I had been dilated to 3cm since 36 weeks and wasn't really progressing - so while it was comforting to know that I had made so much progress early on (without any pain!), it was still frustrating to know that I wasn't progressing faster (in my mind, I wanted to deliver once I was term at 37 weeks and he would be healthy!). I went to the Dr. on Thursday, 2/23 - at which time she told me I was dilated to 4cm! Great news! She told me she thought I would have it that weekend - and she was even on call. She did a minor "procedure" to help potentially spur contractions, and that night I started having contractions at home. We timed them for about 2 hours, 10 minutes apart...then nothing. We went to bed just knowing it would happen, but not knowing when!
I spent most of Friday walking around the mall, in circles. While it was exhausting to be out on my feet so much, I certainly couldn't just sit at home! Saturday morning was the first time Andy and I had a "free" day in literally 8 months - no plans, no responsibility - just the opportunity to do whatever we wanted! It was such a blessed day and much needed for both of us. We made breakfast, Andy cleaned up a bit outside the house, and then we went to go shopping! I told Andy I needed to keep walking...and the mall was obviously the best choice. :) I ended up getting a new purse out of the deal to help band-aid my longing for the baby to be here - which certainly temporarily fulfilled that need! We decided to go grab some burgers for lunch at about 2pm - and I ordered jalapenos on my fries to help with the spicy food to kick-start labor! During lunch I started having contractions again 5 minutes apart. I told Andy after about 25 minutes, and we laughed about how great his timing would be if it really happened that afternoon. We got to spend time together and enjoy a leisurely day first! We went home from the restaurant, and it had been about an hour and a half at that point.
I wasn't yet ready to go to the hospital because honestly the contractions didn't hurt THAT bad. I kept telling Andy I expected it to be worse. But they were getting closer and lasting longer - about 3-5 minutes apart and at this point, 2 hours. I told him after another half hour if they weren't subsiding, we'd go in. Because we knew I was at a 4, we didn't want to risk NOT making it there and would prefer to be turned away than to have a baby at home! So we started to pack our bags, which felt really surreal. On the way to the hospital my contractions intensified - a LOT. At that point, I felt really great about going in. We went in and I told the desk "Umm...I think I'm in labor?" A very Ron Burgundy moment. They put me in a room to check me out and confirmed I was at 4cm still but my Dr. wanted to monitor me for an hour prior to admitting me. This started at about 5pm - so my contractions had been 3 hours at that point. After an hour (and contractions that drove me to tears -- starting to feel like what I was expecting at this point!) I was maybe at 4.5cm, but the Dr. wanted to keep me. I was both nervous and excited - I didn't want any medical intervention for the baby to come...but couldn't imagine going home in the pain I was in! So off to L&D we went.
Once in the room, I got my epidural pretty fast. This was at about 8pm, and I was dilated to almost 6cm. I texted my brother to tell him that what he does is brilliant. It's always been cool that he is an anesthesiologist - but the relief that came with the epidural was unreal and much needed. My labor experience now shifted from tears and stress to the most peaceful and relaxed time. For the next few hours Andy and I just tried to rest, watched TV, and hung out together. My Dr. came in to check on me and broke my waters at about 9pm, and then the waiting game began. Our families both arrived from OK at about 11pm -- my mom told Fischer now that they were here, he could make his grand entrance. Really at that point things started to pick up! I was progressing pretty quickly and things were looking great. I REALLY wanted to avoid pitocin, and so did my Dr, which I really appreciated. She let us ride it out a bit and it worked! At nearly 2am, I was at a 10 and fully effaced - ready to go. My Dr. came back to the hospital and the pushing got started fairly quickly. I am still amazed at the ease of this experience (thanks again, epidural!) - I only pushed through 4 contractions (4 pushes each) and our miracle arrived. In between the contractions I would talk to the Dr. and my amazing L&D nurse, and even laughed about awkward family photos and some youtube videos going around. It was such a perfect experience for us all.
Fischer arrived at 2:44am. He immediately was put on my chest and as cliche as it sounds, my world changed. I instantly felt beyond blessed to get to be the mom for this perfect boy. I kept looking back and forth between Andy & Fischer, shocked and amazed at how lucky we all were.
Now that I've documented all of that -- the first pictures:
Fischer Dean Brannon
Born 2/26/12 at 2:44am
7lbs 15 oz
20 inches
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