Doing It Our Way

Sometimes, even Dwight Schrute is wrong...actually, make that most of the time. My assertion that Will would be delivered by Dr. Michael Scott was totally wrong. And, I couldn't be happier about it. Not that Dr. Scott isn't a lovely doctor--I really have no idea. I never once saw a doctor when we were in the hospital, and it was great.

As you know, we were scheduled to be induced on the morning of Will's birthday. The hospital called to say they had a room for us beginning at 9 pm the night before. We were very excited to know that Will's arrival timeline was in place, but I couldn't help but feel bad that we were missing the excitement of my water breaking and labor kicking in as normal.

Around 8 pm, as Gus and I made final preparations to leave for the hospital, something funny happened. My water broke all on its own. An hour before we were scheduled to arrive at the hospital for induction. As Gus said, we are one prompt family. So, we left the house a bit early with a bit of added excitement after all!

Though my water was broken and I was having contractions, I wasn't making any progress. With the help of the midwife on duty Thursday night, we made the decision to try to get some rest before starting Pitocin at 6 am.

To make a long story short, the Pitocin worked well, but so did my own body. At some point during the morning, not only was the Pitocin triggering contractions, but I was having contractions based on my own level of oxytocin. Between the two, I ended up having one long 20 minute contraction. There was no time to stop and catch my breath, and at that point, I was ready for my epidural. Afterwards, I was able to get some rest and progressed very well. Later that day, I only pushed for about 30 minutes before Will was born.

I had always planned on having an epidural anyway, but I can't say how glad I am that it was an option. I know some people say terrible things about it, and to each her own. But, before the epidural, I was in so much pain that I couldn't concentrate on the experience. With the epidural, I was fully aware of everything going on. I could feel contractions without the pain. I was able to experience everything so much more fully.

And, what an experience it was. I can't say enough about the nurses we had that day. One of them even came to visit us the next day in recovery. But, more importantly, I am so thankful that Mia the midwife was there to deliver Will. She was absolutely amazing and once Will's head and shoulders had been delivered, Mia had me pull him out the rest of the way. I helped to deliver my own child. How awesome is that?

I can't begin to describe how amazing Gus was during the whole labor and delivery process. Furthermore, you cannot imagine a more natural and loving father than Gus. Will and I are so lucky.