How to have a baby in 15 contractions or less

As I alluded to in my last post, little baby Gabriel came into this world very quickly. In lieu of a “birth story” post, I give you:

Having a Baby: Blow by Blow

• 10/5/07 1115: A visit to the OB reveals I am 2-3 cm dilated. Previously, there had been no changes other than the baby dropping early in September.
• 10/6/07 – 10/7/07: We spend the weekend doing weekend-y things. Out and about to church and the like. A little shopping. People seem alarmed when I tell them on Sunday that my due date is “today” when they inquire.
• 10/8/07 0500: A painful contraction wakes me up. I previously was awake until 1 am reading without any contractions, Braxton Hicks or otherwise. I go back to sleep, thinking this was a fluke contraction, obviously.
• 10/8/07 0505: Ouch! Another painful contraction wakes me up. As it goes on, I pull on T’s finger to wake him up. My eyes must’ve looked like I was in pain because he leaps out of bed and gets his watch. I get up and start to get dressed and find my things.
• 10/8/07 0510: Another contraction. They are extremely regular and fairly painful. I have to stop what I’m doing to breathe. After that one passes, I go into the boys room and pack a little bag of clothes to take to the hospital with us.
• 10/8/07 0515: Contraction. T has thrown some things for himself into a bag and my bag is by the door. We decided to call my parents, who live 50 miles away, to come meet us at the hospital so they can watch the boys while we’re having the baby. My dad answers the phone, half asleep, and doesn’t understand what T is saying.
• 10/8/07 0520: Contraction. We wake up the boys and get some shoes on them. They are bleary-eyed and full of questions, but very cooperative. We all head out to the car.
• 10/8/07 0525: Contraction halfway to the car. I stop in the middle of the road because I can’t walk and SM pulls on my hand urging me to come on already! The pain passes and we go to the car where I call my doctor’s answering service. I get the number to call the physician-on-call at her home. I call the OB and she tells me to go to the hospital so I can get antibiotics. Thank you.
• 10/8/07 0530: Contraction in the car! Not fun! We try to distract the boys by looking at things out the windows. It’s dark outside and a big crescent moon is low in the east. My dad calls back, now awake, and says he can drive down since my mom has already gone to the gym and on to work.
• 10/8/07 0540: Arrive at hospital, have a contraction while waiting for the check-in lady to get back to the desk with her coffee. Have another contraction outside the elevator while going up to L&D.
• 10/8/07 0550: After getting weighed and into the room and changed, I’m in the bed. I say bye to the boys and T takes them down the hall to the family waiting room. There are toys, a television and a big easel for drawing. Snacks and juice, also.
• 10/8/07 0600: After a little digging around in my left arm, the IV is now in my right hand. The anesthesiologist is on the way (I asked them to call when I arrived, I didn’t want to do this without an epidural). The monitors are on. The contractions are still coming regularly and painfully. Pain is a 7, I tell them, despite the IV nubain I received.
• 10/8/07 0610: The nice nurse checks me. I am 8 centimeters! Wow, we all say. I relate how my last child was born rather quickly after my water broke. So far, no water-breakage yet. I answer some stupid questions for the nurse anesthetist and ask is the OB is on her way. She is, but she’s not here yet.
• 10/8/07 0620: Anesthesiologist arrives. He’s alright, thankfully, not jack-assy like the last one I encountered at this hospital. There’s nothing I hate more than jack-assy anesthesiologists. Yada yada epidural talk, having contractions all the while. Get on with already! He finally gets to his business. This parts takes a long time. I have a contraction. The catheter is almost in and I have a really big contraction where I tell the nurse I think I have to push. “Breathe,” she says. “You’re doing a good job.” It is somehow reassuring. I’m leaning on her shoulder and clutching her warm-up jacket to support myself. The nubain has made me light headed and the IV is preventing my right hand from supporting me on the bed.
• 10/8/07 0635: They just get me onto my back in bed and another contraction is on top of me. The other nice nurse Allison is back and on my right side. I tell her I have to push, but she says to breathe. This is super painful and I can’t not push. I have my eyes shut tight and I’m shaking my head and telling them “I can’t not push” and I’m pushing. Someone sees the amniotic sac. Somewhere in here my water breaks. I don’t quite remember because I was yelling extremely loud whilst pushing the baby’s head out. A nurse says to stop pushing so she can suction the baby’s mouth. I think this is the point my husband was running down the hall after someone ran to get him. He said he heard someone screaming, but it didn’t sound like me. I was ME, I tell him later.
• 10/8/07 0639: More screaming and another nurse delivers the rest of our little boy. I finally open my eyes and my husband is there. I’m relieved from the immense pain (no epidural) and quite stunned that the baby is born. The anesthesiologist injects a bunch of medicine into my epidural catheter, which was odd. T notes that one of the nurses made a comment about this to someone else.
• 10/8/07 0640: OB arrives. She is surprised. Also glad I got to the hospital in time. She delivers the placenta and gives me two little stitches.
• 10/8/07 0650: My dad arrives and comes in with the boys a little later to see the baby. After everything is all settled, T goes back home with the boys and my dad to get them settled. The in-laws will be there in the early afternoon.
• 10/8/07 0800: The pediatrician comes in to see Gabriel and orders a CBC. I had received some antibiotics, but not the usual dose because I labored so quickly. The results are good, the baby is healthy and doing well. I rest.

(6#10.9oz, 20in.)