I never really fell into a restful sleep, as every 15 minutes
or so my stomach would wake me up. Around 11:30, I decided to get up and go to
the bathroom and walk around a bit. That’s when I started getting suspicious… I
started to notice that this was a pretty unique and specific kind of pain, that
would kind of go away after a minute or so, and return five minutes later. I
began timing my pains, which really felt like some bad cramps. I was waiting
for it to go around to my back like contractions had been described to me, or
for my water to break, or for the breathtaking pain to signal it was time to
go, but none of those happened. I waited another hour as I timed the pain and
decided maybe I should pack that hospital bag! I finally woke up Brandon around
1am, told him I was pretty uncomfortable, but didn’t want to overreact.
We
decided to pack up and drive to the hospital just in case, and if it was a
false alarm, we would quietly return home. My biggest fear was that I would get
to the hospital and end up spending hours and hours there with contractions
(without Brandon), so I really wanted to wait as long as possible. We finally
arrived to the hospital around 2:30am, and at that point the pain was much
worse and more consistent. We got lucky with the timing because there were a
few parking spots available out front, and we walked in to get checked in. I
had been to this public hospital once before with a kidney infection in my
second trimester, so we were kind of familiar with the system. We checked in
with the receptionist and were told to wait for our number to be called to take
my vitals and see the physician. I paced calmly around the waiting room, not
wanting to cause a scene, but in a lot of pain. They finally called me in to
take my vitals and information, and then told me to wait again for the doctor
to call me… “sometimes they take a coffee break around this hour so we will let
you know when he gets here”, said the receptionist. When they finally called me
back to the consult room, I couldn’t sit down, and it was getting difficult to
breathe through the contractions. He had me lay on the bed to examine me and
see how far along I was… “alright looks like you are…5…6…7…9! 9 centimeters,
let’s get you upstairs!”. I remember saying to Brandon with wide eyes that I
was not ready for this! It is not time yet! But that wasn’t up to me, it was go
time! Finally, the nurses realized just how serious this was, and they hurry
helped me out of my clothes, into a gown, and rushed the bed up to the maternity
ward.
Once in the hallway outside of the delivery room, they connected me to an
IV and started monitoring the baby’s heartbeat. Because of COVID protocol,
Brandon was told to wait downstairs until it was time to head into the delivery
room… he isn’t the best listener though, and I knew he was right around the
corner the whole time. At that point the contractions were so strong and
consistent that I found it hard to breathe, and at one point I threw up from
the pain. Painkillers aren’t an option at this hospital, which I was prepared
for from the beginning, but I started really hoping it wasn’t going to get much
worse than this! At some point in time, while contractions were at their worst,
I realized there were new nurses looking at me… the shift had changed, and
someone new marched over to examine me and broke my water for me! finally I
could tell that it was time to start pushing, and they tried to have me stand
up and walk to the delivery room, which I did not think was going to happen.
About three times, a mask was placed over my face, which I soon ripped off as I
tried to keep breathing. I heard someone ask if I could get up and walk, or if
I wanted to have my baby in the hallway… um, hallway please! At some point, I
felt Brandon grab my hand, and start giving me some encouragement. When the
contractions paused for a second, I decided I could try getting up to go to the
delivery room. Brandon held me up as I walked, and helped lift me up onto the
table. I was reminded many times not to push with my face, push down here,
which I had no idea how to control.
Eventually my body took over, the baby
finally dropped down, and out came my precious little boy. No pain killers, no
epidural… what a relief when I finally felt him come out. Brandon relayed what
he looked like and what was happening as they cleaned him up, and tried to
distract me from the stitches I was getting. Finally, I could hold my baby –
what a strange experience! Finally meeting this tiny person that I had grown to
love so much, who was finally with us on the outside! I felt kind of nervous to
be meeting him in a strange way, and I couldn’t wait to start to get to know
him. Brandon stayed with us for about another hour until he was again told to
leave until they called him back… this time it wouldn’t be until the next day
when I was discharged… I shared a room with two other moms and their new babies
for the next day and a half before we were able to bring baby Jackson home.
We are so blessed to have had such a great experience
throughout my entire pregnancy and birth! Jackson had some complications with
jaundice within his first week, and the doctors and nurses took such great care
of him once again. We are also thankful that I experienced no complications
lupus during the pregnancy, and so far have still been feeling great. My
rheumatologist was amazed throughout the entirety that I had no symptoms from
lupus (not even swollen ankles!), and we are happy to have had a very smooth
recovery over the past month! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for our
little family, God has been so good to us, and for all the encouragement we have received, we cherish you
all!
Sami, thank you for sharing. You endured it all with such a strong and positive attitude. Child birth is craaaaazy, but the outcome is so worth it. Love you!
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