Brielle & Matt: Jenson's Birth Story Part 1

I hit 40 weeks on January 23rd, we went in for a Dr. appointment (Dr. Christine Carriker) and biophysical sonogram that morning to see if it was okay for little dude to keep cooking. Everything looked good on the scan so they sent us home with an induction date of January 27th at 8:00 pm. I pretty much tried everything I could to get him to come on his own, hours on a yoga ball, lots of pineapple, walking, walking, and walking etc... but no success, he wanted to come on his own time! Before we left home for the hospital, Matt gave me a Priesthood Blessing. I'm grateful for the power of the Priesthood and for a worthy Priesthood holder husband who honors it and blesses our family, because the blessing calmed me and gave me the peace that I needed to get through what was coming, and what, in hindsight, was much more of an ordeal than we originally had thought.

We got to the hospital around 8:00 pm on the 27th. I had been feeling funky all day but I think it was just the nerves of the whole "un-known". Everyone can tell you everything they want to about how labor is but no two stories are the same, it's just something you have to experience on your own. We met our nurse Christina and got changed into my gown. She checked me and I was only dilated to a 1 and about 80% effaced {depressing!} Next came the IV, my biggest fear! If you know me at all you know I am terrified of needles. And like I thought it would, it killed! They had to put it in my hand because I have no veins in my arm {well obviously I have them but no one can find them...} my hand burned all night long, I wanted that thing out as fast as it was in but no such luck!

They started me on Cervidil around 9:20. I had high hopes that this would send me full-on into labor that night because it always does for my sister and few other friends, but, just my luck, it did nothing. I had to stay in bed for about 2 hours after getting the Cervidil, talk about a full bladder! I got to eat my last meal around 11:00 pm. I seriously don't understand if you need your energy to have a baby why do they take away food? The IV just doesn't cut it for me, I prefer real food not ice chips and popsicles for days. If I would have known that I wasn't going to be eating for a few more days I would have eaten a little more that night! ;)

To help me get to sleep my nurse gave me some Ambien, and boy did that make me looopy! I was out of it in like 3 minutes flat. I just remember getting all dizzy and not being able to focus on anything, I don't really like the effect drugs have on me. I was pretty out of it until around 6:00 the next morning when they took out the Cervidil and started me on the IV fluids to wake the baby up a little. The rest of the morning went pretty slow, like the whole day. I got to take a shower, they did a stress test, and I got to meet my new nurse Ann {I LOVED her, she was like another mom}. I got checked again and was only dilated to a "loose" 1 and still 80% effaced. They started the Pitocin around 7:20 am, this was really happening! My doctor came in and broke my water around 9:30 {weirdest feeling!} and I was finally dilated to a 2 and 90% effaced!

Before we came in everyone kept asking me if I was feeling any contractions, and from what I knew I wasn't. I knew that I was having them but I felt nothing, I thought I was going to be one of those lucky girls who has really easy labor... haha I was sure dreaming! I wanted to try to go natural as long as I could but I also was not against the idea of an epidural. Around 10:00 am I started feeling my contractions full force (well full force for me, I don't want to know what it would have been like later) so I decided to get the epidural.

Looking back that was one of the best decisions I could have made that day.

Like I said earlier though, the thought of an epidural scared me {HUGE NEEDLE!} but I was at the point that I could handle a big needle poke better than the contractions. I got the epidural around 11:20 I had Matt on one side and Ann {my nurse} on the other. Matt is very curious and asked questions most the time, a lot of the doctors even let him watch what they were doing, more because of his curiosity. The epidural was nothing like I expected, it was something I wouldn't want to do multiple times. They kept asking me if was still feeling pain, and lucky me, I was. Something wasn't right with the epidural so they called in another anesthesiologist to do a second one. Joy!! My wish came true and I got to have 2 in less than 30 minutes! The second time I felt something a little different so I knew that this one was a little different. It worked a little better but I never had the pain completely gone {lucky me!} They also had to come and up my dose more often because of my height (or that's what they said).