Coughing, labor, and delivery

At my 36 week appointment, I was checked for group B strep. The midwife went ahead and checked my cervix which was still posterior though 50% effaced. I was slightly disappointed that I was not yet dilated. Boring information, right?

While I never had a significant cold or cough with Maria, poor me had suffered from numerous colds and coughs with this pregnancy. Wah. I was coughing pretty hard that prior weekend when I worked and felt like I could have coughed out the baby at times. At least I was over another bout of pinkeye from the week before.

On Monday morning at my 37 week appointment, the nurse who always checked me in at the office mentioned that she noticed I dropped. Co-workers told me weeks ago that they thought the baby had dropped, but I myself noticed a significant difference in how low the baby's head seemed to be that day and that weekend really. She asked me if I would like the doctor to check my cervix, but I refused and requested it be checked next week. Not wanting to welcome any unnecessary infection, I highly doubted the baby would come soon.

That evening, I received a text message from the Kosydars letting us know that they were back in town. Russ and I happily rejoiced because we were counting on them to care for Maria should I go into labor. Now knowing this, I regretted not having the doctor check my cervix at the office earlier for curiosity's sake.

Early Tuesday morning, I began having yet another spell of coughs. At about two in the morning, I tried hard to cough minimally and directly into the blanket so as not to bother Russ or Maria. I eventually got up and went to the other side of the house to blow my nose then went to the bathroom multiple times, as expected by a pregnant mother. My body just could not decide whether to urinate or have a bowel movement. Perhaps it was the same hour that the contractions began.

By the three o'clock hour however, I realized that the short pains I was experiencing every four to five minutes may be true labor. Because I feared not knowing who was going to deliver me within the WVU group and not wanting to risk having one of the doctors initiate Pitocin, I quietly endured the faint contractions until I knew that my husband's alarm would be going off at four o'clock.

As I was questioning myself, I had gotten online to double check at what point the contractions are actually true labor. When Russ awoke, he found me sitting up on the couch. When I calmly told him my suspicion, he began acting quickly and knew we needed to wake Maria up so she could go to daycare and so we could get ourselves to the hospital. We contacted the Kosydars as we finished packing for the hospital. Kate was soon over to help.

When we arrived at the emergency room, Russ dropped me off at the curb and I walked slowly to the front desk. I told the nurse that I thought I was in labor. She told me there was a wheelchair around the corner. I told her I would wait for my husband, as I leaned against the counter and experienced another contraction. We joked around that at least I was not having a heart attack. We would both be more concerned about getting a cardiac patient into a wheelchair.

The nurse called up to the OB floor. Russ walks in with the duffel bag. Kate was by his side with Maria in her arms. She suggested that she just stay downstairs until daycare opened. I had tears in my eyes as Russ and I kissed Maria goodbye, acknowledging to myself that it was the last time she would have our sole attention as the only child. Maria also had tears in her eyes as she did not understand why her parents were leaving her.

We soon made it up to the OB floor. One of the nurses handed paperwork to me at the nurse's station. I signed my name, glanced at the clock, and marked the date and time as 12/31/2013 at 0555.  We asked her who was on call for the WVU group. Stephanie the midwife until 8 o'clock then Dr. Hembree. Russ and I were relieved that one or the other of our two favorites would be the one to deliver our baby.

The nurse directed my husband and I over to triage. She then asked me for a urine sample. I put on a gown then made my way to the restroom. I easily left a clean urine specimen, but felt like I could still urinate a little more. So I did. Or rather, I pushed out my bag of waters. Wow, I thought. I began to calmly pull out a pair of maternity underwear since I knew I would begin leaking soon. Then idiot me thinks again of how pointless it was to do this. I was about to have this baby!

I again felt like I had to push! I must have yelled in some way and had the fleeting gross thought of pushing my baby into the toilet. Russ and the nurse were not happy that I had locked the door. But if you were in a public place and were asked to leave a urine sample, would you not lock the door behind you for some dignity and privacy?

I walked slowly back to the cart and let her know that I passed my bag of waters. When the nurse checked my cervix, she began yelling for help from her fellow nurses to gather supplies needed for delivery, I assume. I asked her how dilated I was. She told me nine and a half centimeters and began pushing the cart down the hall to room 13. The faint contractions quickly intensified. I laid on my side and warned her that I was leaking.

I felt the baby coming so fast now. My repeated prayer, my cry, my mantra was, "Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God..." The nurse asked me to just breathe. Doing as told, my mantra was replaced by loud breathing in and out. The nurse was asking where Stephanie was. She must have appeared then disappeared because she did not have her glasses with her the first time. I told the nurse that I had to push. Those few minutes quickly turned into a blur as I trusted the midwife and nurse to cue me as to what to do next.

After two quick pushes, Kateri Day was born at 6:13 AM weighing 6.9 pounds and measuring 19 inches. The delivery happened so fast that Russ and I could barely believe she was in our arms. Russ told me later that he had tears in his eyes, as did I.