Birth Nightmare!

Ok, all through my pregnancy I dreamed of the "ideal" delivery. Well, that was definately a dream, because labor and delivery was a nightmare! Tuesday night February 6th, my water broke while I was making grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner at 7:20 p.m. So, of course we ate dinner before calling the hospital! I knew they wouldn't let me eat once we got there, so I was fueling up. We were at the hospital around 8:15. In the "preparing for birth" class they told us to go to the ER if it was after 8:00 p.m. due to the hospital doors being locked for the night. So, Johnny took me to the ER entrance and then he went to park. By this time I'm having contractions, which by the way are a little painful. The security guard at the ER stopped me and made me leave the ER! She told me the doors were still open and I had to go through the other entrance. I was not a happy camper as you might imagine. One would think to offer a woman in labor at least a wheelchair. Nope, not this broad! I had to walk out of the hospital then down what seemed to be a never ending halway to the elevators in order to go to Labor and Delivery! When a wonderful woman who was there visiting a family member saw me and grabbed a wheelchair and took me upstairs. Once at Labor and Delivery we were admitted by our good friend Dr. David Nelsen! My nurse was also a good friend. I babysat her eldest son when I was in high school! The staff at UAMS was absolutely wonderful! I couldn't have asked for better care! Everything was going great until I got my epidural. I made a huge mistake by asking for "staff" to perform the epidural instead of the resident. Who knows how long it had been since the staff member did an epidural. Consequently, the epidural only took on the left side of my body!!!!! I was in labor a total of 13.5 hours, and feeling every bit of it (at least on the right side, which was enough). I was cut, then I tore and was completely pain free as soon as our little Catherine came out! It was amazing!!! Now, have I forgotten the pain like everyone tells you happens? To an extent. I now have a whole new reference for pain. I will say, despite how bad labor and delivery was, there is nothing I went through that I wouldn't do all over again. About an hour after delivery, Johnny came to my bedside and said, "I think we need to have a lot more." My response was , "Maybe so, but now is not the time to discuss it!" He was so excited ! We were so blessed to have a healthy baby girl! As a bonus, God made her the most beautiful baby I have ever seen! Of course, I'm a little partial! Thanks to all our family and friends who have prayed for us the last year, brought meals and have helped in so many ways!