On September 3, 2008 at 6:06 pm, Brooke Lynn Grathwohl arrived and changed our lives forever. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 20 inches long. Her due date was September 1st but on the 2nd of September my doctor made the decision to induce me because she wasn't happy with a stress test. I was given a cervix softener at 8 PM on the 2nd and it made my water break at 5 AM the next morning. After my water broke, the fun began! The contractions were a minute and a half to 2 minutes apart and they were all in my back. I wasn't prepared for the pain. My original plan was full of optimistic ideals - like I would go into labor on my own and be able to do it without any drugs and that it would be a short labor.
But all those things just weren't in the cards for me. I guess my labor was a lot shorter than some, but I didn't make it without the drugs. I toughed out the back labor for about 2 hours. Ryan was having to massage my back during every contraction. I then tried to bounce on the birthing ball with Ryan massaging my back . . . the nurse thought this might help and be easier for me. I then proceeded to throw up in those plastic, kidney shaped barf pans. . . why they are a kidney shape is beyond me! That's when I realized that a drug-free labor wasn't going to happen for me. The doctor then told me it would be about an hour and a half before they could give me the epidural. I panicked! I kept saying, what if I can't make it that long and they said I'd be fine. Well 2 and a half hours later they came back and gave me the epidural. Ryan was wonderful the entire time and didn't leave my side. Once the epidural kicked in there was a night and day difference. I thought "why on earth would someone not get one!"
Once I finally progressed to being fully dilated, the pushing began. I kept checking my watch to see how long I was pushing. Other women in my family have said crazy things like "oh, I barely pushed" or "I pushed twice and they were out." So once again I had unrealistic expectations. So 5 minutes goes by, then 10 and I kept asking the nurse . . . "am I making progress"? She was kindly reassuring me that things were still going fine. Then 20 minutes goes by and then 30 and at this point I'm thinking how much I can't stand the women in my family who "barely pushed" . . . what a crock! Finally after 50 minutes, our little munchkin arrived. We didn't have a name for her yet, but she melted our hearts when the doctors put her on my stomach and she was wide-eyed and quietly looking at her mom and dad for the first time. What am amazing moment in our lives. About 15 minutes after she was born the visitors started pouring in. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all stopped by to say hi to Brooke!
But all those things just weren't in the cards for me. I guess my labor was a lot shorter than some, but I didn't make it without the drugs. I toughed out the back labor for about 2 hours. Ryan was having to massage my back during every contraction. I then tried to bounce on the birthing ball with Ryan massaging my back . . . the nurse thought this might help and be easier for me. I then proceeded to throw up in those plastic, kidney shaped barf pans. . . why they are a kidney shape is beyond me! That's when I realized that a drug-free labor wasn't going to happen for me. The doctor then told me it would be about an hour and a half before they could give me the epidural. I panicked! I kept saying, what if I can't make it that long and they said I'd be fine. Well 2 and a half hours later they came back and gave me the epidural. Ryan was wonderful the entire time and didn't leave my side. Once the epidural kicked in there was a night and day difference. I thought "why on earth would someone not get one!"
Once I finally progressed to being fully dilated, the pushing began. I kept checking my watch to see how long I was pushing. Other women in my family have said crazy things like "oh, I barely pushed" or "I pushed twice and they were out." So once again I had unrealistic expectations. So 5 minutes goes by, then 10 and I kept asking the nurse . . . "am I making progress"? She was kindly reassuring me that things were still going fine. Then 20 minutes goes by and then 30 and at this point I'm thinking how much I can't stand the women in my family who "barely pushed" . . . what a crock! Finally after 50 minutes, our little munchkin arrived. We didn't have a name for her yet, but she melted our hearts when the doctors put her on my stomach and she was wide-eyed and quietly looking at her mom and dad for the first time. What am amazing moment in our lives. About 15 minutes after she was born the visitors started pouring in. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all stopped by to say hi to Brooke!
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