The Wednesday my little Buttercup was born…

Midnight: Since I had insomnia I began timing my contractions with an app I downloaded the previous day.

2:00 am:  My contractions began to get more frequent but nothing that I couldn’t handle, besides all the classes I had taken had prepared me for this moment. I was following the 4-1-1 method in which you don’t go to the hospital until your contractions are 4 minutes apart, with 1 minute duration, and you have been having them for an hour.  Long before I started feeling the contractions I decided that I was going to stay home as long as possible because I didn’t want to be one of those women that went into the hospital with false labor.  The Hubby and my mom were fast asleep and had no idea I was timing my contractions.

4:30 am: Although I wanted to let the hubby sleep as much as possible I asked him to call the hospital and ask if I could go in.  I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart and I wanted to make sure the hospital knew that I would probably be coming in later that day.  The hospital told me to wait it out another couple of hours.

6:30 am: I asked the Hubby to call the hospital again.  This time they told me to wait another hour.  I began to feel some pressure but nothing I couldn’t handle with a nice hot shower. I have to give credit to the countless classes we took beforehand because they really prepared me for all the contractions.  I knew exactly what I needed to do to relax and to tell you the truth the contractions weren’t too crazy.  At this point my contractions were averaging 4 minutes apart.

8:30 am: I told the Hubby to call the hospital and tell them I was on my way.  They asked me to wait it out longer but I got on the phone and explained to the lady that I was feeling a lot of pressure not pain. I knew it was time to go when the Hubby handed me a bowl of oatmeal and my hands began shaking. Off to the hospital we went!  I always thought going into labor was going to be this grandiose production but it wasn’t.  We already had everything packed in the car and I just simply walked down stair.  The Hubby did not speed like they do in the movies but instead he drove the speed-limit and attempted to tell me some lame jokes.  I’m not a mean wife but at this point in time I thought everything coming out of both him and my mom was lame. All I really wanted was some quiet time in the car before my grand performance.  Contractions were about 3 minutes apart at this point.

9:30 am: We got to the hospital about an hour later. No we don’t live an hour away but it took me a while to walk to the hospital triage.  I refused a wheelchair because I was feeling too much pressure. My mom stayed in the waiting room while we finished checking in. I remember very vividly answering the receptionist questions and signing my life away before they would allow me to go back into the triage. I was standing up leaning my head against the wall concentrating on the pain and breathing exercises as the receptionist inputed all my information into the computer.  The contractions were tolerable but the pressure I was feeling was becoming unbearable.

10:00 am: Good Lord about half an hour later we finally got a room in the triage.  We waited for a few minutes before a nurse walked, asked us some questions, and went on her way. We heard some commotion outside as the Hubby continued to tell me lame jokes.  (Honey, next time I’m in labor lay off the jokes!) A few minutes later the Hubby went outside to try to get me a doctor.

10:30 am: We realized that the commotion we heard earlier had to do with a lady that went into labor by herself.  Apparently this lady drove her son to school and then drove herself to the hospital while in active labor.  This was her fourth pregnancy so maybe she thought she was a professional.  When the nurse went in to ask her some questions she was already crowning.

10:45 am: Yay! A doctor finally went in to check up on me and told us I was dilated 3 centimeters.  The nurses all kept insisting that I should probably go on pain medication but I refused it all.

11:15 am: A few minutes after finally seeing a doctor I was moved into a birthing room and this time I took the wheelchair. We were told that in that room we could use our birthing ball, our meditation Cd’s, and the countless other things we could think of to relax and prepare for labor. A nurse walked in the room only to tell me that she would be back in an hour to check me.  Before she left the room I insisted she needed to check me because I felt I was ready to have my little Buttercup.  Since she couldn’t get an accurate blood pressure reading she finally agreed to check me and when she did she discovered that I was dilated 9 centimeters. Yes, folks you read that right within half an hour I had gone from 3 to 9 centimeters.

Holly smokes Batman this baby is coming.  Believe it or not they still didn’t believe me when I kept telling them this baby is coming now.  I began to feel so much pressure that I was encouraged to push when they were all setting up for my little Buttercup’s arrival.  The nurses were washing their hands, the Hubby ran to get my mom, and I lay there pushing without having anyone below to catch her if she came.  The doctor got there right before I gave my last push.  She came so fast and yet time slowed down completely for me. I remember so vividly the wonderful words of encouragement that the Hubby yelled in the air.  I remember looking up and seeing the cheesy smile the Hubby had on his face as he cut the umbilical cord. I remember seeing my mom praying in corner as I gave my last push and my little Buttercup cried out.  I remember seeing this little being come out of me and realizing that things would never be the same again.  I always thought I would be yelling or cursing like in the movies but none of that happened.  Everything was perfect! I pushed, she came like a bullet, she cried out, and we were instantly in love with her.  Sometimes I catch myself staring at her and can’t fantom how this little being was once inside me.

Now that I think about it I can’t wrap my brain around the idea that I had a baby.  I look at how fast she’s growing and yet I still can’t believe it. The things that she does nowadays amaze me but before I get too sentimental let me tell you about her birth story.

The Saturday before my little Buttercup was born the Hubby and I decided to go pick up my mom from the San Joaquin Valley.  My relative thought that I was a tad silly going to pick up my mom a couple of weeks before I was actually do but nonetheless I wanted her nearby.

The Monday before my little Buttercup was born I had a scheduled appointment with my OBGYN.  My mom went to the appointment with me and we were both able to hear my little Buttercup’s heart beat. I was so excited to hear the little washing machine noise coming from inside me one last time before her actual birth.  At that appointment the doctor informed me that I was dilated one centimeter and that the baby might come sooner than we anticipated.  That day the Hubby came home early from work because he had a cold and was going to be telecommuting the rest of the day.  When the Hubby finally took a break from working I told him that the doctor said my little Buttercup could be born at any minute.  The three of us were excited about the possibility of having the baby that night.

The Tuesday before my little Buttercup was born I began to get mild contractions. (I actually thought they were Braxton  Hicks contractions.) I didn’t think they were that bad and I continued going through my normal daily routine.  The Hubby was still under the weather so he continued telecommuting and after he was finished working we decided that it would be a good idea to have our car seat looked at by a professional.  We took our car seat to the local police department and we were impressed with the knowledge they equipped us with.  Not only did they tell us all about the safety requirements of our specific model but they showed us different methods of installing it in both of our cars.  When the Hubby was practicing installing the car seat I kept getting contractions and I thought to myself what a better place to go into labor, police escort anyone?  The officer joked and asked me politely not to go into labor.