So even though Molly was born early Thursday morning (at 1:49), I have to back up to Tuesday.
We spent the morning next door at the Henninger's home for a Thanksgiving playgroup party. The boys had a blast playing and sampling all of the Thanksgiving treats. Mima and Grandma came along, as well. Later that afternoon Brian and I got to enjoy a "last date" for awhile at Chicken Salad Chick for a very late lunch. Super yummmm!!! My friend Carla also met us there to drop off Molly's dress that she had just finished. Around that time the contractions hit...not just Braxton Hicks, but the real ones...the ones that if they continued, then I knew it was the real deal. The ones that make you have to stop what you're doing and just breathe and squeeze Brian's hand really tightly. We stopped by Walmart on the way home to pick up a few things, and I had few more really good ones while we were there. Once we got home, however, they slowed down. I ended up skipping dinner that night because I was still full from lunch. I got the kids down for bed and busied myself with household chores for the remainder of the night. Around 9:30 pm, those contractions picked back up, but I continued to keep myself busy until going to bed around 11. By that time, they were consistently 10 minutes apart. I went to bed assuming they would probably go away.
They didn't. I go NO SLEEP the entire night because how in the world can you sleep with super intense contractions every 10 minutes??? I did a couple loads of laundry around 3 am, folded some clothes, tried to sleep...but of course I couldn't. By 5 I had had enough and went ahead and took my shower for the day. And wouldn't you know they slowed down to 15-20 minutes apart???!!!!
So all day on Wednesday my contractions were 15-20 minutes apart. I tried to go about normally all day, although I was paranoid about eating anything. I was afraid my contractions would pick back up, and I knew I did not want to go to the hospital with a full stomach. (I almost threw up with Oliver the more intense the contractions got). So I didn't eat. All day. except for a few ritz crackers. (I also hadn't eaten dinner the night before).
We spent the majority of the day in the backyard. It was beautiful and a good way to help keep my mind off the contractions. The boys found a gigantic bone in the backyard; they drew pictures; Grandma read a good chunk of The Hobbit to them. (If they have it read by the first week in December, they get to dress up and attend a "Second Breakfast" at the school, as well as free movie tickets to see it when it comes out...they are so excited!!!).
By the time Brian got home around 5, they were back down to 8-10 minutes apart, and I had had enough. After laboring all night and all day with not much hope, I was ready to get things moving. So we went for a walk around the neighborhood. A very brisk walk for me, while Brian and Judy walked behind. Very quickly, my contractions moved to 5 minutes apart. I kept walking, trying to keep my mind off the contractions by admiring the autumn colored leaves in the trees of my neighborhood. We got back home, and they moved back to 8-10 minutes apart. And then for the next 5 hours, they were all over the place...anywhere from 5-13 minutes apart, but getting even more intense that I was miserable. And exhausted...physically and emotionally. And hungry. I just knew I could not spend another night like I had on Tuesday night. This was getting ridiculous!!! Remember, this is #6!!!! I was sooo expecting this to be my quickest labor, and with Oliver's being so fast, I thought for sure she would come even faster! WRONG!!!
By 10 pm I had had a few contractions that were 4 minutes apart, but then it would be another 8 minutes before I had another one. But I was dying!! Finally, I told myself that if I had 2 in a row that were 4 minutes apart, then we were going to the hospital. I didn't care what happened after that...I was that desperate. So that's what happened...by 10:30 we were loading up the car and heading to the hospital. Judy and my mom were minutes behind us, so they could be waiting in the waiting room (even though I told them there was no rush...who knew how much longer this was going to go on), and Papa held down the fort at home with sleeping boys.
When we finally got checked in and settled into the labor/delivery room, the nurse checked me to see how far along I was....and after many tries, she could not find my cervix??!!!! What???? My first thought was don't you dare tell me I'm not dilated after 24 hours of misery!! So she called in another nurse to check who immediately found it and said it was just posterior, which is really common among women who have had a lot of babies. She also said I was dilated easily to a 6. Even though it would have been nice to have been a little further along after all those hours, I was honestly relieved to hear that I was actually dilated.
They asked me if I wanted an epidural, and I said no. After many traumatic experiences with epidurals not working in the past...the worst one with Oliver, I had decided not to get one this time. And honestly, the fear of getting one far outweighed the fear of not getting one. So I stuck with my decision and labored through. I was able to walk around which helped a ton. For the next couple of hours, I have no idea of what happened at what time. The clock was not even on my radar...I was just trying to get through those horrific contractions. Eventually the pressure got so great that when they checked me again, I was close enough to pushing that I wasn't allowed to walk around anymore. And the fun really began. :)
Unfortunately, Dr. Phillips was not able to be there...a promise to his kids to take them hunting early Thanksgiving morning...it just didn't work out. However, Dr. Griggs (who was actually on call and delivered Hudson) was on call that night. He did an amazing job talking me though the whole process, which helped me so much. I'm not sure I would have been able to do it without his guidance.
The amount of pressure I felt and the desire to push (but the nurses and Dr. Griggs telling me not yet) was so great, I could barely stand it. Getting through those contractions and not being allowed to push was definitely the hardest thing I've ever experienced. Ok, so maybe the actually pushing her out was just as painful. Finally, when they gave me the go ahead to push during a contraction, her head was halfway out when my contraction stopped. So I literally had to stop pushing with her head stuck until the next contraction. I can't even begin to explain the torture. In the long run, however, I think that is what saved me from tearing or having to be cut (which has never been the case with any of my other boys), and the fact that she only weighed 6.5 could have had a lot to do with it, too. :)
Oh. Wow. Only by the grace of God was I able to give birth naturally. And I'm so thankful I did. Easier recovery in every way! But probably mostly thanks to no stitches this time.
As painful and as hard as it was...I really thought I was going to die...I wish I had done it this way all along. With all my boys. But a good way to end. :) Seeing that precious little bundle of GIRL made it so worth it in every way. And praise the Lord she was as healthy as could be. An adorable little doll. Already so loved and so prayed for.
Oh, and remember how I had had nothing to eat since my lunch date with Brian on Tuesday?? So around 2:30 am on Thursday after they had taken Molly away to get her weighed and bathed, I asked the nurse if she could find anything for me to eat, and she came back with a bowl of Fruit Loops and a couple packages of graham crackers and a little tub of peanut butter.
Best. Meal. Ever.
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