On Saturday, November 10th I started getting contractions in the afternoon. They weren't strong enough or regular enough to go to the hospital yet. Ben had been really busy at work so he was a few hours late. I sent him a text that said I would probably have to go to the hospital that night, as the contractions were getting closer together. When I called the Billings Clinic Family Birth Center (FBC), they suggested I go for a walk and take a bath to make sure things progressed, so Ben and I headed to Wal-Mart to walk (that night was really cold so there was no way we could go for a walk outside).
At 11pm we arrived at the FBC and were pre-roomed to be monitored. They watched me for about 20 minutes and said I wasn't progressing enough so they had me walk around the halls. Because I still hadn't progressed enough, they sent me home at 2am.
By 3 am at home, I was in so much pain. The contractions came about every 2-3 minutes but I still didn't want to go straight back to the hospital and then get sent home again. I sat at home for almost 3 hours trying to watch a movie to keep my mind of the pain. I would sleep for about 2 minutes between contractions then be woken up. Somehow, Ben slept through my almost-screams in the living room. But every time I would change positions, the pain became worse than ever. The only thing I regret is not eating before going to the hospital.
When Ben woke up, we went to the hospital and they admitted me to a room. I asked for the epidural right away, I couldn't believe how painful it already was. Thankfully, I was able to get rest with the epidural. My parents arrived at noon and by 4 pm they turned my epidural way down. At 5:10 they had me push. Even without eating for over 24 hours, I still threw up about 6 times while I was pushing.
At 5:55 Everett was born. He came out a little sideways and they were worried he might have swallowed some of his own poop, so I wasn't able to hold him right away. At midnight, they took him to the NICU because they were worried about his blood sugar levels. By 8 am he was back in my room, having never had to put him on an IV.
He's the most amazing little thing I could ever even imagine to have the privilege being the mother of.
