I'll start with the week leading up to having Jo and go from there...First things first, I was huge. <<Huge is actually an understatement; more like the size of an infant humpback whale>> And more importantly, I was just so done with being pregnant. I was constantly uncomfortable, I wasn't sleeping well, and I had hit my due date on October 10th. Well, that day came and went. I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for the 18th (my birthday), which i would then be 8 days past my due date. The days after my due date kept passing and Philip and i were going on walks nightly to try to get things moving along. Nothing was happening, so I was honestly looking forward to the 18th and my doctor's appointment. I knew that my doctor's office doesn't like you to go over a week past your due date and will then schedule an induction if you do. Well, being new to this whole having a baby thing I was under the impression that I would go to my appointment on the 18th and because I was 8 days overdue they would be able to get me in within the next day or so. Turns out that wasn't the case at all. The previous week on my due date I had seen a new doctor that i had never seen and who was also new to the practice. Well, somehow there had been some kind of miscommunication (meaning he forgot to mention) that I was supposed to go ahead and get them to schedule an induction right then and there in case i didn't go into labor within the next week. So, fast forward up to the 18th again and I am seeing my regular obgyn. He checks me, I had progressed a little since the previous week but that's it. Seeing that I have no induction date scheduled he gets a little upset and says he will call and see when they can get me in, but it probably won't be for several days because I was supposed to get that scheduled last week. Needless to say, i was a little upset as well (especially because Jo was measuring rather large and my cankles were the size of tree trunks). I was hoping for some good birthday news! They also wanted to have me come in a bit later in the day to do a stress test since I was so overdue to make sure the baby was still doing alright. I called Philip, and knowing how sad I was he came home from work early to go to the stress test with me (my mom went to the regular appointment with me). After my regular appointment I started to feel some contracting, but it soon went away. A few hours pass and we head back to do the stress test. It can monitor when your uterus is contracting, and it was happening, but it was very slight. The baby was doing alright (yay!) and they also let us know that the earliest they can get us in will be in another 7 DAYS. WHAT!??? I felt like bursting into tears right then and there. I couldn't wait another seven days. We left and headed to the park to do some walking. My mom tried calling me, but I was in a constant state of crying/self-pity, so I didn't feel like picking up and talking to anyone. Some of the most fervent prayers of my life were said that day. I don't remember ever being so upset. Once I had calmed down a little I called to tell her what the doctor said. She, my sisters and Philip tried everything they could think of to try to cheer me up. Dinner for my birthday? Ice cream? Shopping? Philip mentioned the shopping one, and I knew he was really trying because he hates shopping. I said no to everything and really just felt like crying for the rest of forever (dramatic, I know). Well, after about an hour or so of that I finally decided to put my big girl panties on and try to cheer up. After all, there was nothing more I could do at this point. So, I told decided to go to the mall and walk around and then grab some dinner with Philip. The contractions I had felt that morning had started to creep back a little, but I was a little confused because they didn't feel like what I expected contractions to feel like. So, I wasn't even sure that's what they were. After we got to the mall and had been walking for a bit they started getting stronger. I literally thought it was Jo just kicking a lot down there. As they got more uncomfortable though we decided to start timing them and they were coming at regular intervals. That's when we realized it wasn't just Jo kicking. They were contractions. We left to get some food and they continued to get stronger, so we headed home. I decided to get in some comfy clothes and try to get some rest, but that wasn't happening so well. We continued to time them and finally called the midwife who was on call at the hospital. She said that we should try to wait it out a little longer. But if i came in because of contractions they would admit me because of how far along I was. We debated when we should go in and I really wasn't sure. They were super painful at this point, but were still about five minutes apart.We said a prayer and decided to head in. Our timing couldn't have been more perfect because on our way to the hospital the contractions started to get worse and closer together to where I almost didn't have a break between them. We went in, they checked me and I was at about a five. I was admitted and taken to my room. And then this is where the real fun begins...
I was admitted around 10:30 p.m. on the 18th (Happy Birthday to me!). We called family to let them know we were there and my mom and dad headed over. Philip and my dad gave me a blessing and my mom stayed with us. At first I didn't want an epidural. I knew that eventually I wanted one, but I was trying to hold out for as long as I could first. So I took some pain medicine, which made me super loopy and tried to get some rest. The contractions were keeping me from resting though, so I finally agreed to an epidural. I couldn't feel the contractions anymore, but I still didn't get much rest. Several things happened over the next few hours, one of which being my heart rate was super high (baby was fine), so they were monitoring that and did an EKG. Then at around 8:30 a.m. on the 19th I started pushing. Philip, my mom, and my sister Stephanie were all there. It honestly felt like the longest two hours of my life (and my epidural didn't work like it was supposed to) and there were a few times where I felt like I couldn't keep going and was ready to give up. But thanks to my mom, Philip, Steph and the most amazing nurse of all time (no joke) they kept motivating me and cheering me on and we did it!
Little Jo was born at 10:24 a.m. on the 19th, weighing 8 lb. 10 oz. and measuring 19.75 inches long. Holding her for the first time felt like a dream. Was she really mine?? She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. Needless to say, we were smitten on day 1 and have been completely smitten ever since.
