On Sunday the 18th, I woke up having contractions around 4:00 am. They were completely in my back so I wondered if they were real or not. I tried to go back to sleep, but the contractions kept coming so I began timing them. They were about 7 minutes apart and not super painful, but they were just annoying enough to keep me from sleeping. I got out of bed and read for awhile, then I took a bath and painted my nails. I didn't want to go to the hospital too early so I wasted time around the house while my contractions became more frequent. At about 7, I woke up Justin and told him I thought we should go have a baby. He was so tired and so confused... It took him a minute to put everything together, but when he did he jumped out of bed and asked if he had time to take a shower. I assured him I was in no rush because I would not be the person who went to the hospital too early just to be sent home. So he took a shower while I curled my hair and we slowly got ready for the hospital. My mom had come into town a couple days before, so we told her we were in labor and would call her after we were admitted then we headed off to the hospital.
I timed my contractions the whole way to the hospital, which was about 30 minutes away, and they were coming every 3-4 minutes. Justin kept trying to distract me through them by making me laugh. When we got to the hospital, the nurse hooked me up to the monitor to track my contractions and the baby's heart rate. I was dilated to a 3 and 90% effaced. She then asked me about my pain scale. I have never been in the hospital and I really don't like to complain, so I always downplay how I am feeling. I found out after that you always tell the nurse your pain is much worse than it actually is. When she asked me for a number, I told her I was at a 2. Big mistake... She told me my pain was clearly not bad enough and I needed to be in more pain to be in labor. After looking at the pain scale chart on the wall, I agreed that the number I gave was not as high as it should have been, but it was too late. I was worried that if I changed my number now she would just accuse me of lying and wanting to stay. So despite all of my efforts to not go to the hospital too early, I was sent home. The nurse told me how far apart my contractions were really didn't matter, but it was really how bad my pain was that would tell me if I needed to come back. I was so confused. Why then did my doctor tell me to go to the hospital when my contractions were 5 minutes apart? I left the hospital extremely disappointed. I had no idea what I was feeling or what I should be waiting to feel.
Justin and I went to his parents' house since they live so close to the hospital. We didn't want to go all the way home if we were just going to turn around and come back. I tried to fall asleep, but my contractions kept coming and were starting to get more painful. They were still bearable though, so I didn't think I was in enough pain to go back. I definitely was not going to be the person who was sent home from the hospital twice. We eventually went back home to wait.
When we got home, my mom and I went on a walk. I was getting really tired from being up so early, so I tried to take a nap again. Every time I started to get comfortable I would get a really painful contraction. I didn't know what to do. I felt like I was in enough pain, but the nurse made me doubt everything I had previously thought. Justin and my mom kept telling me they thought I should go back to the hospital. Justin's mom kept calling to check on me as well and told me the same thing, but I still didn't know what to do. I finally called the on call nurse at my doctor's office and asked her what she thought. She told me the nurse at the hospital should have never sent me home when I was dilated to a 3 and having so many contractions. She told me to get back to the hospital right away.
At 5:30, we were finally back at the hospital. With my luck, the same nurse came out to the waiting room to get me. The first thing she said to me was, "I don't know... You're still smiling." Was I supposed to come into the hospital crying? Shouldn't it be a happy day? I am about to meet my beautiful little girl! After monitoring my contractions for another hour and convincing the nurse that my pain was now at a 7 or 8, she finally admitted me. I was bummed when she told me I was only dilated to a 4 after being in labor all day long, but at least I would have my baby in just a little while.
She took me back to my delivery room and introduced me to my new nurses who would be with me through the rest of the delivery. Before she left she told me not to smile so much or they wouldn't believe I was in enough pain to get an epidural. She also told the new nurses, "This girl is a tough cookie and won't show you how much pain she is in." Finally I felt understood!
About an hour after I got into the delivery room, I got my epidural. After my epidural, I felt pure bliss. Justin, my mom, and his mom kept looking at the monitor and saying how big my contractions were, but I was feeling nothing. I visited with my mom, Justin's parents, and Aunt Jo, watched a movie, and finally got my much needed nap. They put me on pitocin for about 45 minutes to get me from a 5 to a 9. When I got to a 9 so quickly, they took me off of pitocin so they could get the baby turned from her sunny side up position and also so we could wait for my doctor to be able to deliver. My doctor was not the on call doctor that night and she had a house full of family for Thanksgiving. She wanted to come deliver my baby and thought it would be perfect to sneak away from her guests in the middle of the night. But when I went from a 5 to a 9 so quickly, they had to slow me down so I was not ready to deliver too early for my doctor. When my doctor got there, she looked so tired. I felt so bad for waking her up at 3 in the morning. When she sat down though, it was like she flipped a switch. She had so much energy and was so motivating for me. She is seriously the best doctor! I am so glad she was able to be there and deliver my beautiful baby girl.
Justin and I are so in love with our beautiful little Harper. We had lots of family and friends come to visit us in the hospital. We are so grateful for all the love and support. Harper is a very loved little girl. My family was able to come to town for Thanksgiving to see Harper and my mom was able to stay with us for 2 weeks. It was so nice to have her help and to get to spend time with her. We are very lucky to have so much support from our wonderful family.
