Like with Mason, my labour did not start on it's own the second time around... but it was a much better experience for us all around. I'll start at the beginning!
Around Halloween, when I was 37 weeks (full term), I started feeling differently. The exhaustion was unreal, and I started feeling very drained and weak. I can't really put into words how I was feeling. A few hours after my doctor appt with a different phsyician (mine was away AGAIN: happened with Mason too), I was sure my water broke. I walked in to Value Village, stopped to talk to an old friend and her mom, walked out of the store, jumped into my car and a big gush of water happened. I was SURE that it broke. I called my mom and she went with me to the hospital while my grandmother kept Mason. At the hospital they did some tests and the first one showed positive, so they did some more. They arrived at the conclusion that my water had not broken. I was very worried about this because I knew from experience that if it was broken (which I knew it HAD!) that I could get an infection. I went home and went about my life as normal... still exhausted and still not feeling very well every day. The next week when my Doctor returned from vacation (9 days after the hospital tests), I went to my scheduled appointment. I told him what happened and what I thought and he told me that he was sending me up to the hospital and going to get them to run the tests again but this time with an additional test that would definitely pick it up if my water had indeed broken. I had a feeling that I would be kept at the hospital because I KNEW my water was broken and that they would pick it up this time with that last additional test he ordered so I told my grandmother (who was with me) that I wanted to go eat lunch before we went there. I stuffed my face at a lunch buffet and then went up to the hospital. They put me in the same room as my first labour and I was feeling awful about that (such bad memories!!!). Sure enough, the tests revealed that my water had broken and they asked me questions about when it happened. I told them that nothing had changed since the week before when I was tested originally and because they were worried I would get an infection (DUH) they checked me in to stay. The plan was to induce me and get labour started because my water had already been broken for NINE days. Well. They started the process around 2pm and eventually it got so late that my family went home and only Joel and I were left. I said goodbye to Mason and gave him a hug and kiss and told him that the next time I saw him he would be a big brother and baby would be here! We were all excited to find out whether the baby was a boy or a girl!
The labour still did not start. I went hours and hours and hours hooked up without any contractions and then they started around 3am Friday. I was so tired from being awake, and the pain had finally started, but I didn't have the energy for it at that moment. Thankfully, around 6am, a nurse came in and unhooked me and told me to get some sleep and eat some food because they were going to try it again later in the morning. Around 9:30/10 am they got me hooked up. I didn't feel anything for a couple of hours... and then one of the nurses told me to go for a walk. My mom and grandmother were waiting in the waiting room and we chatted with them a little bit and then we went back to the room. My contractions finally started around 2:30 pm. They started getting longer and more painful and the nurses suggested that if I wanted the epidural I should get it before the Dr. on the floor became the anesthesiologist for the entire hospital at 4:30 pm. Based on past experience I decided that I wanted the epidural. The doctor came around and gave me my epidural just before he went on call for the rest of the hospital. From that point on I slept mostly. Unlike my first labour I was in control of the epidural and anytime I felt I needed more I would push a button and control it. This was perfect because the first time I felt like I could feel it all and that it wasn't working because the nurse would not top it up.
I had stressed my concerns to the nurses about my previous labour and they made sure to tell the doctor how I was feeling about it (he was the same doctor from the first time- scary!). He came in and talked to me about it and said he was going to do his best to make sure I didn't experience anything like that again. From that point on he just sat in the room with us and didn't leave once (as opposed to the first time where he was never in the room!). The only pain I was having was I felt like my ribs were going to crack from the baby's feet being pushed against them during every contraction. Around 5:30/6 he asked me if I could feel anything at all and I said that I could feel a little bit of pressure when the contractions came but mostly just in my ribcage. He decided to check again for dilating because I was only at 3cm's the hour before. He checked and all I remember was him saying "the head is right there, get everything ready!". He got his scrubs on, the spotlight came on and they prepped me. Instead of the nightmare that I had at this point with Mason, everything was so much better. I started pushing and it was fine! The nurses were joking around with us and I felt comfortable and in so much less pain!! They were all making their bets on the gender and I was getting very anxious to find out! I also was a bit panicked because I really wanted to have the baby before these nurses ended their shifts at 7:30 and it was already 7. I pushed for 20 minutes with every contraction and pushed once more without a contraction because baby was stuck with their hand on their face and VOILA! baby GIRL was born! The nurse put her arms in the air with excitement over it being a girl and I bawled like a baby because I couldn't believe it! We had one of each, oh my gosh. I was holding my breath and I didn't even care in the moment what the baby was I was just listening for a cry... PLEASE let the baby cry! She cried and it was BEAUTIFUL (lol)! Instead of the scary scene that came along with Mason being born it was so nice. They passed her to me, I got to hold her right away, and then she got to come with us into our room instead of being shipped to the NICU for a couple of days. Everyone (except for my grandmother and mother!) was so surprised that it was a girl!
Our 6 lb, 8 oz. baby girl Grace Briar Vail was born at 7:20 pm on November 13th, 2015 (almost on Daddy's birthday and a whole week early) and it was all so amazing! Mason met his baby sister and it was love at first sight. They have been inseparable since and she has completed our family and filled my heart.
