Oh and here I am on August 25th .. 8 months pregnant .. I was huge lol .. Imagine 4 more weeks of being pregnant ..
August 29th - Just like any other day .. I forced my BIG self out of bed and into the shower .. Headed to work & things were fairly normal .. 4-5 prior to today I had called my OBGYN office to just get some questions answered .. I wasn't feeling "right" .. I had back pains and LOTS of swelling .. I was fairly concerned but they didn't seem to be .. I was told "It was first time Mom jitters and anxiousness" .. So of course, I was made to feel pretty stupid .. Weren't we always taught no question was a stupid question? Yeah well, obviously all my questions were .. Anywhooooo, around 11am I had to pee .. When I get to the bathroom I notice something in my underwear .. All the baby books I've read have finally come to good use .. I realize it's my mucus plug .. I immediately feel terrified, waddle back to my desk & call good ol' Mom .. She told me that there was NOTHING to worry about .. That it just means your body is preparing for birth .. A few of the girls I work with who have had kids, told me the same thing .. I didn't get too worried, seeing as thought I'd be going to my 36 week checkup appointment later on in the day .. 3:00pm hits and there we all sit (Mom & Baby Daddy) in the OBGYN office .. I'm already not in a good mood after hitting the scales and realizing my "idea" of not gaining any more than 30lbs is WAY off .. I'm up to 45lbs gained with 4 weeks to go .. The Dr comes in and checks me out .. They had to do my Strep B test also .. I was 1 1/2 cm dialated and 50% effaced .. I was told not to worry too much and take it easy .. I was measuring in at 36 weeks and everything was normal .. I went home feeling assured & relaxed .. I went about my normal routine & headed to my Mom's while Baby Daddy went to his 2nd job .. Come 8:00pm, I waddle myself home (Mom lives 2 blocks away) and make dinner .. Baby Daddy's sisters & Mom came over to visit .. Still, everything was pretty normal .. Around 9:30 I remember feeling extremely exhausted and EVERYTHING on my entire body swelled up .. Face, Nose, Fingers, Feet, Ankles, everything .. I again, thought this was just a sign of being almost full term in my pregnancy .. After all, the nurses and Dr at my office weren't concerned so I tried not to be .. At this point it's 9:30pm and I go to the freezer, get ice packs & sit down on the kitchen floor .. Yeah, I dont know either, but I just couldn't walk anymore, let alone the 5 feet to my living room .. Everyone came out to check on me and we just migrated to the kitchen and talked .. Mom & Sister's left around 10:00 and I looked at my boy and told him I was going to bed .. I felt weird, tired & swollen .. I put on my favorite tshirt and kissed Baby Daddy & off to lay in bed I go .. Baby Daddy was in the shower at this point .. I reach over to turn on the dreaded alarm for 5am .. I remember the clock said 10:23pm .. I throw on my comforter, lay down, close my eyes and BAM .. My water breaks .. It is by far the weirdest feeling .. You literally feel a POP and then a gush .. I'm talking, niagra falls gush .. Or at least me .. I scream to the boy "OMG MY WATER BROKE" .. He jumps out of the shower and runs around like crazy trying to pack a bag .. Yes, I was ONE of those people who didn't have a bag packed .. Cmon, I just got the nursery done that Saturday .. I can't do 2 major things at once and besides, I swore this child was going to be LATE, not 4 weeks early .. I will be better prepared IFFFFFFFFF there is a next child .. IF .. Instead of calling my OBGYN like any other normal person would, I call my Mom .. I mean, she has had 2 kids and of course she is going to be calm and tell me not to freak out .. She tells me she is on her way up and to call the Dr .. I see it is now 10:45pm and i'm just standing in the middle of my bedroom, watching the boyfriend go ape shit, grabbing everything, throwing it in a suitcase, while I am still leaking massive amounts of fluid .. I'm just standing there crying because I am SO NOT READY FOR THIS .. FINALLY, I call the Dr .. It was a midwife on call that i'd never met .. I wasn't too happy about that .. I tell her what happened .. She told me not to worry .. WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP TELLING ME THAT! .. Anyways, she asked how much I was leaking and to put on a pad and once the pad was soaked to call back and let her know .. I keep her on the phone and say "Ok I have on a pad, Oh man, it's soaked" .. She didn't find me funny, but NO ONE seems to take me serious .. She asked if I had my strep B test done yet .. I told her I had gotten it this morning but no results were back .. FINALLY, I'm told to go ahead and get admitted in case I was positive so they could start me on antibiotics .. I get to the hospital around 11 .. My Mom, Step Dad & Boyfriend are with me .. Mom called my Mamall (grandmother) to let her know what was going on & she came in .. My family knows I need company and support to keep my mind off of what's happening .. That's just how I am .. Well stupid mean MidWife comes in and basically tells everyone to leave and I'll be fine and this will take HOURS .. Her exact words were something along the lines of "Why is everyone here, bla bla bla, why are we getting so excited, bla bla bla, hours and hours, bla bla bla", I wanted to punch her .. She had a nurse TRY to give me an IV .. She pricked me 5 times .. No success .. FINALLY she got it on the 6th time after collapsing a vein, bursting a vein, missing a vein, whatever .. I hated her and was so happy when she said she had to assist a csection and i'd get a new nurse .. The midwife came in and told me to get some rest & she'd check on me around 5am .. Everyone left me and the boyfriend went to sleep .. How is someone supposed to sleep knowing a baby is coming? I was told I was having contractions but didn't feel a thing .. "PIECE OF CAKE" I thought .. I was always told they felt like severe period cramps, & honestly, every period I had in my entire life was SEVERE .. I knew i'd be fine .. Around 3am (baby daddy is still sleeping) I start to get horrible back pain .. I think nothing of it .. I remember feeling it a few days ago, but blamed it on the fact that I'd been constipated .. TMI? Sorry .. The nice Nurse came in and said to get in the shower .. It's supposed to speed up dialation also .. I was in there for maybe 20 minutes .. The nurse helped me get back in bed and was massaging my lower back .. This Nurse was an ANGEL .. I was so sad when her shift was over .. I look at the clock and realize it's 5am .. Midwife comes in and checks me and WHAM i'm 5cm .. She looked surprised .. So far, so good .. STILL NO DRUGS .. (Quick note, I'm one of the lucky individuals that is allergic to almost every narcotic known to man) .. I ask for drugs anyways, thinking that they HAVE to HAVE something for people like me .. Well they do .. But mean Midwife doesn't want to give me anything just yet because of my progress & my medical history .. Worst case scenario, they give me something, it harms me or the baby & I have to get an emergency C Section (yeah, I'm good) .. After the nurse and Midwife left, I yell over to sleeping baby daddy and ask him to PLEASE wake up and keep me company .. Hi honey, it's me .. Your girlfriend .. You love me, remember? I'm in labor and about to have your baby, it would be nice for you to be awake and help .. Around 6ish, Mom, Step Dad and Mamall come back .. My pappy ended up coming in .. Aunt Jen came in .. Aunt Jodi .. Boyfriend's Mom & Sisters .. I had a whole bunch of people to keep me occupied .. 9am hits and I am FEELING it .. It's horrendous .. NO front cramping like I had expected .. Yep, you guessed it, I had back labor .. (Baby boy was face up, instead of face down) .. And OMG it is way worse than I could have ever imagined .. A new Dr comes in to check me .. She was the Dr who just examined me the previous day .. She came in, saw me and said "WOW I did not expect this to happen so soon" .. I wanted to laugh because she was sweet, but I wanted to say "IF YOU PEOPLE WOULD'VE TAKEN ME SERIOUSLY, YOU MIGHT'VE KNOWN THIS WAS COMING" .. I kept my cool, because she was going to be the one to deliver my child and I was afraid if I was mean, she'd purposefully give me a snip from top to bottom .. Because all Drs do that .. I am now 8cm dialated .. Honestly, I wish I could tell you everything else that happened between 9am-12pm but I was in so much pain, I don't remember .. I'm still being told stories of how amazing I did, how calm I was, and how I cussed at a nurse .. Oh and how a preacher came in to bless me .. Yeah, weird .. At 12ish I remember being checked and told I was 9cm .. As the nurse walks out I see Dr Oh (MY FAVORITE) poke his head in and tell me he is going to be my Dr now, because the other one had to be in emergency surgery .. MUSIC TO MY EARS & the only thing I really remember .. My Nurse Autumn, was AMAZING .. She was helping me through my contractions, and I remember hearing, whoever doesn't want to be in here, needs to leave .. I had a feeling it was time .. Mom was on my left, up by my head, and THANK GOD my crazy, hilarious, Aunt Jodi decided to stay .. She had my left foot & was pretty much my coach .. As much as I wanted to punch her at times for screaming in my face to PUSH, if it wasn't for her, I don't think I could've gone through with it .. Baby Daddy was on the right, up by my head, and his Mom had my right foot .. As expected, I felt the sudden urge to get up & poop .. I heard, push .. I remember the pain being unbearable .. I could not believe I was about to do this DRUG FREE .. (Note: Get the epidural if you are allowed .. do not do this to yourself unless you have too lol) .. I kept hearing "there's his head" "he has FULL head of hair" and the nurse ran out to get the DR .. Ladies, remember when you are pushing to push with your BUTT not your FACE .. That was one thing that I kept saying to myself over and over in my head .. Dr Oh came in and assumed the position .. I remember looking at the clock and everyone guessing when he was coming .. Some said 1:15, some said 1:30 .. It was 12:20 currently .. I pushed and pushed and pushed and at 12:56, out came my precious, beautiful, little boy .. He was perfect .. They took him from me to get checked, weight, measured etc .. I had to go through all the lovely "after birth" stuff and I just laid there thinking "wow I really did this. I gave birth all natural" .. I felt so empowered .. I can't even described the feeling .. One thing I missed was Baby Daddy cutting the umbilical cord .. I was too exhausted and tired and wrapped up in my baby boy .. I have never felt so much joy & love in my entire life .. He's finally here ..
Bryce Pierre Shaffer
August 30, 2011
7lbs, 4oz
19 1/2 inches long
12:56 pm
