I didn't wake up one morning with this extreme passion for pregnancy and birth. I was 2o years old, newly married, and excited about my job and decorating my new house. When we found out we were pregnant with Franklin, I carried my excitement for decorating over into a nursery for the new baby. On our date nights we would browse the aisles of The Baby Depot, and we looked forward to registering for all the many things we would need. We diligently did our research as we picked patterns and strollers, cribs and swings, high chairs and car seats.
No one I knew was pregnant. We were the first of our friends to have a baby. I had gotten glowing recommendations for an OB office in town from a lady at work, so that is where I went. Friendly nurses and caring doctors won me over quickly. Never once did I think to research my birth options. They were doctors trained in this sort of thing, they knew what they were doing!
We went on the tour of the hospital and were shown the beautiful rooms with hardwood floors and pretty upholstery. Many in the tour group were asking questions about visitors and policies. One mother asked when it would be too late for an epidural. She didn't want to arrive so late that she missed her chance. My ears perked up. After all, who would want to go through unnecessary pain? I made a mental note to make sure that I arrived in time!
Finally! 40 weeks was here...but Franklin was not. We tried all kinds of things to encourage him to come out: cod liver oil and orange juice (EEWWWWWW!! btw), eggplant parmesan, walking miles around the mall, and pineapple. Nothing worked! At my OB appointment that week they said it was time to schedule an induction. I remember asking if it was necessary and what the pros and cons were, but I don't remember hearing anything that I was opposed to. Basically, it would be dangerous to let him stay in there much longer. How could I argue with that?
Induction day came and we arrived at the hospital bright and early. Immediately I was hooked up to IVs delivering fluids and strapped to monitors. Labor hadn't even started and I was stuck in the bed. I asked permission to go to the bathroom, but even in that short amount of time the nurses were banging on the door telling me that I needed to get back into the bed and on the monitors. Pitocin was started and then came the contractions along with some pain. "Was I ready for my epidural?" the nurse asked. Of course I was, I surely didn't want to wait until it was too late, did I?
Foolishly, Frank and I kept asking the nurse how much longer it would be. She told us that most inductions were finished by 3:00, so we called our family with that update. Our pastor came to visit, and I passed the time sucking on hard candies, chewing ice, and reading a book. I was relatively comfortable and just waiting for something to happen. By 3:00 we realized that the baby would not be born any time soon. We began to become impatient.
Two full hours after the baby SHOULD have been born already I was told that it was time to push. Great! Frank steadied one leg and the nurse steadied the other. I couldn't feel a thing and had no idea what I was doing. After two pushes the nurse said, "keep it up!" and went to the doorway to continue discussing her recent beach vacation with her boyfriend with the other nurses in the hallway crowded around the door. We called her back a few times to ask what we were supposed to be doing. She was frustrated and told us to just watch the contraction monitor and push during the peaks. We really tried, but nothing seemed to be happening.
Finally, my OB came to check on my progress. She gave me 45 more minutes to push, then it was going to have to be a C-section. She suggested that the nurse help me push in a different position, then she left. They dropped down the bottom of the bed and helped me to sit up on the end. Of course, gravity helped a lot! Franklin was born 30 minutes later at 8:58pm.
While it was still an amazing miracle, and my entrance into motherhood, I still felt like something was missing from my birth experience.
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