So at 5 p.m. on July 16, 2013, my husband and I got to the hospital to be admitted and start the induction process. My due date was not until July 23 but I had not been getting any sleep due to some complications so the doctor felt it was best to be induced. Lucas was also measuring pretty large which also played into why I was induced. Call me naive and unprepared but I thought that by being induced labor would happen quickly...yeah not so! Weeks before this, I had planned to do my hair and makeup so I would look nice...yeah, mhmmm, okay. Once the doctor said to go to the hospital to be admitted, I bolted - greasy hair and all. I was in too much pain at this point to care what I looked like. My husband now tells me that I arrived to the hospital in his gym shorts, shirt, and sandals. I mean how attractive was I! However, once at the hospital, I changed into my Gownie that my dad gifted me. It had Lucas' name on the front and came with a matching pillow.
We spent the night in the hospital thinking that at any time I would go into labor. I was having contractions but nothing too bad. My sister also thought labor was imminent so she drove through the night from St. Petersburg so she wouldn't miss anything. The next day was the longest day of my life. They started the pitocin in the morning and from then on was paaiiinnn. I had the most horrible back pain and was just so uncomfortable. I was so relieved to see the anesthesiologist in the afternoon! My dad is an anesthesiologist at this same hospital but he did not want to do my anesthesia. My dad was actually the on call anesthesiologist that day-what are the odds! He was so nervous that he was always in and out of my room. Getting the epidural did not hurt at all. What I really did not like was the loss of sensation in my legs and having to lay on my sides the whole time. After awhile, my back started to REALLY hurt. My husband and mom were taking turns massaging my back. I ended up getting more numbing medication because of the intense back pain. Holy cow my back hurt! By this time, the nurse kept checking my cervix and I was really close. It was around late afternoon but I wasn't expected to go into labor until late evening. By this time, I hadn't had anything to eat except ice chips so I was already tired and hungry. The only thing that got me through the pain was having lots of people around me - my husband never left my side, mom, sister, dad, mother-in-law, and my boss stopped by. It was a wonderful distraction to have people around me and Bravo shows playing in the background. I use to joke that I wanted Bravo in the background when I went to push and lo and behold Bravo was playing while I pushed (just not on purpose!)
Around 9 p.m., my mom noticed that I was shivering. She placed her hand on my forehead and thought I felt warm. The nurse checked my temperature and I definitely had a fever so they started me on antibiotics. After about an hour, I was told it was time to start pushing. My dad left the room (nerves) and although I thought I would only want my husband and one other person in the room, I was in so much pain that I didn't care who was in there. So my husband grabbed one leg and my sister the other. After one push, my sister got queasy and switched with my mom...wussy! Long story short, I pushed for TWO hours...nothing...the epidural started wearing off, I could feel everything, I was tired, hungry...defeated. The C-Section talk started and I just broke down in tears. This is not what I had wanted and I was scared. I asked if I could push for 30 more minutes...30 minutes go by and nothing. I was getting a C-Section whether I liked it or not. Looking back, the C-Section was probably the easiest part of the whole labor experience. I even fell asleep on the table!
I honestly don't remember a lot except asking the nurse when my husband would be in the surgery room. The anesthesiologist was awesome. He could see the expressions on my face during the surgery and since I couldn't see over the sheet that was blocking my view, he was informing me the whole time about what was happening. I am so grateful for him. Then all of sudden, I heard a small cry and Lucas is quickly lifted up for us to see him! He was born July 18, 2013 at 1:28 a.m. weighing 8 pounds 13 ounces at 21.5 long. I had tears in my eyes as I turned to my husband and kept saying "he's perfect!" I then fell asleep lol! I don't remember being wheeled back to my room. I just remember waking up with my mom by my side and a nurse walking in saying that Lucas was taken to the NICU and my husband was with him. Because of my fever and an infection in the amniotic fluid, Lucas had to start antibiotics and a tube to take out any fluid he may have in his system. I start to cry again because I realized that I hadn't held my baby and wouldn't be able to for awhile. I cried because I didn't know what he looked like and just every emotion I had been holding in the past day and a half.
My husband came back into the room and handed me his cell phone where he had taken hundreds of photos of Lucas. Even though he was so swollen and was hooked up to so many monitors and tubes, he was beautiful in my eyes! My husband and I got a little bit of sleep but it was hard to sleep after everything that had happened. I woke up to the pains from the C-Section and was anxious to see my baby. I was taken to the NICU and as soon as I laid eyes on him, it was love at first sight. Although he developed jaundice, it wasn't enough to have the therapy so from the day he was born until we were discharged that Sunday, Lucas just got better and better. From the day he was born, he was always smiling!
We are so grateful for the staff at North Florida Regional Medical Center. We were treated with such kindness and care that we are forever grateful for. We ordered pizza and cookies for the labor and delivery nurses and the nurses at the NICU but we can never show how much we truly appreciated them.
So after almost 33 hours in labor, I have a beautiful baby boy that is currently asleep on my chest as I type. We are so blessed that he is okay and that he is in our lives.
