Isabelle's Birth: Part II

I remember feeling nervous that they were going to send me home because I wasn’t far enough along, but when the nurse examined me, she called the doctor to come in for a second opinion. In a few minutes, I learned that she did that because she couldn’t believe I was as far along as I was (6-7cm) and had been at home all that time! She said “It won’t be long. You better decide quick if you want the epidural.” I had wanted to try it without, but the contractions were getting really intense and I was starting to feel scared so we decided together to get the epidural. Good thing, because by the time it came (11:00am) I really wanted it!! Ben (as my coach) was allowed to order room service until the baby came, at which point the food was for me! So after we got settled he ordered an enormous amount of food (eggs, bacon, french toast, fruit) and ate it all! And all I could have was ice chips. But that was all I wanted so it was okay.

I love the epidural doctor!

Once the epidural was in I couldn’t feel anything, and Ben and I were both really sleepy from being up all night. My nurse tucked me in, and Ben got comfy in some chairs, and we both had a 2 hour nap. The sun was shining, which is rare for Michigan, so it felt like God’s presence was just radiating into the room. We listened to Van Morrison and James Taylor on our little CD player and dozed in the bright sunshine. Not too many people get such a nice nap in the middle of labour so it was an incredible gift.