It all started the morning of the 9th. I got up to use the bathroom around 6:00 and noticed I had lost my mucous plug. My contractions started pretty quickly after. I got back into bed to try to go back to sleep but of course my mind wouldn't shut off. I ended up going out on the couch to start tracking my contractions. Everything I had read to prepare me for this moment told me to follow the 511 rule (5 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute, for 1 hour). That is when we needed to go to the hospital. Mine were coming every 3 minutes, but only lasting for 30-40 seconds. After I had reached my hour of tracking I decided to go wake Matt up. I calming said "I'm having contractions, we are probably going to the hospital, I'm getting in the shower.", and Matt rolled over and went back to sleep. After I got out of the shower I called the doctor. The nurse I talked to on the phone made me feel a little silly for calling. After telling her about my contractions she bluntly said "YOU NEED TO GO THE THE HOSPITAL!". I then told Matt that we needed to go, and he asked "Do I have time to shower?" Haha So while Matt was showering I loaded the car while buckling over every 3 minutes to get through the next contraction.
We got to the hospital around 9:00. The nurses wanted to check how far along I was before officially admitting me. I was only dilated to a 2, and typically they wont admit you unless you are at a 3. So they recommended we walk around the halls to see if I would progress. For the next hour Matt and I walked the halls, well Matt walked, I kinda bounced. I really wanted to stay! By this point my contractions were getting a little bit more intense and with my pain tolerance I knew I needed that epidural soon. The nurse checked me again, and I had progressed enough to be admitted! YAY! They got me all settled, talked to me about a few things, and then asked when I wanted the epidural. Which I replied "Um...now?"
Shortly after receiving the epidural my water broke, which was a really cool feeling. The nurses told me it was probably a good thing I got the epidural when I did because my contractions became really strong quickly after my water broke. At that point I was progressing very quickly! Everyone was talking as if we would be having this baby that afternoon. When I reached an 8 everything slowed down. Hours went by and nothing happened. The day flew by and we realized that we wouldn't be having our baby that day. I was exhausted! It was 1:00 in the morning of the 10th, and the nurse was talking about getting ready to start pushing. When she left the room everything set in. I was going to have to push this baby out! I looked up at Matt with watery eyes. When he asked me what was wrong I told him that I was scared I wouldn't be able to do it. I was already so exhausted, I was afraid I didn't have the energy. Matt of course told me I was going to do great, and encouraged me as best he could. He then gave me a blessing to comfort me and give me strength.
After pushing for 2 and a half hours the doctor was called in. At this point my body was not responding to my epidural so I could feel more then I was wanting to, I was extremely exhausted, emotional, and scared. Nothing was going how I had imaged it. After pushing a few times with the doctor there, he realized this baby was a lot bigger then we all thought. That's when things got intense! The voices of the doctor and nurses all changed. You could feel the tension. With every contraction I had everyone shouting at me! "PUSH!!" Our little baby was stuck, so the doctor had to use the forceps to help pull her out as I pushed.
After pushing for 3 hours our baby girl was finally here! She was born at 4:45 am. She wasn't crying when she was born so the doctor quickly cut the cord and she was taken to the side to get checked out. All I really remember at this point was Matt leaning over me, with his arms around me trying to calm me down. And the nurses all saying "She's a big baby!". Then Sage was placed on my chest. I wish I could say it was this beautiful moment but as Sage was laying on my chest screaming, I was falling asleep! Haha Everyone had told us how amazing and spiritual labor and delivery would be. I don't know what they were talking about. The spirit wasn't in our room! It was long, emotional, exhausting, painful, and down right traumatizing! For all three of us! I am very grateful that my memories of those long hours are very much a blur.
The memory I hope I never forget is when Matt got to hold his daughter for the first time. At this point everything had calmed down and seemed quite. I opened my tired eyes to see Matt sitting in a rocking chair, cradling Sage. I wont go into detail about his special moment, but it was darling. I just remember smiling as I watched them. That moment made it all worth it!
Soon after we were taken to our room and all three of us passed out! That's when I got to finally have my special moment. Getting to nap with my daughter curled up next to me, skin to skin, was amazing! I remember falling asleep with tears in my eyes as I snuggled with this new, fresh out of heaven baby. My baby!
Sage Myers
May 10th, 2016
9lb 4oz
