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Amy H's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 2/2/00 -------------------- 1/25/00 1/18/00 1/12/00 1/4/00 12/30/99 12/15/99 12/8/99 12/1/99 11/23/99 11/17/99 11/3/99 10/27/99 10/20/99 10/13/99 10/6/99 9/28/99 9/22/99 9/21/99 9/16/99 -------------------- Amy H's Introduction

January 25, 2000

Well, well, well. My Iain Raymond William Hatch has arrived. Let me tell you a little story about trusting your instincts!

I awoke at 6 a.m. on Tuesday 18 January with a contraction. I knew it was different from the intense BH's I had been having. Well, I got up to pee and some fluid leaked out. It didn't feel like the times when I had leaked pee, but it only just went through my undies so I wasn't sure if it was my bag-o-waters. I changed my undies and went back to bed but could still fee a tiny bit of leakage.

I had about five contractions an hour until 8 a.m. I went to the loo again and discovered light pink mucus on the tp. I went in and told Jon and, whoa, were we nervous. I was sorta in denial. I had become so convinced that I would deliver late.

Anyway, I had a doctor appointment at 10 a.m. so we waited 'til then to ask questions. He said I had gone up to 2-3 centimeters and that yes, my plug was coming out (it continued to all day). However, he said it didn't sound as if I had broken my water. But, he also said it was apparent that my "body was trying to do SOMEthing," and gave me the criteria to go by for going to the hospital.

So, Jon and I decided to walk the mall and Wal-Mart to see if we could get things really going. My contractions were irregular and about 12 minutes apart from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Then they started getting closer. As they got closer, they got harder. As they got harder, the weather got worse! You do not want to be in Virginia Beach when there is even the slightest bit of snow in the air. Ace! But, my contractions were so irregular that I was hesitant to go to the hospital. All this while I knew deep down that I would be delivering that night. When I realised they were averaging 4-5 minutes apart at close to 7 p.m., I told Jon.

Well, we had a dilemma. It was snowing out. Not a big deal? It is when you live in Virginia Beach and people don't know how to drive in the snow. My dad called on his way home from the airport -- it took TWO HOURS FOR HIM TO MAKE A 20-MINUTE TRIP! The hospital is 25 minutes away on a good day. So, Jon said let's go NOW and get there while we still can.

We drove 20 miles an hour the whole way and the roads were not only snowy but also icy. We passed five accidents on the way. We found out the next day that there had been almost 700 accidents in the area that night! It took an hour to get there! Meanwhile, my contractions were three minutes apart the whole way. I distracted myself during them by concentrating on relaxing my hands, neck, and shoulders and singing along to the radio. It worked pretty well.

We got to the hospital and were taken to an LD room. A nurse came in and gave me a gown. While I was in the bathroom she was asking Jon what all my symptoms were. Why she didn't ask ME I will never know. She was quite upset at us for coming, though, because if I wasn't in true labour she was going to have to send me home in the ice and snow. She checked me, and after a day of labour I WAS STILL 2 CENTIMETERS! The nurse was REALLY doubtful now but said she would monitor me for half an hour and then see how I was progressing. Did I mention she was rude and not nice? She acted like we were idiots and treated Jon like he was simply some guy who knocked me up. I really didn't like her. Well, my contractions got worse and worse and worse. I was crying and that eventually lead to screaming. Neither Jon nor I being in the proper frame of mind, we never called the nurse back in when she didn't show up a half hour later. Finally, I was in so much pain I called to ask if I could lay on my side. Someone on the other end of the speaker said I could. This didn't help at all. I was soon screaming, punching the rocking chair Jon sat in with my fist and had tears streaming down my face.

Finally the nurse showed up. "Gee, I heard screaming and thought maybe you might me in true labour. Let's check you." Folks, I went from 2 centimeters to 7 centimeters in one hour! And boy did it feel like it! Needless to say, all chaos broke out when the nurse realized how fast I was moving along. More nurses were called in, the doctor was fetched, IV's were inserted, and the epidural person was called.

It seems that while waiting for the doctor to get there, the nurse found I was now 8-9 centimeters and I was told that I COULDN'T HAVE AN EPIDURAL!!!! Jon says I started to cry and say, "No! No!" It was so pitiful. But then the doctor came and said that I was only 7-8 and could go ahead with the epidural. By the time the epiman arrived, tensions were worse between the nurse and my doctor (did I mention the nurse didn't like the doctor and rolled her eyes almost everytime the doctor said something. It was so unprofessional). Anyway, epiman arrived and said I needed to roll over onto my side. The minute he said it I was having the worst contraction yet and said I couldn't roll over. He said, "Well, do you want the epidural or not? You're going to have to roll over if you do." He was so mean. Criminy, I really couldn't roll over! I had no control over my body anymore. Jon was upset at how I was being treated by everyone but when everything is going so fast and you've never been through it before, it is just overwhelming.

I finally got rolled over after the epiman complained about something another nurse had done with his gloves. Then, just as he was cleaning my back to insert the needle, I realized I needed to push! Well, the nurse freaked out when I said that! She just looked shocked and said, "OK, well, then do you want to push or do you want the epidural?" I seriously just said I didn't know. I was so overwhelmed, and shaking due to being in transition and I just didn't know what to do. The nurse finally regained her composure and said since I wanted the epi we would just go with that since it was the original plan.

Epiman finally got the needle in and was impressed by how I didn't move the whole time. I'm telling you -- when you know relief is coming and you can focus on that you can do anything! Well, he got mean again when he told me to roll over to my back, chastising me that if I didn't, only my left leg would be numb. This whole time I am shaking so hard I am practically convulsing and keeping myself from pushing. I finally made it onto my back but was still feeling contractions. The doctor claimed that I was pushing, but the nurse said that my body was just doing it by itself. It was because I was totally focused on not pushing because my bottom wasn't numb yet.

Then, another nurse told me to push, and believe it or not, I pushed and felt NO CONTRACTION!!!! YIPPEE!!!! I did, however, still feel tremendous pressure as he was coming out. I did my first push, then my second and out popped his head! As Jon said at the time, "Christ! There's his head! Oh, my God!" Jon says he saw the doctor give me an episiotomy and that it was weird -- she just grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped and out came his head. She had to do it or I would have torn because he came out so fast. One more push and he was OUT OUT OUT!!!! Jon got worried because Iain was really blue but the doc reassured him he was fine. When it was over, the doctor said we were lucky she was already there delivering a baby because if she had been paged and told I was at 2 centimeters, she would have a waited too long to come in!

When I got to hold him I was amazed at how calm I was. All 7 pounds, 10 ounces and 20 inches of him. I called him Pumpkin. His hair blew me away! I was so unprepared for it! But he is so gorgeous and looks a lot like his Daddy :o) He has his daddy's nose and eyes, and fingers and toes for sure. We will have to wait awhile to see if there is any of me in there.

All in all, it is amazing to think that my epidural worked for all of four minutes and I basically did this whole thing naturally. I don't feel a sense of pride or anything. I totally do not want to do it natural again, although Jon says I am his hero :o) I just know that I should have trusted my gut that morning when I KNEW inside that I was going into labour. It turns out that I HAD in fact broken my water that morning. I let people tell me I wasn't in labour, but I guess when it is all so not-by-the-book (irregular contractions, no "real' leakage, etc.), you can feel so insecure. Then, when everything went so quickly, neither Jon nor I had any presence of mind to do anything.

It has been a rough few days, although some people have had it easier and some harder than us. We are amazed at how even though we both break down crying from exhaustion, we can't remember what it was like to not have Iain in our lives. As I look at him in my arms right now, I am so blown away by his beauty.