How Long Were You In Labor?

This is the question I have been asked numerous times over the last month. I am not too sure how to answer it! Here's the "story" of Madelyn's arrival. (It's a long one!)

I had a doctor's appointment on Monday, April 27th. Still no progress (not dilated at all), and so the doctor scheduled induction for Tuesday, May 5th (Cinco de Mayo -- Chip's and my 8th wedding anniversary). With the date actually selected, Chip and I were in a true daze. Our baby was REALLY going to be here on Tuesday, May 5th, no matter what! It didn't seem quite real. But at the same time, it felt like such a relief to end the guessing game in the near future.

We went about our week finishing last minute preparations, which for me, included buying nursing gowns, etc. On Wednesday afternoon (April 29th), I was out doing just that when I started having some mild crampiness. I almost didn't notice it because it was so mild. But after walking through the store for almost an hour, I realized that I might be having contractions. MIGHT. I think I was still very much in denial. I went to the next store, and the "cramps" got noticeably stronger. At this point, I called my friend, Stephanie, who had children and might be able to clue me into what was going on. She seemed to think it was a strong possibility that I was experiencing my first contractions. I needed to stop at one more store on the way home, so I got in the car and headed that direction. While I was driving, they got even stronger. I decided that I probably ought to head home in case this was the real thing. But Chip and I needed to eat dinner (I've had numerous friends tell me that you can't eat once you check into the hospital, and I certainly did not want to be starving during delivery!). So I drove through Chik-fil-a and ordered food while I was grimacing through two more contractions. While I was at the drive-through, my friend Jessica was on the phone with me trying to help me decide what to do. When I got home, Chip and I stood at the counter and ate our dinner (it hurt too much to sit down). By the time I finished eating, I had no pain! So, I guess you could call this segment of my story, "My First Contractions".

On Thursday afternoon (April 30th), I was at work, and started having contractions again. They were somewhat mild and I didn't pay too much attention to them. By that evening, they were getting pretty regular, so I started keeping track of the times each contraction started. By midnight, they were 10 minutes apart and stayed that way until 5 a.m. on Friday morning (May 1st). The contractions were waking me up every 10 minutes, and I was checking the clock and writing down the time. Obviously, I did not sleep well at all. After 5 a.m., they started getting closer together. I was definitely concerned about having very little knowledge of when to head to the hospital. My doctor had told me to wait until they were 5 minutes apart for at least an hour, and then to call her. By 7:30 a.m., I had been having them 5 minutes apart for an hour. Chip was pretty concerned, but I was still unsure. I mean, the contractions were definitely happening, but I didn't think they were very strong. However, we live about 45 minutes from the hospital, so we were both nervous about getting there in a timely fashion. So, after Chip asked me to call the doctor several times, I finally did. The doctor on call seemed doubtful when I explained to him what was going on, but he said to come in to the office and he could check me. We loaded up the car and headed to the hospital! Before we went to the doctor's office, we stopped at Jason's Deli for breakfast. I was STARVING and again, didn't want to go hungry if we were admitted! :)

After eating (and pacing the walkway in Jason's Deli and gripping the table while leaning over during contrations!), we headed to the doctor's office. Well, he was in labor and delivery for a c-section, so we headed downstairs to L&D and checked into triage. They hooked me up and confirmed that I was having contractions, but they were anywhere from two to seven minutes apart and not very strong. And I have to admit that as I was lying there, the contractions certainly subsided (sigh!). Good news though - I was finally dilated to 1 cm and 50% effaced! The doctor offered me drugs if I was in serious pain (which I wasn't, so I declined), and released me (sigh!). By this time, it was early afternoon on Friday. We headed toward the house, but made a stop at Freebird's (again, I had to keep eating!!!). I was still having contractions, probably 10 to 15 minutes apart. Once we got home and ate, we laid around upstairs and watched movies. To be accurate, Chip watched movies and I fell asleep for up to 20 minutes at a time, thanks to the contractions getting farther apart. I was pretty tired since I hadn't had good sleep since Wednesday night.

That evening, the contractions started getting closer together and stronger than before. To help pass the time, Chip took pity on me and helped me cut some fabric for the dog bed I was making for Sallie. The contractions got strong enough so that I had to stop working on that little project. By then, we were writing down the times of the contractions again, as well as how long they were lasting (the doctor said they needed to be at least 30 seconds each). Every time I had a contraction, I would yelp/grunt/cry "Now!" and Chip would write down the time and start timing them. He would also massage my lower back, which was killing me at this point. This went on for HOURS. By 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 2nd, I told Chip that he should go to bed. Somebody should be able to get sleep! There was no point in me going to bed, because I would just wake him up, so I stayed in the living room. For the next two hours, I "slept" on the couch, which consisted of me laying there for a couple of minutes, and then waking up in pain, standing up and gripping something while leaning over and waiting for the contraction to end. I was moaning and groaning at this point -- it hurt! By 4:30 a.m., I decided that I needed to call the doctor. But I felt bad -- I didn't want to wake whoever was on call! So, I called the hospital and asked to speak to a nurse in L&D. After telling her what was happening and asking her whether I should come in, she advised me to call the doctor. HA! So, I did. He told me it sounded like things had escalated and to head to the hospital. I was DREADING the drive to the hospital. At this point the contractions hurt quite a bit, and the thought of being in a car and not being able to stand up and lean over to deal with the pain did not sound good. Neither did the inevitable bumps in the road! But I couldn't think of any other way to get there!!

By now it was about 4:45 a.m. on Saturday morning. I had been having contractions since Thursday evening that were 20 minutes or less apart! And no real sleep since Wednesday night! I was pretty exhausted. The car ride to the hospital was just as I expected - AWFUL! But we got there. I was pretty sure that I was going to be sent home again. The contractions were definitely painful, but I wasn't screaming in agony like in the movies. All I knew was that I was getting those drugs the doctor had offered the day before. I couldn't keep doing this without something to ease the pain! When we got to the admissions desk at L&D, there was no one there! And no little bell to ring! I was in a lot of pain and very frustrated - I needed to sit down! We stood there looking around and then Chip went to push an intercom button by some doors. In the meantime, I started yelling and banging my fist on the counter while hunched over during another contraction. I am sure I was quite a sight! Low and behold, the admissions clerk came walking down the hall (guess she needed to take a potty break). Finally some help! We were admitted to triage and upon examination, I was told that I was 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced. Ready to go!! I almost couldn't believe it.

By this point (well, maybe starting around 3 a.m.), I was thinking that this baby was going to be an only child. I didn't want to do this again. It kinda hurt...ha! Well, they checked me into my room and I had my epidural by 6:30 a.m. As soon as I had it, I was without pain COMPLETELY. My immediate thought was that I could definitely do this again! Maybe the drugs were getting to me a little TOO well! After that, I just laid in the hospital bed while the contractions continued (not that I could feel them). Chip's parents (Gamma and Papa) arrived at some point and came to the room to hang out while we waited. I tried to sleep, but the blood pressure cuff that seemed to automatically inflate every five minutes kept waking me up. Around 11 a.m. they gave me pitocin to speed up the contractions and dilation. By 1 p.m. it was time to push (at this point Gamma and Papa were escorted out to the waiting room). While all this was going on, my Daddy and Danelle (Grandpa and Grandma), as well as my Aunt Linda, cousin Andrea, Chip's sister Amy and her two kids, as well as my friend Kelly arrived and were in the waiting room. And by 2:39 p.m. on Saturday, May 2nd, Susan Madelyn was here (although we didn't know her name at the time)!

So, how long was I in labor? I don't know! What qualifies as "labor"? I know that I hadn't had real sleep for about 55 hours. I know that I was having contractions that were no more than 20 minutes apart for about 42 hours. I guess if I started counting when the contractions were more painful (around 8 p.m. Friday night), it was about 18 hours or so. Yeah, that sounds about right. We'll go with 18. :)