As Thomas was getting larger and larger, and I was getting crankier and crankier, Dr. Cook decided that inducing would be a good idea.  So Friday, we were scheduled to go to the   hospital Sunday night, if nothing happened before. We told only our parents, as we did not want everyone to be calling, checking up on us, and expecting updates.  That, and we didn’t want to invalidate the pool that my lab had organized.  
 
The weekend was calm, of course. On Sunday we decided to take pre-birth family pictures with all the birds.  That was quite a challenge.  Our friend Jennifer had made a big pot of her delicious bean soup as well as a yummy apple pie, so I ate a whole bunch of that in anticipation of not being able to eat for a while.

Sunday evening, we packed up and headed to Hermann Hospital. It was quite exciting, but odd when we remembered that this was the last time it would be just the two of us in the apartment.  

When we were checking in, we waited with another couple, who were also being induced.  They were having their second child with Dr. Cook and were also induced with their first, and said that everything was wonderful and they had no regrets.

The rooms at Hermann are huge and beautiful, although Joe didn’t think the window seats were very comfortable to sleep on.  At 11 p.m. the night shift nurse administered the cervical prostaglandin gel, which is supposed to prepare the cervix for the pitocin, which I would receive at 6 a.m.  I only had until midnight to eat, so I quickly ate the apple I had brought.  Although the cervix was well effaced, it was not dilated at all.

I didn’t sleep much.  Joe tried his best on the window seat, with little success.  At about 2 a.m. I started having some small contractions and at 2:30 my water broke.  The nurse seemed rather amazed and had to get a resident to confirm.  Apparently the prostaglandin kick-started my labor.  At this point the contractions started getting a bit more uncomfortable, but I was still only 2 cm dilated.

At 6 a.m., they came in to administer the pitocin.  Although the nurse thought I was 4 cm dilated, she was corrected by a resident who, to our disappointment, said I was only 2.5 cm.  Immediately after the pitocin started, the contractions started getting stronger and stronger.  Within a half-hour, I was in incredible pain and could barely catch my breath between contractions.  I had been dead set against I.V. drugs, but when the nurse told me I could not get an epidural until I was at least 4 cm dilated, I caved in.  I asked for a low dose of drug that would just take the edge off.  Unfortunately, we never really saw that nurse again. Fortunately, we got a better nurse with the day shift.  

Kristy was incredible! She is an R.N. that is going to school to get her midwife certification, so she was very knowledgeable about alternate methods.  She knew that I would regret it if I got I.V. drugs, particularly since breastfeeding a drugged baby is difficult, and feeding Thomas as soon as possible was very important to me.  So she tried putting me in some different positions.  But I was in so much pain that even moving during a contraction was enough to make me feel faint.  She eventually called Dr. Cook to request an epidural, even though I was still only 2.5cm dilated.

By the time the anesthesiologist and his assistant came in to give me the epidural at 9 a.m. I was in so much pain I could hardly answer his questions.  They sent Joe out of the room and they had me sit up, which was difficult.  Kristy was very good at soothing me during the contractions, but the scraping in my vertebrae wasn’t helping.  After an hour of painful, failed attempts to insert the catheter, I was feeling nauseous and faint.  I told them I had to lie down and did so, against the anesthesiologists’ wishes.  I immediately threw up several times, which Dr. Cook arrived just in time to see.  He was very happy about it and declared that it was a sign that things were moving along as expected.  They tried one more time with the epidural, this time with me lying down, and they got it immediately, thankfully.

I could never explain in words how much better I felt when the epidural kicked in.  I was able to relax and enjoy the whole process so much better!  Apparently the relaxing also help my cervix progress, because an hour after the epidural, Kristy told me that I was 5 cm dilated already!  My mother arrived at this point, and it was wonderful to have her and Joe there to share this time.  They were also good entertainment.  Joe’s mom called to see when she should drive down to the hospital and I told her to take her time, since I was just at 5 cm and it could be several hours until I even start to deliver the baby.  

So at this point I was very relaxed, and enjoying my company, catching a nap or two, when I started feeling an odd sensation, as if Thomas just dropped even further down.  I was trying to figure out what was going on and wondering if I should buzz Kristy when she walked in.  She wanted to check me, since the monitor was indicating a change in the contractions.  We were quite surprised to find that I was already at ten centimeters and ready to push.  Needless to say we were a little freaked.

I frantically called Cecelia back, to tell her to come immediately, but she wasn’t there.  My mother left the room and Kristy asked me to push a little.  She did a great job of directing me to try a few different feet positions until I found one that worked with the numbness in my legs.  Her and Joe were wonderful to have in the room; it was very comforting to look over and see Joe, as nervous as he looked.  Although pushing is incredibly hard work -- it’s like doing continuous abdominal crunches – time seemed to pass rather quickly.  It took about an hour, and when Dr. Cook came in, I knew we were almost done.  He was cool and calm and his light banter was just what I needed for encouragement. He caught Thomas and wanted me to pull the boy up and onto my belly.  But the baby was so slimy and bloody and stinky that it took me a few moments (“Ewww, he’s gross. And he stinks!”) before I would take him, to Dr. Cook’s amusement.  But he did fail to convince Joe to cut the cord.  

Thomas was crying softly before he was even out, and once they wiped the worst of the mess off him as he lay on my belly, I was quite taken with him.  He was quite handsome right from the start, particularly for a newborn, and I would think it was just my motherly love, except that everyone that saw him kept saying so, too.  I was able to get him to breastfeed right away, and it wasn’t long before he was sleeping in my arms.  For a baby with such a big head, he really didn’t have too much cone-headedness, and his pudgy cheeks and almond-shaped eyes were so entrancing.  His hair was very dark and, although short, it was very curly until it dried.

Kristy showed me the placenta when she was cleaning up and it really is an impressive organ!  But not as impressive as Thomas’s first meconium, which he had as a present for the nurse that gave him his assessment and bath.  And not as impressive as my appetite.  I don’t think I ever remember being as hungry as I did after that birth.  Kristy took good care of me, though, and it wasn’t long before both of us were fed.

Now the specifications:
LABOR: Stage I was 4 hours, 5 minutes.  Stage II was one hour, 17 minutes.  Stage III was 5 minutes.
I was 10 centimeters at 11:05, and Thomas was born at 12:22.

THOMAS: His cry was listed as “lusty”; APGAR was 8, 9 (he got points off for color).  
Head circumference: 35cm (82%), Weight: 8lbs13oz (>95%), Length: 20 inches (82%)
The peditrician exam the morning after noted that he was quiet, pink, with a normal response to the exam.  The doctor said he was “super duper”.

Cecelia finally got to meet her grandson at 4 p.m.  She had been on a terrible adventure, wandering around the hospital, due to all sorts of bad directions.  But she eventually made it and it was wonderful to have both grandmothers there to delight in Thomas.

The most delightful times, however, were at night, when it was just Thomas and I.  I remember at one point looking over at him in his bassinet and just feeling so overwhelmed with love for him.  It was the very moment I just fell for him.  I think my milk came in about the same time – must have been the hormones.  The mornings were very nice, too.  The sun shone into my window, so I would hold Thomas and watch the sunrise.  And wait eagerly for my breakfast.  The food there was quite delicious, for a hospital.

Wednesday Joe brought the two of us home.  It was quite a mess trying to get everything together and figuring out the baby seat.  I had a huge bag of stuff that I never even used, but I dutifully packed everything they said to bring in the books.  It was pretty pointless.

It was nice to finally be home.  It was extra-clean, thanks to my mother, and decorated, thanks to Geoff and Marcela.  For the rest of the week, Joe and I were able to relax and practice being parents.  

The whole birth was definitely not what I expected for the most part. First of all, there is so much that the books don’t tell you.  And secondly, I really didn’t worry as much as I thought I would. Once Thomas was here, I guess instinct kicked in.  And I cannot describe how impressive and overpowering the whole instinct thing is.  Since he was born, I have not worried about being a mother – I have just subconsciously accepted it as a fact.  And although I know it’s ridiculous, I find myself feeling terribly territorial about him, and oddly perturbed when other people comfort him and manage to stop him from crying.  Not so much with Joe, strangely enough, just anyone who is not Thomas’s parent.  Completely irrational, I suppose, but that’s instinct for you.

If I had know the kind of primitive joy and satisfaction Thomas has brought with him, I would have been even more impatient and cranky during my pregnancy.  And I can’t imagine feeling this sort of love for another little person, although I know people successfully love more than one child at a time.  It’s just so completely encompassing with him, and it fascinates me.  There is no other experience that has fulfilled me more than loving and caring for this boy.