Birth Stories - The Princess

The Princess was born on August 13, 2004. Friday the 13th.



I was 31 years old.


I was in the shower at 6:00 a.m. when my water broke. It just trickled, so I wasn’t completely sure, but soon it was evident because I couldn’t pee my pants that much!


I called The Doctor and he was excited. It is his last day of summer classes, so he still went to work to take care of some things. I called Mom and let her know. I hadn’t started any contractions yet, so I told her I would call when they started. She is going to be at the hospital with us for the birth.


I called and made arrangements for someone to pick up The Chocoholic after kindergarten (thanks Holly!), and then I got on my email and let everyone know. And then I waited.


And waited.


And waited.


No contractions at all. The Doctor got home at 10:00 and we decided to go up to the hospital then. We stopped at Burger King for something to eat because I hadn’t eaten anything and I knew they wouldn’t let me eat once I got there.


We got to the hospital at 11:00 and they put us in a room and had me change. Then we waited and waited. They finally came in and told us they were moving us to another room. They had been full, and the room we were in didn’t have a monitor in it. So I wrapped the sheet around me and we moved rooms.


We got settled and I explained to them that I was going natural and wanted to be able to move around. Everyone I told that to asked me why I was going natural. No one was supportive to begin with. It was frustrating.


I told them I would be willing to have a hep-lock (an i.v. start). So they started the process of asking questions and getting that in. The first nurse couldn’t get it in my hand. The second nurse couldn’t get it in my arm and that one killed! The vein rolled and she was trying to “float” it and it hurt so bad! Finally they called in the anesthesiologist. It took him like 30 seconds to get it in. He said he would see me in a while for the epidural and again, when I told him that we wouldn’t see him, he was flabbergasted that I was going natural. Grrrr!


Anyway, it took them 2 ½ hours before we finally got the i.v. in. By that time it was 1:45 and I still hadn’t had any contractions. My doctor came in and I wasn’t even to a 3 yet, and we all agreed that I needed to go on Pitocin. I really didn’t want to, but I understood that I needed to. So they got that going.


Pretty soon we could see that I was having contractions, but they didn’t hurt any worse than the Braxton Hicks I’d been having. We were talking and joking and laughing. Mom came up and we were all having a good time. They didn’t have a VCR or a DVD player or a CD player in the room, so we just had to pick what was on TV. But The Doctor was in a rare mood and we were just laughing a lot.


Finally, at 4:55, Mom said she needed to get something to eat, and asked The Doctor if he wanted to come with her to the cafeteria. He looked at me and I told him to go. He had asked me several times through the afternoon if I felt he was ignoring me because he was doing work on his laptop. I assured him that I was fine because nothing was happening and it was going to be a while.


So they left.


The very next contraction was painful. Honestly.


At 5:15 the nurse came in and checked me and I was at a 3. The contractions kept getting more and more painful. I was just praying that The Doctor would get back quickly.


They came back in at 5:30 and I was in the middle of a contraction and I have never been more glad to see him! He immediately came over and held my hand and helped me breathe through the contractions.


About 6:00, I said I had to get up and walk because I couldn’t sit through them anymore. I had been sitting because my water was broken and every time I stood up, I leaked everywhere. So they got me a pad and I was able to get up.


I would pace in between the contractions (they were about 4 minutes apart) and when one would start, I would grab The Doctor's (husband) thumb with my hand, lean against him and rock and breathe and moan through it. They were getting more and more painful, but they weren’t lasting very long, thank goodness. But I started telling him I wanted an edpidural about 6:30.


At 6:45, I asked to be checked again, and I was only at a 5. I was in so much pain and so frustrated. I knew that I couldn’t do it anymore. I started pleading Tom for an epidural and he kept telling me that there wasn’t time and I could do this.


Every time I had a contraction, near the end, I would push a little bit and that felt so good. I could feel her moving down each time.

At 7:00 I asked to be checked and I was at an 8. We knew then that it wouldn’t be long.


I stood back up and had 2 more contractions and then I had to push!


Boy did everyone get moving!


I laid down and The Doctor had to get right in my face and help me breathe. I kept begging him to let me push and he was so good to just keep my eyes on his and tell me to wait.


As soon as the doctor was ready, they said go ahead and push.


I pushed once and her head was out. Then they had the nerve to tell me to stop pushing. I didn’t want to! I wanted to push more! They got her suctioned out and the shoulders in position and told me to push. I pushed once more and she was out!

The doctor let The Doctor cut the umbilical cord and then they placed her on my stomach. The first thing I said was, “Make sure it’s a girl! Check if it’s a girl!” Everyone looked and assured me that she was! Then I just started crying! I finally had my little girl!



The Princess weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and she was 20 inches long. She is the smallest baby I have ever had! But she is so beautiful!

I think I am in love!