I started having contractions early Thursday morning, June 7th 2012, but using my timer I realized they were pretty far apart, 15 to 20 minutes. So I just went about my day as normal. Got some laundry done around the house, went and had a great lunch with my family, came home and put together the new patio furniture that hubs and I had bought eachother for our birthdays. As the evening wore on I noticed they were getting stronger and closer together, about 10 minutes at this point. So I decided I should make some cookies for the nurses at the hospital. I made a huge batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and then decided I should at least make an attempt at sleep. Unfortunately that didn't work too well with contractions continually getting closer and closer together. At 4am I decided I needed to get up and get ready to go.
Right before leaving for the hospital.
I got in the shower and woke hubs up to get the car ready. We called both of our parents to let them know we were on our way to the hospital and then off we went. We arrived at the hospital around 6am. I was checked and we were admitted since I was already dialated to a 6. They put us in a room but then seeing how many people we had to watch the birth (my parents, hub's parents, my sister and my brother) our nurse moved us into the suite. I told the nurse that it was my goal not to have any pain medication so she said she wouldn't push anything and to let her know if there was anything I needed from her. The doctor came in an hour after we were admitted and checked me again. I was now dialted to a 7, so he broke my water and discovered a little merconium, which he assured me was not going to be a problem. He told us we would have a baby by noon. Contractions started getting stronger and closer together and I was sure I was progressing normally. However, after 7 LONG hours I begin to doubt myself and started telling hubs that I wasn't sure I could do this. Everyone kept assuring me that I was doing great but it sure didn't feel like it to me. The nurse suggested that she check me again so we could see how much I had progressed. Reluctantly I agreed, I did not want to lay flat on my back, much to my dismay I had NOT progressed at all. After 7 hours of contractions one on top of the other I had not progressed even 1cm. I wanted to cry. The nurse called the doctor and he came in and discussed with me how this was not normal and he would really like to start a pitocin drip to get things moving. I was beside myself because I had not wanted to have any pitocin. But after some conversations with hubs and my mom I agreed. The nurse also asked about an epidural to allow myself to relax a little to save energy for pushing. I was extremely upset by this conversation because I felt like I was failing. However, hubs and my mom calmed me down and told me I would not be failing, I was simply doing what I needed to do in order to have a healthy baby. The nurse called the anestiologist and I voiced my concerns about not being able to feel my legs and he told me he could give me a walking epidural, where I would still be able to feel my legs it would just take the edge off allowing me to relax a little, since I had begun tensing through contractions. The anestiologist put in the catheder for the walking epidural and they started the pitocin. I felt better and was able to lay back and "relax" a little. However, the babies heart rate started dropping and they had to shut off the pitocin after only a few minutes. But apparently that was enough because within the hour I had a strong urge to push and sure enough I was finally at a 10. I begin pushing and had a renewed energy level because I was going to meet my baby soon. However, after 2 1/2 hours of pushing baby was still not here. Brian and my sister who had been at my side through the entire pushing process, kept saying they could see the head but then it would go back. Needless to say I was exhuasted and beginning to doubt that the baby was ever coming out. They were amazing, and giving me so much support. The doctor came in and I thought for sure he was going to tell me he was going to have to do a C-section. But after watching me push he said we could get baby out vaginally he was just going to have to help me. He was going to put suction on baby's head and when I pushed he would hold baby in position until the next contraction. So after 3 hours of pushing and a little assistance I was finally able to reach down and pull my baby onto my chest. I can still remember the tears that were flowing down my face when the doctor announced that we had a baby girl. I remember looking into hubs eyes and seeing pure and utter joy. Giving birth truly is a miracle. And even though I wasn't able to do it without any interventions as I had planned I know now that I did not fail because I have a beautiful healthy baby girl!
Moments after she was born.
Peyton and Mommy
Peyton and Daddy
Peyton Lynn Barrett was born June 8th at 7:45pm, 8lbs 1 oz 20.1".
