The first day of my missed period I took a home test. I was so anxious to find out if I was pregnant or not. I unfortunately had miscarried a few months before at around 7 weeks. The home test came back very light pink--probably because I didn’t have enough of the hormone to turn the test bright pink. So, I called my doctor and went in for a real test (blood). Bingo--I was pregnant!! Taylor and I were so excited and I felt much better about this pregnancy--I was on progesterone and baby aspirin to help avoid another miscarriage. It was hard not telling anyone at first but around 10-12 weeks we started sharing the good news. Everyone was so excited about the arrival of our baby--due November 17th.
The pregnancy went great. I had some morning sickness around 7-8 weeks—throwing up is not that fun but everyone said it was a healthy sign—that made it a lot easier. During my gestational diabetes test I almost passed out from lack of food--I’ve never felt so out of it in my life. I attended prenatal yoga and Taylor would walk with me in the evenings and weekends. I did have to stop the walking during the last few weeks because of the pressure and cramps. By that time I was already on maternity leave and got to catch up on a lot of TV. I was getting very bored at home and was ready for our baby to come.
A couple of weeks went by and I had only dilated to 1.5 cm and was 75-80% effaced. The Braxton-Hicks contractions were definitely occurring--especially at night. This went on for around a week--I was getting very tired and a little frustrated. On Wednesday November 6th the contractions started in the morning and went all day. I still went to yoga and the contractions seemed to slow down during class or maybe yoga just made me feel better. When I returned home, Taylor had fixed a great meal and then we turned in for a good nights rest—wrong. The contractions were still occurring and they seemed to be getting worse and starting in my back. Taylor of course had already fallen asleep so I went downstairs to watch some T.V. At 12:30 am I paged the doctor on call and explained how I felt. He said to go to the hospital and get checked out, but it was probably false labor. I woke up Taylor and told him we needed to go hospital—this might be it but probably not. I was certain they would send me home.
I think Taylor was very excited as he drove down Richmond Road at 60 miles per hour. We passed a police officer, who of course pulled us over—by this time it was almost 1 am. The officer took one look at me with his flashlight and said, “Go on." I guess I looked a little uncomfortable and he wasn’t up for delivering a baby.
After a lot of paperwork the nurse finally checked me out. This was the moment of truth--was she going to send me home or was I going to have this baby. I was 3.5 cm dilated and 100% effaced. “We’ll keep ya,” she said. I’ve never been so happy in my life. Nine months of waiting--our baby would be here soon. Around 3 am I received an epidural--after which I tried to take a nap but was too excited to sleep. Family members started arriving at 4 am. The nurses thought we were having a party with the number of people who showed up. This was a first grandchild on my side and all my family lives very close by.
The doctor started Pitocin around 8:30 am--I guess the epidural had slowed down my labor. I was sitting at 7cm for quite a while. A half hour later the nurse checked me again--10cm--it was time to push—that pitocin really worked quickly! After about an hour of pushing, Harrison Miles Ward entered the world at 9:50 am. Six pounds and twelve ounces—19 ¾ inches long. He has very long eyelashes like his father and I think he is amazing. It was the most wonderful day of my life--I couldn’t wait to do it again! I love being a mother and think it is the most important role I could ever play. Thanks for letting me share my story--I will treasure this experience forever.