My beautiful baby boy, Robert Joseph, was born on July 12, 2004 via emergency c-section.
Despite gaining 40 pounds, I had a very healthy pregnancy. I quit smoking, had no complications, and even exercised a few times a week! I had all the normal pregnancy woes--acne, morning sickness, stretch marks, constipation, cramps, but nothing that was ever a cause for concern. I went about life with the hormonal ups and downs, and as much as I complained, looking back, it wasn't so bad.
On July 5, I used my lunch hour to go to my 38-week checkup. I was waddling into the doctor's office like any normal day. I remember it clearly. After my doc checked my cervix and we were done, he started going over my charts. He asked me how I felt about induction. My heart just started pounding. I asked him to explain everything involved. I have a very small frame and he was worried about the baby's size-he was already head-down, and I was dilated and 60% effaced. We decided at the end of our talk that if Bobby didn't arrive over the weekend, I'd be induced on Monday.
I started crying right there in the office. I could not believe that I would be a mom in a week! I was so happy and so scared. I stared at my belly as I walked out of the office to the elevator, just shaking and crying. I immediately called my husband to tell him the news and he called everyone else. My phone didn't stop ringing that day.
Bobby did not come over the weekend, so I went in at 6 a.m. Monday
morning for induction. I was put on Pitocin at 7 a.m., and my water broke shortly after. Then came the contractions? oh, those contractions! I had never felt pain like that before. My contractions were literally off the charts! I went in, open-minded to the idea of drugs, and decided on an epidural. (In my opinion, the epidural does not hurt nearly as bad as the contractions.)
I was dilated to 4 cm by 10 a.m., and we were just waiting. I remember watching "The Price is Right" with my husband, Bob, and we were laughing and excited. He kept me calm.
Bob is the kind of person who has to know how everything works. Earlier he questioned the nurse on all the machines and what they were for. He was even able to tell me when I was having a bad contraction. "This one is off the charts," he'd say. My response was "I KNOW!" (The epidural came shortly after)
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