My 4hr and 1 minute labor!

To give a little background - I went into preterm labor of sorts at 24 weeks, spent 3 days in L&D and was sent home on modified bedrest and Procardia.  Stopped procardia at 36 weeks and increased activity.  Fast forward a few weeks - 1 day shy of 39 weeks I had decided LO was coming the next day.  It was storming, going to be a full moon, and my good friend's birthday (her son was born on DHs birthday).  That was Tuesday May 17th - so on May 16th we went to a friend's house to hang out and have dinner - a last rendezvous of sorts. 

 DH and one of our friends went to get ice cream and while they were gone I felt the need to use the bathroom.  It was 9:45pm.  I was *trying* to go when I felt a pop and some fluid came out.  I thought... hmm, but wasn't sure - I stood up and a little more came out, but that was about it.  I left the bathroom and within 10 minutes I was having pretty consistent and painful contractions.  Another note - their dog that usually totally ignores me wouldn't leave me alone that evening.  He kept standing behind me staring at me and whining.  Looking back we realized he KNEW something was up even when I had no idea!! It's mind boggling! 

 I couldn't sit down through them and had to deep breathe a bit. The Dr had said to time them for 1 hr before calling - so at 10:45ish I called and let them know what was going on.  OB said definitely sounds like you are in labor, so head in within the next few hours (I had  been 3cm dilated and 90% effaced at my appt the week prior).  I got off the phone and looked at DH and said "Either I'm a wimp and need an epidural or this is going a lot faster than I think it should" and we promptly left for the hospital.  That was the most grueling car ride - I couldn't sit - I had the seat all the way back and was moaning through the contractions.  Poor DH- it was raining and dark and he doesn't deal well when I'm in pain and he can't fix it!  But we made it to the hospital by 11:30 or so.  Got whisked immediately up to L&D. 

I had to get in bed and be monitored for a while - soo awful.  I wanted to stand/sway through the contractions - but LO wouldn't accelerate/decel her HR any so we had to stay on them for forever!  But I was 6cm, yay!!  Fast forward a bit - finally get the stuff they needed to see with LO and the nurse started the tub.  She checked me before I got in - 9cms!!!  She said it was still fine to labor in the tub.  What amazing relief!! My contractions were totally painless for a little while.  They started to get painful again and my body was pushing on its own.  The nurse decided I should get out, I was fully dilated   She had me push a trial push and said I did amazing!  She stayed a few more minutes and then she left to go get the OB.  I asked if I could push through the contractions while she was gone and she said it was fine - so I did.

I felt what I was pretty sure was the "ring of fire" and reached down and lo and behold was touching the top of LOs head.  It was just me, DH, and my mom in the room! I called the nurse and her and the OB came rushing in.  A few pushes later I got to pull LO out the rest of the way after her shoulders were delivered and put her on my chest.  Talk about an amazing experience!  I pushed for 30 minutes total and Claire Elizabeth arrived at 1:46am on May 17th, just like I'd thought.  She was 7lbs 1.2 oz and 20.25 inches long!!  I labored from the time my water broke until she was born for only 4 hours and 1 minute - not bad for a first timer!  I had 2 small 1st degree tears that didn't need repairs.

After her birth and the placenta coming out they had a hard time stopping my bleeding.  The OB was massaging internally and externally and I thought I was going to die from the pain - it was honestly worse than labor pains!! They tried over 6 times to get an IV to no avail - I ended up with a shot in each thigh and a suppository up the bum to stop the bleeding, and it was thankfully successful.  I was able to move to the recovery room a few hours later.  I was able to go home that next morning and all has been relatively well since!

My mother's first labor was 4 1/2 hours, her second was 2 1/2, her third - 11 minutes from when they broke her water, contractions started, and I was born (she was luckily in the hospital to be induced because she was like 4cms/90% effaced and the head was really low).  I'm scared to have another baby now!  I feel like I'll have it before I make it to the hospital (over an hr - our friends are luckily half way between).