I'm in Labor...She's Here!

Sorry it has taken me so long to write this. I can't believe that almost a week has passed since this beautiful little miracle has entered my life. What follows is my experience of the night she was born. This is the long of the long, so feel free to skip it if you want.

Here it is...the birth story of Alyssa Diane Tukker:

I had been having contractions since Thursday and a few times had actually thought that this was it. However, each time the contractions would subside and I would continue to wait. I hadn't gotten much sleep in about five nights because each time I would lay down I would have contractions that would keep me awake.

Finally, Monday night I went downstairs in the middle of the night because the contractions were so strong. I actually had to walk around because sitting hurt too much. However, by early Tuesday morning, everything had become disorganized (that was my word--I wanted my contractions to "organize"). I layed on the couch most of the morning since I hadn't slept really at all the night before. However, I still wasn't having regular contractions. I would go entire hours without having one, so I thought that I would just continue as I had for the last five days. I even took the kids to Pizza Hut for lunch and contemplated going to the zoo. The temperature was in the 60's. I did take some walks around the block--once with Zachary on his tricycle, once with him in the stroller. I was trying to do anything I could to get labor started.

Anyway, I was outside talking to my neighbors that afternoon, I made dinner for the kids. By about 6:00 or so, I was starting to have serious back pain with each contraction. I needed my hubby to press on my lower back as I leaned on a counter, so I called my mom to come over and give the kids baths and put them to bed.

We had the kids to bed by 7:30 or so and we started to watch The Biggest Loser. My mom stuck around because I had invited her to be in the delivery room with me and we were kind of waiting to see if this was it. The show was two hours from 7-9 pm and we were watching it a little on DVR delay. However, we had pretty much caught up by the end. The contractions still were not coming real regular. They were roughly every 5 minutes or so, but I would have periods where they would go 10 minutes apart for several contractions in a row. I was starting to get discouraged, yet again.

About 9:00 I decided to call the doctor. I thought that maybe I could at least go to the hospital and see if I had dilated at all or if all these contractions for the last five days were so subtle that they still were not doing anything. I had been dilated to one for the last three weeks. The doctor said to go to the hospital, but to take my time, and not to rush. I'm sure that he was thinking that he would be sending me home or that he had a long night ahead of him.

At about 9:15 we started packing up the car. Luckily I had my bag packed. My mom called my dad to come and watch the kids and she was going to wait for him and then come to the hospital to be with me. As I started getting my coat on, the contractions started coming more and more often. I didn't even make it across the kitchen before the next one started. I was not excited about the ride in the car.

As we started driving, I realized that I needed the seat put back as far as I could put it. I layed back and put my feet up on the dashboard and tried my best to breathe through the contractions. My hubby tried to talk me through them and was rubbing my leg. About five minutes into the 15-20 minute drive, I felt this incredible need to push. I have never felt an urge so strong that I couldn't stop it. I started to scream. My poor hubby--he stayed so calm (He told me later that he didn't think that I was really that far, that I was just being my normal, hysterical self--God bless him!). At the next stoplight, I felt my water break. I really didn't think that I was going to make it to the hospital.

So the entire trip to the hospital I'm screaming and convinced that this little girl is going to be born in my pants. I'm worried about the car being wet from my water breaking and I feel what I think is p**p coming down as well. All I could think of was "Great, when I get to the hospital, not only are they going to have to clean up my water breaking but the other thing as well." Fortunately I found out later that what I was feeling was the baby's head making her way down.

We got to the hospital and my hubby ran to get me a wheelchair. I was convinced that I was not getting out of the car. He said in a very firm voice, "Yes, you are." and he helped me between contractions. He rushed me through the lobby into the elevators, with three other people in them. I warned them that I may scream. Then we made it into labor and delivery. Four or five nurses rushed me to a room as I screamed all the way down the hall. They got me in a room and stripped my lower half. I heard the nurses say, "Membranes ruptured," and then heard them say that they were just going to check me when I heard, "No need, she's there," meaning that my baby was crowning.

All of the sudden there was a doctor in the room. He was not my doctor, as my doctor was not there yet. He decided that if I said I needed to push that I could push. I still had my shirt and sweater on. I had been in the room all of about 2 minutes. I pushed until the contraction I was having stopped. The doctor then said that she was so far down that I could push between contractions. I pushed a couple more times and her head was out. All I know was that my hubby was holding my hands above my head as I pushed. I don't even remember if this was comfortable or not it was all over so fast. I'm pretty sure that she was born within five minutes of getting in that room. This is not an exaggeration. And with that, we now had our baby girl, Alyssa Diane, weighing in at 7 lbs. even and measuring a petite 18.5 inches. I'm not sure how long she'll stay that petite with the genes in our combined families.

My hubby had left the car running so at this point, after he had cut the cord, I sent him downstairs to deal with the car. He got a very stern warning from a security guard who had turned the car off for him not to leave his car running anymore. We still kind of giggle at that.

I had a small tear that had to be stiched up, but even that was done before my mother could get there. I am still a little sad that she didn't make it for the delivery, seeing as this is our last one. She walked in about 15 minutes later with a few tears in her eyes. My hubby was on the phone making calls to all the people who wanted to know when I was in labor and there hadn't been time to call. In fact my mom had still been at my house waiting on my dad when the baby was born. If I had waited for him like I wanted to then this baby would have been born at my house and we would have had to call 9-1-1.

About 15 minutes after delivering her, my doctor finally showed up. Since I had no IV, I had to have two shots in my leg. That was all the poking and prodding that I got. While it wasn't quite the birth experience that I wanted, I did get to do it with no drugs and quickly, just a little more quickly than I would have liked.

I moved up to the mother-baby unit and there I stayed for a day and a half until Thursday morning when I was discharged and came home. It was such a relief to come home and I only missed kissing my boys good night once.

My hubby was wonderful during the entire experience, yet I know that he is grateful that it is all over and that we don't have to do it again. It is a bit chaotic around here, but we are all surviving and looking forward to each day as it comes with our newly completed family. God has been so good to us!

B