After the ultrasound Shannon and I came home where I spent the afternoon lounging on the couch. Jeremy had plans to go to a show in San Francisco with Kenny so Shannon and I decided to indulge in a carb loading spaghetti dinner in anticipation of labor (positive thinking). While Shan was making dinner I became aware that my pants were wet. I thought, "oh great, another side affect of the pregnancy--I have lost all bladder control!" For the next couple of hours I changed my pants often.
After dinner and about 40 minutes into our movie I decided I needed to consult with "What to Expect When You're Expecting". I had a feeling that I really shouldn't be changing my pants this often and I wanted a good description of what the whole water breaking thing felt like. After reading that the water doesn't always break in a "swoosh" and can sometimes just trickle out I thought I better call the doctor. The on-call doctor said it sounded like my water had broke/was leaking and advised me to come into the hospital to get checked out. After I hung up the phone and told Shannon we had to go to the hospital she went into panic mode while I called Jeremy. He and Kenny hadn't even made it to the show yet so they were going to leave the city right away and meet us at the hospital. Next I called Gary and Tobey who had the farthest to travel and then my Mom and Brother.
I figured this was the real deal so I better make sure I had my hospital bag and all the cameras packed too. While I was calmly going through my list to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything Shannon was following me around repeatedly asking questions like, "Can I take your bag?" and "Who do we need to call?". Each time I would answer, "No, I'm still gathering my toiletries" or "Nobody. I've called everyone." Then a few seconds would pass and she would ask the same questions again. She paced frantically and looked nervous. I knew I was moving slow, but I also knew we had time.
When we walked out to the car I was surprised to find that it was running. It wasn't like the car needed to be warmed up and I didn't really see it as a time saving move so it struck me as very funny. As I got in the car I leaned over to close the door and swoosh, a big flow of water came out and wet my pants. My first instinct was to run back to the house and change. Shannon wasn't having it so she began to back the car out of the driveway. I was wearing heavy cotton sweat pants and i didn't know if I'd be stuck wearing them for a long time so I pleaded for her to stop the car so I could change. I knew a fresh pair would make me feel better and I promised to be fast. She refused and kept backing up so in a desperate move I flung open the door which scared her to death. However, the new dry pants did make me happy.
The drive to the hospital was a little sketchy. Shannon was tense, overly cautious and seemed oblivious to the general rules of the road. I was relieved when we pulled into the parking lot, but fearful that she would be unable to park without taking out some innocent bystanders. As I eagerly stepped out of the car there was a sudden swoosh as though someone threw a bucket of water at my legs. I was completely shell-shocked as Jeremy and Kenny approached us. Undeniably, unquestionably my water had broke. As Jeremy and Shannon escorted me into the hospital the guard only had to take one look at me before uttering, "4th floor." So much for my new dry pants.
Unfortunately, before we could officially check in they needed to make sure that my water had indeed broken. Given my current status it seemed like a silly formality but we had to follow procedure. I was given an ugly gown and some goofy slippers and hooked up to a baby monitor in a holding area. It was no surprise to find that my water did break and I was definitely in labor. Contractions came out of nowhere and they sucked. After about an hour I was taken to my private delivery room where I began to go into hard and fast labor. I was shocked by the contractions and their unrelenting intensity. They were coming so close together that I had absolutely no time for recovery. I started to feel a little betrayed by my child birthing class and all my stupid books. Where was my opportunity to get my bearings? to breathe? to walk? to bounce? to stretch? to just get on top of the pain? It was continuous. It seemed as though I would be having this baby soon and we began to wonder if I was going to make it midnight and his official due date.
Tobey managed to catch the last plane out of Orange County and miraculously was the first to arrive. My Mom and Brother arrived shortly thereafter. Since I was only allowed four people in the labor room Mark sat in the waiting room.
The pain was debilitating and began to make me feel nauseous. I went to the restroom a couple of times thinking I was going to throw up. Eventually as I sat back in bed I began to throw up uncontrollably. I remember thinking, "oh great, there goes my dinner and all my carb loading energy." After that I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything except ice chips so I began to feel weak and exhausted. I was tired and the one substantial meal that I'd had that day was now purged from my system. I worried that if I didn't get a break or a nap or something I wouldn't have the stamina to go on much longer. It was shortly after 1am that I found out that I was only dilated at 2cm. The news was crushing because I already felt too weak to carry on. It was at that point that I told Jeremy that I needed the epidural. It wasn't what either of us imagined, but I was exhausted and needed a break and it was obvious that the contractions were not going to space themselves out. Once I said "go" the epidural happened fast. It was uncomfortable, but not horrible. Jeremy said he could literally see the wave of relief wash over my face as soon as it hit me. While I could still feel the contractions they were mild. I was so tired and I knew that I could finally sleep if given the chance so we sent the family home to rest. Although anti-climatic given the speed and intensity of the contractions and our earlier concerns about making it to midnight, rest was the best thing for everyone.
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