A Birthday Story, Part Two

To read Part 1, click here.

******************

After the epidural, both Dave and I were able to lay down and get some rest. I don’t remember exactly how long we slept but it had probably been a couple of hours when the shifts changed and a new nurse came in.

This one was all business. She checked me, clapped her hands, and said, “Ok. Let’s get things moving here.”

After a quick call to my doctor, she broke my water, and told me that she was able to tell from the color of the liquid that Lily had passed the meconium (the first stool) in the womb. This wasn’t unusual for a past due baby, but it meant that they were going to need to suction her lungs out after delivery, to make sure she hadn’t swallowed any of it.

The rest of the day mostly just involved a lot of resting and waiting. I mostly slept while Dave ate lunch, watched TV, and read a book.

The exact time is fuzzy, but probably somewhere around 3 p.m. our nurse came in with another nurse. She explained that Brinda (the new nurse) would be taking care of me while she went to assist the lady in the room next to me, who was apparently having twins. Brinda was a little less experienced with multiple births so she would stick with me.

More resting. More waiting.

And then, finally – I was at a 10. It was a little after 4:00 p.m. and it was time to push. Brinda walked me through the steps and off we went.

After about 15 minutes, I started to notice something. I was feeling things again. Like, pain. Major pain.

In between pushes I said, “I think my epidural stopped working.”

Sure enough, the little bag pumping the drug through my system was pretty much empty.

“It’s too late to give you any more…sorry.”

It wasn’t long before I was feeling the full force of the contractions, and my body was clearly not happy about it. I could feel myself shaking but it was like I couldn’t stop it and then I knew I was going to throw up…and I did, several times.

(I’m sorry. I probably should have warned you not to read this while you are eating.)

I think it was at this point that I looked at Dave in desperation and whispered, “I don’t think I can do this!”

After about 30 minutes of pushing total the nurse told me to stop. Lily was coming faster than she thought and the doctor wasn’t there yet. In fact, he was at another hospital and we had to wait for him to come.

The next 20 minutes felt like hours. They kept telling me to breath through my contractions when everything in me was practically screaming at me to PUSH! I was this close to saying, “Forget the doctor, you catch the baby!” when in strolled my doctor.

Two quick pushes and, at 5:06 p.m. on September 22, 2008, Lily was born. I can’t even begin to describe the feelings that washed over me in the moment, but if you’ve ever had a baby, you understand.

Relief and joy and amazement. Laughter and tears all mixed up as one.

Today she is two, and she’s every bit as precious to me now as she was then.

Would somebody pass me a tissue, please?