Longest birth story ever- leahraewku

I think I jinxed myself in last week's UO thread by saying I'd prefer an induction over natural labor, because I started having regular contractions late Thursday afternoon.  They weren't terribly painful and eventually spaced out, but woke me up on Friday morning from their intensity.  I started timing them around 10 am, and they were 3 minutes apart for a span of an hour.  I called the OB and was told to come in.  It had just started sleeting and snowing heavily and meteorologists were predicting a snow emergency within the next few hours, so I needed to get DH home from work and moving quickly to avoid hazardous driving conditions.  Naturally, he calls to tell me he has somehow lost his wallet on his way home.  A preview of the fun to come.

So, he makes it home and is flipping out over not having our drivers' licenses, insurance cards, credit cards, and so on while I'm running around the house like a mad woman trying to pack a bag.  Logically, I knew it was possible, but in my mind I was convinced I would never ever have a baby at 37 weeks because my other two pregnancies had gone to 40w, so I literally had NOTHING packed.  While packing we get a call from MIL.  Because of the bad roads, FIL has gotten in a car accident, totaled his car, and been taken to the hospital to get checked out.  FML.

My mom arrives to watch the kids and we finally get on the road.  We make it to the hospital without incident, and I'm taken to triage for observation.  I check in at 2cm 70% effaced.  As I'm waiting an hour to be checked again, the intensity of my contractions really increases.  They have been spaced 3 minutes (or less) since 7 am, but suddenly have quadrupled in the amount of pain they're causing.  When the OB resident comes back to check me, he informs me I haven't changed at all and they're sending me home.  This being my third child, I just KNEW this wasn't a false alarm and going home would be a mistake.  I was in a terrible amount of pain and I wasn't going to drive home in dangerous weather, only to be back in a few hours.  I think the stress of everything that had happened that morning already, combined with the pain of the contractions caused me to snap.  I broke down in tears and told the resident I wasn't leaving.  I was going to walk the floor for an hour and they were going to check me again, because I knew this was it.  He agreed and after an hour I was 3cm and 80% effaced.  He said they wouldn't admit me for active labor, but they would set me up in  L&D suite and give me pain medication.  Whatever, dude.

First came morphine.  It did nothing.  It might as well have just been saline in my iv.  By this time, my contractions were literally on top of one another.  It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.  They would start, peak, descend, then climb again immediately.  I had no recovery time in between.  I couldn't talk through them, I just yelled and screamed the occasional expletive while writhing around.  Next they said they'd try phenergan so I could "rest."  Again, that was laughable.  It did nothing.  Around 9pm, they administered stadol.  DH says he asked me at one point if it was helping and I angrily told him, "NO! Now I'm just f'd up and in pain!"  I don't remember saying this.

At 10pm I begged them to check me again.  I was 4cm 80%.  I was relieved because I thought this indicated active labor and meant I could have the epi.  The OB resident didn't agree.  I felt so defeated.  Since I was only 37w2d, they were very reluctant to do anything to speed up the laboring process, and I was right on the cusp of early labor and active labor.  She agreed to break my water to see if that would help.  She did and discovered a ton of blood in the process.  This is when they discovered the placental abruption.  Apparently, this was also the cause of my continuous contractions.  I was immediately given the epi and pitocin.  I FINALLY had relief!  Three hours later, I felt a tremendous amount of pressure and asked if it was time to push.  It was.  The OB came in and asked me to do a practice push and she crowned, so they quickly suited up and with the next contraction, she came out with two pushes.  She had a knot in her cord, but everything else was perfect.  She scored 9s on her apgars.  We did an hour of skin to skin and she nursed right away.

I'm so glad I stood up for myself and demanded I stay.  Between the abruption, the knot, and the weather, I feel like things could have gone very badly.  Call it mother's intuition or whatever you'd like, but I knew I needed to be in the hospital and I wasn't going to take no for an answer. 

After her delivery, my mom called to say someone had found DH's wallet in the parking lot of our bank and driven it all the way to our house in the storm!  MIL called to say FIL was perfectly fine too.  I had a perfect baby, everyone was healthy, and all was right with the world!  The only negative, was she came on the day of my sister's wedding and I was unable to fulfill my MOH duties or see my sister married.  That part was kinda sad, but the joy of having my little girl with me made up for it.  My other two kids are completely in love as well.  DS calls her "dorable" and tries to hold her hand all day and DD is the best little helper ever.

I think this takes the cake for longest birth story.  Cookies, cake, and a glass of champagne to you if you made it all the way through!