I will say the forty-five minutes of waiting for the epidural were probably the worst part of the whole deal. I have to give a big round of kudos to those who can pull it off naturally. I have wondered if the Cervidil really made a difference in the intensity, or if it would have been the same without it.
When the man with the goods finally came through the door, I could have jumped up and kissed him! The nurse said I could only have one person in the room while I was getting the epidural. My Mom stepped out, and Ed, who was finally back from the dead, came and stood in front of me. I don't think the man could have worked any faster, but it was still taking longer than I liked. He told me to be extremely still, and I did my best while contracting. For someone who is terrified of needles, I didn't give what he was doing a second thought. I felt the pinch and burn, but it was the best feeling I had had in a while. He was asking me if I was feeling certain things, but I couldn't focus on his words. I just wanted some relief.
He was almost finished when Ed asked if there was a reason why he was feeling nauseous. Flash back a few days: I had been joking with Ed that he was going to be one that hits the floor during delivery. I chuckled a little to myself when he asked that question. They pulled up a chair for him to sit in while they finished up. He told me he was going to start administering the medicine. Gradually, the intensity started to back off. My nurse was beside me chatting away and asking me various questions. I realize now she was watching to see my reaction with each contraction and trying to distract me. Each contraction was little easier to handle, until eventually, I couldn't feel them at all. It was phenomenal!
Once it was clear that my epidural was functioning properly, I had a catheter placed. No big deal. I couldn't feel a thing. The nurse then checked me again. I was at 5cm. More progress! It was about 5am. She said she would be back around 6:15am to check me again and call Mary with an update. I was just glad to be able to finally relax. I took this time to browse Facebook and chit chat with Mom and Ed. I think I probably commented on how amazing the epidural was about a thousand times. We had called my Dad and Grandparents shortly after I got the epidural just to check in and give an update. After the phone call, my Dad made his way to the hospital. Apparently, I was the only person still thinking this was going to take a while.
At around 6am, I started feeling a weird sensation. I have watched my share of "A Baby Story," and I knew that it was common the feel pressure once it was time to push. I joked that it felt like there was something between my legs. I just brushed it off because only an hour ago I had been 5cm. And besides, the nurse would be back in just a few minutes. So, I just kept laying there, patiently waiting. There was a small part of me that knew better....
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Yaaay! Exciting! LOL, Ed was finally back from the dead. Love it!
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