Evicted...

The Josie Smith story (so far)

So it's been about a week since I had Josie and I am so grateful every day that she is finally a part of our family. Here's how she made her entrance:

**This may be a little long, though I'm going to try to hit only the highlights. You've been warned.**

Thursday, April 16th - I get a massage and right afterward we all go on a long walk (I was getting desperate). On our way home, I notice that I'm starting to have a few contractions. I'm excited but we've had SEVERAL false alarms with this pregnancy so I'm trying not to get my hopes up.

Friday morning, April 17th - The contractions lasted all night long but weren't regular and never got any worse. I chalk it up to another false alarm and take the boys to our regular Friday playgroup. At the playgroup I notice that I'm still contracting, but again, I'm not getting too excited about it because they don't really hurt - they are just annoying.

12:30ish - We get home from playgroup. I am starting to time my contractions, but they aren't regular yet. They are starting to get slightly more uncomfortable, but I still think it's going to be another fakeout.

2:30 - I'm on my way to get a pedicure and I notice that my contractions are starting to come closer and a little harder. They are starting to hurt a bit. I consider cancelling my pedicure, but since I'm still convinced it's going to be another fake-out I keep the appointment.

4:00 - I had been timing my contractions during the pedi - a consistent 7 minutes apart and starting to hurt. On my way home I call my doctor's office. I'm told to wait until they're 5 minutes apart and then head over to the hospital. I get home and tell Justin that we're probably going to the hospital tonight. We call our good friends Missy and Enoch and put them on stand-by.

5:30 - My contractions are now about 4 minutes apart and starting to hurt. We leave for the hospital.

6:00 - I get up to labor and delivery. I'm checked and told that I'm dilated to a 4 and about 60% effaced. They aren't sure that I'm really in labor (because my water hasn't broken yet) and they aren't sure they're going to admit me. My doctor (the resident) tells me he'll be back in A COUPLE OF HOURS to check on me again and then they'll make the decision on whether I'm really in labor or not! I tell my doctor that my past experience has proven that this is going to happen FAST and I don't have a couple of hours to wait. He needs to admit me and get me my stinking epidural (I'm a beligerant laborer). He tells me that third children can be tricky and he'll be back in a couple of hours (I mean, it's not like I know my own body or anything, right).

6:30 - 7:00ish - I am starting to get really mean to my sweet nurse. She was great - the only one (besides Justin) who really believed that I was in labor and was going to be admitted. She just kept on talking to me and touching me through my contractions. Why do they do that!?! I keep yelling that I need my epidural and that SOMEONE needs to get the doctor back up here to check me again - and I NEED MY EPIDURAL!!!!!

7:00ish - My poor nurse takes pity on me and goes to get me an anesthesia consult (even though I'm not technically admitted yet). This way, when they DO admit me, I can get my epidural right away. (My doctor still hasn't come back yet.) The anesthesiologist comes in and I immediately fall in love. He wants to give me my epidural. He goes through his little speech about epidurals and what can go wrong and all that. I keep thinking, 'I don't care - if the epidural doesn't kill me - these contractions will.' He then needs to ask me questions that I can't answer because I hurt too much. Justin answers them for me. Then he leaves, but only for a minute (oh how I loved him).

7:30ish - Resident doctor comes back in to check me. I'm now a 7 and I don't remember how effaced, but I do know that they've FINALLY decided to admit me!!!!! Hooray!

7:45-8:00ish - Right after the decision to admit me is made, my anesthesiologist Matt (who I really do love with all my heart) gives me the mother of all epidurals. He tells me that it will take about 30 minutes to be effective and I want to cry - I know in my heart that I don't have 30 minutes. So, because Matt is awesome, he gave me a spinal block in addition to my epidural. He tells me that it should kick in almost instantly. He then gives me the lovely button that I am allowed to push to increase my drugs. I immediately start pushing that button for all it's worth.

8:00ish - I realize that, no matter how often I push the button, my epidural ISN'T WORKING!! Matt tells me that he was afraid of that. He tells me that I was so progressed by the time my epidural was administered he didn't really think it would work properly. He hoped that it was taking the edge off though (jury's still out on that one - I'm not sure it did anything). I immediately start hating the resident doctor for not admitting me right away like I had asked.

8:15ish - My water still hasn't broken and everyone - my doctor, Justin, the resident, my nurse, and the anesthesiologist - is just standing around chatting while I am in excruciating pain. Lovely. I ask why they are all just standing around and I'm told that my water hasn't broken yet (duh). They don't want to break it for me. Shortly after this (I mean seconds later) SOMETHING FELL OUT OF ME!!! Honestly - fell out. I freak out and ask someone to check and see what that was. It was my amniotic sack. My water never broke - it just fell out. Gross but true! Everyone in the room is a little shocked by this - apparently it doesn't happen often.

I now ask if I am allowed to push - seeing as how stuff is now just falling out of my body. The resident tells me that they are waiting for me to be fully dialated. He then asks if I'd like to be checked (what makes you think that, Captain Obvious?) I say yes and they check me.

8:41ish - SHOCK - I'm fully dialated and am given the green light to push whenever I feel like it. I go ahead and give one 'test' push. She crowns. I give one more good push and everything comes out. I mean EVERYTHING - all at once. Head, body, placenta. It all came out at once. Justin told me that, when she came out, the cord was wrapped around her head once and he didn't even have time to pull it off of her when everything else came out.

Everyone in the room said they'd never seen anything like that before - from the amniotic sack just falling out to the head, body, and placenta all coming out at once. All told, it took less than two minutes to get her out. Nice. My epidural is working fine now. I feel all drugged and happy at this point (happy enough to apologize to my nurse and stop hating the resident).

So there you have it. The labor was rough. I've never been in so much pain in my life. I wish my epidural would have had time to work. I'm SOO not a fan of pain. The positive side - at least if was fast. I was only in horrible pain for about an hour and a half and then she came out. The delivery was amazing. I am so glad that my body was working with me to get Josie out. Evicted. That's what my body did to her. I'm very glad it did - it made things so much easier.

The moral of this story - when a pregnant woman says that she knows her body and that things will happen fast - people need to believe her and GET HER HER DRUGS!

We were only in the hospital for 24 hours before we were discharged - and it would have been faster but no one notified our pediatrician so we had to wait for that. However, before we left, Vanessa came and took some pictures. I think it's appropriate to add them here.





She's changed so much this week that she barely resembles these pictures anymore. The boys are finally feeling well enough to hold her and they are so in love with their new sister. I'm so happy that this is all behind us now and we are able to start adjusting to life as a family of 5!