We made it to the hospital about 4:15 and checked in with Labor and Delivery. The secretary at the desk told us that they needed to finish cleaning a room and if we would wait in the waiting room, they would come get us in just a second (just a second is a phrase that took on new meaning for us that afternoon).
Just a second apparently means 50 minutes, since that's how long we waited in the waiting room before someone took us to a room. By that point my contractions were about five minutes apart and definitely picking up in intensity. We were both getting worried, because my labors go quickly and I needed antibiotics and was ready for an epidural, and we were just sitting in a waiting room.
At a little after 5:00, the tech took us back to a room that wasn't even a labor and delivery room. She told me to change into a gown and someone would be right in. I changed and we waited, and waited, and waited. My contractions continued to intensify. Matt went out and asked three times when someone would see us. He was told that everyone was busy and they would get someone as soon as they could. I knew I was in active labor and we needed care. It was the most stressful part for both of us. I was in tears at one point, because we didn't know what to do. No one had even examined me to know what was going on, no one had checked on our daughter to make sure she was okay, and I still had no antibiotics. Matt was really stressed too. We just felt out of control and neglected and worried, all the while my contractions were really picking up in intensity. Finally about 5:45, a nurse came in, hooked me up to monitors and checked me and told me I was dilated to a six. She said she had to go get a room ready and would be right back. At this point I was upset enough to let her know that we had been waiting a long time, and I knew I would deliver soon by the way my last deliveries had gone. She assured me it would be just a minute, but seemed annoyed at me for questioning how long it would take. She did come back quickly and took us to a room a little before 6:00. I asked for an iv for fluids and told her I needed to get antibiotics asap. With my last two deliveries, once I had dilated to a five, my babies were born in less than a couple of hours. Still acting annoyed, she told me there was a process to getting an epidural: that I had to be admitted, gotten lab work done and fluids, and that she had other patients she had to take care of too. Let's just say the nurse and I didn't get along very well that night.
She took us to a room and told us she needed to take care of another patient and would be back. When she came back I guess she could tell that I wasn't far from delivering, because she skipped the admission paperwork and immediately got my iv started about 6:25. My contractions were awful at the point and I was starting to give up hope on getting an epidural. The thing that saved me through the contractions was that they were always relatively short with a break in between where I could regroup. It was a really hard time. I kept telling Matt how this wasn't going the way I had planned and I was worried about Elisabeth. My water broke a little after 6:30, and the contractions picked up even more.
My doctor came in about 6:45 right as the nurse was checking me and telling me that I was fully dilated. Dr. Sanders told me they were trying to get an epidural, but if I felt like I needed to push, we could just get the baby out. I was not prepared to push a baby out without any pain medication. By that point the epidural had turned into a mental thing. I felt like I needed it for things to be okay. In the past, the epidural was such a turning point in labor. The point where we could relax and be excited, and anticipate the baby. It represented a feeling that everything was good again. I think mentally, I felt that I needed it for everything to be alright.
An anesthesiologist came in while I was talking to Dr. Sanders. He was the best thing I had seen all day. Everyone was telling me that as soon as the epidural was in, the baby would be out, but he worked as fast as he could. I got the best care from him. He was so caring and kind and efficient working with me while I was in so much pain. They hadn't gotten any bloodwork and hardly any fluids, but he still was willing to give me the epidural. He finished a little before 7:00 and told me it would take about 20 minutes to take effect, but that I would feel some relief in eight to ten minutes. I remember asking Matt over and over how many minutes it had been since he said it would take eight minutes. Then I started feeling some pressure to push. Dr. Sanders told me to give a practice push, and told me the baby was coming nicely. The epidural started to help some with the contractions but I was still feeling a lot. I pushed again, and Dr. Sanders told me once I pushed through a contraction, the baby would be here, and she was right, one contraction later, and Elisabeth was out. This might be too much information but I did request a mirror to watch her be born, and I'm glad I did. Since I wasn't numb, I was feeling her as I pushed, and the mirror helped me to focus. I knew that once her head was out, I would feel better, and then again once her shoulders were out, the pain would be over. She came quickly and at 7:09pm on August 9, we met our daughter.
It was a complete whirlwind from about 6:45 on. People kept coming in and out of the room wheeling things in, leaving and coming back. I never signed consent forms until hours after she was born. Matt and I got our id bracelets the next day. It was wild, but once she was here, everything was just fine. In the moment her birth was stressful and painful, but in hindsight, it was perfect, and none of the drama or stress mattered (even though I still have pretty negative feelings toward that nurse. Thankfully her shift ended right before Elisabeth was born, and a new nurse took over. She must have known we were unhappy with her to send in a replacement).
It was such a crazy, fast delivery that I never had the chance to really process that we were meeting our daughter then. She was lying on my chest after she was born and I kept saying over and over how I couldn't believe she was here. It took a few hours to really sink in that our daughter was with us. I didn't come close to getting the antibiotics I needed for the group B strep, but thankfully, even though she had to have blood drawn more than we would have liked to test for infection, she is just fine.
We snuggled, loved on her, fed her, and then welcomed visitors to meet her. It was past the boys' bedtime, but they were still so sweet with their sister, especially Nathan. We cleared out the room around 10:00 and had some alone time with our sweet girl. Apparently Labor and Delivery that night was crazy busy, and it was after midnight before someone had a chance to bathe her. They kept apologizing for us waiting so long to get her bathed, and I kept telling them, how I didn't care about waiting for a bath. I cared a whole lot more about having to wait for an epidural :).
Some of the absolute best moments of my life happened on the third floor
of St. Francis South, and Elisabeth's birth is certainly one of the
them.
