Hadley's Birth Story: Part Three

I dimmed the lights and adjusted the bed, trying to get comfortable. I closed my eyes. But my mind was going a million miles an hour. My contractions were still picking up intensity. And Ed was still snoozing. I tried to get his attention, but the sleep-aid he had taken made him completely unconscious. I had resorted to watching the contraction monitor as it spit out the paper. Honestly, time goes by quickly when you are counting four minute spurts. It was obvious I wasn't going to sleep, so I found the remote and flipped through the channels.

While channel surfing, the contractions continued to pick up. At this point, my back labor was pretty severe and to top it off, the pain was finally making it's way all around to the front of my stomach. My contractions were only about a minute apart. I was getting no relief. I tossed and turned to try ease some of the pain. I discovered that if I laid on my side it felt better, but the contraction would not pick up on the monitor. That pissed me off. I was hurting and I wanted to see it on paper! I decided it was time for some relief.

At 2:30am, after an hour and a half of toughing it out, I buzzed the nurse. I told her I was tired of hurting and needed something for pain. As previously mentioned, I had not given IV pain medication much thought. When she came in, she announced that she had some Nubain. I asked her if it was going to make me "crazy." She said that it would probably make me feel pretty loopy. But at this point, I really didn't care.

I also took this opportunity to ask when I could have my epidural. She said that once I got through my bag of fluids, I would be able to get one. I think she could tell that I was a little disappointed with that answer. I had only gone through half of a bag. So, she cranked up the bag I was working on and added a second so it would go double time! About the time I began to feel the effects of the Nubain, my Mom called to check in again. I told her about my contractions. She said she was going to come on down to the Hospital. I still thought it was a little early, but of course, it is always nice to have your Mom when you are hurting.

I don't think that the Nubain really helped with the pain, it just made me not care as much. It was strange. I could barely keep my eyes open, but I was still hurting enough that I couldn't rest. My Mom arrived about the time the Nubain was beginning to wear off. At around 4am, the IV machine went off stating that I was finished with fluids. At this point, I was feeling the full blown contractions coming every minute. I buzzed the nurse to share the good news! She came in to check me. I was at 4cm. Progress! Good thing. I probably would have died if I hadn't changed at all.

She told me she would have someone on the way with my epidural as soon as possible. The pain was getting pretty intense. I had even resorted to the huffing and puffing during each contraction. Up until now, I was handling things pretty well. But these contractions hurt. And the fact they were only a minute apart didn't help. I remember the nurse saying that I was contracting like a "freight train." I began getting the shakes. I couldn't control it. I guess it was my body's automatic response to the pain....

To Read Part Four, Click Here