My Sunshine…

Hey All,

My first baby was born on Monday, May 14, 2001 at 2:39pm, weighed 7 lbs, 5 oz and was 19.5 in (49.5 cm). She wasn’t due until May 18th, so it was a bit surprising that she was early, given that she was my first. I was in mild labour for about a week. On Saturday I had "regular" contractions, my ex brought me to the hospital, and they sent me home. Sunday we visited his dad and "stepmom" and had dinner for Mother’s Day. I was having contractions that night, but since it was much like Saturday (not especially painful), we went to sleep at about 11 pm. My ex was sleeping on the couch (I can’t remember why), and I was sleeping on our waterbed. It felt like I had just closed my eyes to go to sleep when all of a sudden I felt a tremendous pressure, and then, POP! GUSH! I looked at the clock and thought it still said 11 pm (it was actually about 1 am). I called out to my ex, "I think my water just broke!" Now, those of you who haven’t had your water "break," may wonder why I said "I think" rather than being more sure. I thought the waterbed might have broken, there was that much water. Well as I was walking to the bathroom, I was still dripping, and the dog was licking it up! LMAO! We called the hospital to find out what to do – since it was clear liquid, they did suggest that I come in. I used their Jacuzzi, which was amazing and helped me deal with the pain for a long time – but at about 8 or 10 am I couldn’t deal with the nurses always coming in every 2 seconds (so it seemed) to check on me, it hurt too much. So I went back to the hospital bed in the birthing suite. I was trying to deal with the contractions using the Lamaze techniques I had learned (the breathing exercises), but eventually I broke down and asked for the epidural. When the nurse came in to check on me, she asked my ex if I had already had something for my pain, and he told her I hadn’t. The nurse said "Well, she’s sleeping, she’s fine, she doesn’t need an epidural." I could have screamed, but I didn’t have the strength. I was not asleep. My ex stood up for me and said "She asked for the epidural, she needs it, get it for her!" I’ll give credit where credit is due, and I appreciate that he stood up for me. I got my epidural and then another two hours Sunshine was born! So my total labour time from the time my water broke was about 13 hours.

♥ Grá Agus Solace ♥
♥~K.