 months later than never, here is Brigham's birth story. At my 37 week doctor appointment I was dialated to a 3! I was so excited to already be dilated that much! I stayed at a 3 at 37 weeks and 38 weeks at that appointment my doctor told us that he would be out of town basically the whole next week besides a few days. I told him that I wanted him to deliver the baby so we scheduled an induction for Saturday the 20th, unless I went before. I was really hoping to go earlier because I didn't want to have to be induced. At my 39 week appointment (Monday the 15th) I had progressed to a 4. He said that because I was progressing so well he said he would be surprised if we made it to saturday. I asked him how I could get things going and he suggested Castor Oil or he said to go on a walk. So I went to the store and bought some castor oil, I heard that the stuff was nasty and I was nervous so I decided that I would take it the next day. When I got home from the store I was feeling some pressure so I started deep cleaning (my already clean house), I scrubbed my floors by hand because my sister told me that that is what she did to go into labor. By the time I was done I was having some cramps here and there. So I decided to take it easy for a bit and I wrote out all of my thank you cards. By the time I was done, around 2:00 pm I noticed that I was having cramps on and off so I called my sister. We started counting them and they were about 10 minutes apart and lasting about 30 seconds. She told me she thought I was in labor, but I wasn't sure. So when Nate got home we started counting them and they were getting closer together and more painful. I decided to get in the bath to see if they would stop or continue (I thought for sure that they would stop) but they kept coming and were getting more and more intense. They were coming every 5-7 minutes about a minute long. I decided that I had better get out and blow dry my hair so I didn't have to go to the hospital with wet hair. So I did my hair, stopping at each contraction. By the time I was done the pain was really bad when a contraction would hit, then I would be fine. All the while Nate was running around getting everything ready. He was nervous, I guess he didn't want to have to deliver the baby in the living room, go figure. He kept saying okay lets go to the hospital and I would agree with him until my contraction stopped then I assured him that I was fine. I did not want to go in and get sent home! So I called the hospital and they told me that I could come in if I wanted, but I could tell she was skeptical that I was really in labor. So I called my sister to see what she thought. As I called her I got a really bad contraction and couldn't talk through it, my sister told me go to the hospital right now! And as that was happening Nate said we are leaving now! Get off the phone lets go. So I agreed and we left, it was 8:00 PM. In the car I was in so much pain. I dare say the worst pain I have ever experienced. When I got there the lady at the desk asked if I was the one that just called. I told her I was and she told me to have a seat. As we sat and filled out some paperwork she was eyeballing me to see what kind of pain I was in. After a few minutes they took me to a room and we checked for dilation and I was at a 5. So they decided to keep me! I was relived. They got me hooked up and asked me what felt like 100 questions.
I was in so much pain. I wanted the epidural but I had to get the whole bag of fluid in me first. After I got the epidural almost instantly I felt better. It was heavenly. At that point I was done with all of the questions and Nate and I just hung out for a bit. Then my mom and sister got there and hung out with us for a bit and we all tried to sleep a little. (this was around 12:30 AM) Then my nurse checked me at 1:00AM and was unable to because my water was about to break. She guessed that I was close to a 10 but wasn't sure, so she went and called my doctor. He decided to come and break my water. He got there around 1:30AM and after he broke my water his head dropped and it was time to push! I couldn't believe how fast it was! So he got all scrubbed up and by 2:15 AM I was pushing. It was such an amazing experience I couldn't believe how calm and peaceful delivery felt (I guess thats one of the joys of an epidural). I didn't even break a sweat but I did feel swollen, loopy, and nauseous after. But it was all worth it.
Brig was here by 3:02 AM 7lbs and 2oz. Such a handsome healthy baby. We feel so blessed.
