I had developed PUPPPs, aka endless miserable itching that camps out in your stretch marks and travels all over your body, and begged for an eviction (yes, eviction) date. Thankfully my doctor had sympathy, after sending me to a dermatologist and for blood tests to see if I was having liver problems, and she agreed. The hospital confirmed I would be induced December 30th at 6 PM if Cohen didn't arrive sooner. And of course he waited patiently until that date.
That Thursday we did whatever we could to stay busy and distracted. We packed our bags, then stopped off for a quick dinner at Johnnie's. After that it was to Lakeside to check-in. I can't even begin to express what I was feeling that day, which is why I remained as quiet as possible. I was so nervous I broke a glass dish after cleaning the whole house. I was a mess. I had been told getting the IV was the worst part, so I told myself to concentrate on that. The nurse told me I had one good vein...then told me she blew that one good vein. It was all I could do not to break out into tears at that point. Finally another nurse was able to get an IV in and it was truly painful. Then they inserted the Cervidil. Enough said there. Thankfully Kevin was helpful in keeping me busy. We had several friends visit that evening also, which made the waiting so much easier. Finally we settled in for the night (if you could call it that) and tried to get some sleep. Even with the help of a sleeping pill I was still unable to get rest. Even after a month of little sleep due to the PUPPPs I was still unable to really relax and let my body prepare.
Friday morning the adventure really began. It was New Year's Eve and we prayed it would be the day we finally met sweet Cohen. Both of our moms came early that day and camped out with us in the hospital room. Thankfully my doctor allowed one last meal that morning before a long day of ice chips and popsicles. Then came the Pitocin. And shortly after came the epidural. I was having contactions here and there when we arrived the night before, but after 45 minutes or so of Pitocin I was beginning to feel them. Because I've had a seizure in the past from pain, the epidural was ordered to be there soon after. Unfortuately my body didn't take too well to the epidural needle. It took 4 tries (that I was able to count anyway) before the medicine was administered due to strong back ligaments. That was by far the worst pain I had felt up to that point in my life. Thankfully it was well worth the pain. It kicked in soon after and I began to feel better. We spent the day with our moms. They would visit and work while I tried to rest and progress. Throughout the day my body continued to get closer to delivery, however Cohen refused to drop. Evening came and I had made great progress but the little guy just didn't want to move. Thinking back now I can see that all along they thought I would be a c-section because of this, however at the time I remained hopeful. More friends came to visit, hoping Cohen would soon be making his debut. So did I. The day felt like it went on forever. I was dealing with a side effect of the Pitocin, uncontrollable shivering, which was making sleeping even harder. Also, at some point during the evening my epidural wasn't working right and I could feel the contractions. I grabbed Kevin's hand in pain and begged for more medicine. Everyone was sent out of the room and I was given more medicine finally. It took an hour before they could get rid of the pain again. That hour was truly the worst part of labor and delivery. For those who have delivered a baby without an epidural, you are my hero. I have so much respect for you. I also developed a fever late into the evening, which meant I needed a dose of antibiotics in my IV. And it was suggested that I be on oxygen through part of the evening as well, although I'm not sure why that was. Finally, around 8:00 or so the nurse said I was fully dialated and effaced. They began shifting me in different positions to "labor down" and get him moving. Then around 9:00 the nurse said she would try to get a hold of my OB again to see what to do. My OB suggested a few "practice pushes" to see what happenend, proof that they were expecting a c-section. I took that as my chance to fulfull my wishes of a vaginal delivery and when I began pushing at around 9:30 I gave it my all. After 15 minutes of pushing my nurse called to tell my OB I had pushed him down 3 stations, meaning he was coming very soon. 20 minutes later she arrived to help me through the rest of labor. I was exhausted from the day, but that instinct truly kicks in giving you renewed energy to get the baby out. Enough of my epidural had worn off that I could feel when I was having a contraction. I wasn't necessarily feeling pain, but I could tell I needed to push. I began pushing when I knew I needed to, instead of waiting on the OB to tell me when. Then at 10:29 I pushed for the last time and he was here! He came out with arms stretched out and eyes wide open, not crying at all. He looked right at me. It was by far the most amazing thing I've ever experienced. And from the look on Kevin's face it was for him as well. Tears of joy streamed down both of our faces. They laid him on my stomach and I looked into his eyes...and I can't even begin to describe how it felt. I knew this was the day everything changed. I would never look at anything the same. After months of waiting I finally met our little boy...part me, part Kevin, and all a blessing from God.
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