Jack’s due date was June 15, 2015, and he made it to 40 weeks.
I went to my doctor’s appointment at 4 pm. I had felt mild contractions off and on during the day which I hoped meant something had changed, but no luck. We scheduled an induction date as a back up plan because I had said I was willing to go 41 weeks, and the only day available was Wednesday, June 24 – 2 days past 41 weeks! I was so ready for Jack to come and so disappointed that he wasn’t ready yet.
Our next door neighbors had offered to take us out to dinner Monday night and since there was no baby coming we were able to keep those plans. We got home from dinner after 7, put the girls to bed, and were just watching tv on couch. About 9:40 pm, I realized I was having contractions every 5 minutes (clearly I’m a little slow). After timing them for awhile, I told Scott, then we waited a little longer and called his mom to come over and called the hospital to get the on call doctor which was my personal OBGYN whom I had seen at 4 pm that same day. My OBGYN seemed a little confused that I was calling and maybe even doubtful that I was in labor. She told me to go ahead and go to the hospital and they would observe me and if there were any changes I would be admitted.
Scott’s mom showed up a little before 11 pm and we took off for the hospital. (My car had been packed with mine and Jack’s bags for a month, so we were set.) We arrived around 11:20. My contractions were still coming regularly, getting a little stronger, and not that great to endure on a bumpy road. We got settled in a room and the nurse checked me and said I was at 5 cm which meant I got to stay because I was 3 cm earlier in the day – hooray!
About that time, the nurse asked me about an epidural. I declined the epidural. I told her that I wasn’t ruling it out, but I wanted to try without one. I just wanted to wait and see. My mom had told me it wasn’t that bad, and she had 7 kids so surely she knew what she was talking about. During each contraction, I would watch the monitor and remind myself that each contraction would end. I was doing good until 1:30-2 am, and then I almost loss my reserve.(Once I accidentally stood up during a contraction which I found out was a bad idea.)
My contractions were getting pretty intense and very close together; I moved from using the birthing ball back to my bed. I was an 8 and it was time to call the doctor and time to decide on that epidural. The nurse called the doctor to give me time to think about whether or not I was going to keep trying natural. When she came back, my legs were shaking and I was for sure I was having a panic attack or losing my mind, but no the nurse said, “Oh good, that means you’re almost complete.” So I told myself – almost complete, almost done, I can make it. And then I watched the clock as I desperately waited for my doctor to get there and tell me I could start pushing.
The doctor showed up around 2:30 am, Tuesday, June 16 and pretty soon after her arrival another nurse came to help and it was time to start pushing. They just told me I would feel a lot of pressure and that’s all I really remember. Maybe your adrenaline kicks in because you know you are about to meet your baby and the faster he comes out the faster you’re done – that’s what I kept thinking, “I’m almost done.”
Scott’s says that I pushed about 18 minutes. I don’t really know. I just pushed every time the nurses and doctor told me to – one nurse counted to 10 and another kept eye contact with me which was surprisingly helpful and everyone present was encouraging. Scott stayed up by my head. And then, miraculously at 2:53 am on June 16, 2015 Jack Henry McClellan was born. He weighed 8 pounds 4 ounces and was 21 and 1/2 inches long.
Jack’s first video from Scott McClellan on Vimeo.
I think we may have gotten a 30 minute power nap before shift change, meeting new nurses, and coordinating when the girls would come up. It was a long day, but a great day. And now that I’ve experienced natural child birth, I’m good.
PS – My mom sent me this funny meme and yeah, I like it. Scott said it’s very true of me, ha. 🙂