New Arrival

So through the night and for most of the next day the mild cramping continued.  In the evening I started to think that maybe these cramps were coming in regular intervals so I tried timing them.  The cramps were about every 15 minutes and would last for about 5 minutes but they were very irregular and mild so I didn't think much of it, just a result of being on my feet too much.

I went to bed around 10 pm to rest and at 11 pm I suddenly realized that these were no ordinary cramps.  I started timing them myself because I didn't want to panic anyone unnecessarily and discovered the contractions (because that's definitely what they were at this point) were coming every three minutes and lasting for about 45 seconds.  I called Aaron in from the garage and gave him the news.  He immediately sent out a massive text.  I called Kathy to let her know we were a go.  Aaron called Grandma Joyce to come watch Matthew.

A quick call to the midwives got me in the tub to try to relax and get the contractions to calm down.  If we had a decent tub and I had a calm husband that might have helped but as it was after 45 minutes the contractions got harder and closer together.  Another call to the midwives and we headed to the hospital.

Our arrival time at the hospital.

We sat in triage for about an hour while they assessed me and got my room ready. (3 cm dilated)

 Not having a contraction.

Having a contraction

Once in the room I got to get in the big tub and the midwife on duty, Amy, sat next to me and talked me through contractions for about an hour when I decided to get an epidural to get a break from the pain because it looked like I could have a long way to go and I was already exhausted.  Then she sat there for another hour while we waited for the anesthesiologist.  Throughout this process Aaron and Kathy would come in and out to give support and their two cents.

The epidural took effect at 5am (4cm dilated) and I was able to get about 3 hours of intermittent rest before the midwives changed shift.  Aaron took this opportunity to run home and shower while Kathy and I sent out a few Facebook posts and texts then napped.

Before the epidural.

After the Epidural.

The new midwife, Carol, and the student, Anne, decided to break my water to continue our progress. 8am (5cm dilated).  At this point the epidural had completely worn off of the left side and I was back to having to stop and breathe through the contractions.  After the breaking of the water, I got a booster in my epidural so the contractions went away just long enough for me to start feeling the pressure of needing to push (maybe a half hour).

Kathy ran out to the nurses station to let them know I was feeling the need to push and everyone rushed back in to check me (9:30 ish 10 cm!!).  Now I was told to go with the contractions but not to actively push as the baby was still quite high and needed the contractions to help him descend.  Actively pushing would exhaust me since it could take a couple hours to complete "laboring down".

Aaron was amazing, and stayed right here with me encouraging me through every contraction.

Considering that I was fairly preoccupied my timeline may be off a bit but at around 10:45am I started actively pushing.  I would say 5-6 pushes later at 11:07 am on July 3rd, our Alexander Edward Pollock Greenreich arrived! Right on time!

I want to say thank you to Kathy, who was there from the beginning to the end and beyond lending support when Aaron couldn't and providing a positive and loving perspective when I wasn't able to trust myself or the midwife.  She was invaluable in this whole process.  Kathy you will always have a special place in my heart and in Alexander's life.  Thank you forever.
She also took these amazing pictures.