Bringing home Baby-Chapter 1

I was 22 years old and working full time at a local bank. My due date was January 5th and I had already planned to quit my job on that day whether or not the baby had come yet. Sure enough, January 5th came and went with not even so much as a contraction. I went to my doctors appointment and found out I was 1 cm dilated and that if I still hadn't had her in a week, that they would schedule an induction. Ugh! Another WHOLE week! 5 days go by and then all of a sudden at about 2 am, I woke up with a cramp in my tummy. It was really mild though, so I thought oh, I won't bother Matt just yet and I started watching the clock to see if maybe this could be labor. After 2 hours, I decided to wake Matt up and see what he thought. My "contractions" were coming about 4 minutes apart and very regular, but not painful. We waited until about 6 am and then decided to get up and get showered and head to the hospital. Once there, they checked me and said I was still only dilated to a 1 but they did show that I was having contractions so they sent me home to rest and gave me some VERY STRONG sleeping pills. We decided to stop at Carl's Jr. on the way home and get some breakfast. We just ran through the drive through and ate in the car. By the time we pulled up in the driveway, I was so drugged I couldn't even get my bacon, egg and cheese biscuit to my mouth but was hitting myself in the nose and cheeks with it! Matt ended up having to carry me in the house and to the bed because I couldn't even walk! Since I was in never-never land, he went ahead and went on to work and we called my mom and told her it was safe for her to go ahead and go to work too (she worked in another town 30 minutes away). So, I stayed home all alone all the while progressing further and further in my labor. At lunchtime when I woke up, there was no question I was "in labor". Still though, it was more discomfort than pain so I just went through the afternoon alone getting things "prepared." Finally at 5 o'clock when Matt got home from work I told him I really thought it was time to go to the hospital so again, I got all "ready" (full make up and hair, painted toenails and fingernails) saying hee-hee-who all the way through. At 6 o'clock that night when they Finally got me into a room and got me all hooked up and checked out the doctor said I was dilated to a 5-6!! She suggested I go ahead and get an epidural because if we waited too much longer it might be too late. (They said they wouldn't give me one if I got to an 8) so I went ahead and did it. Getting the epidural was one of the most painful parts of my whole labor. They had to "dig" around in my back several times to finally find the right spot--but boy when they did...it worked! You could have cut my legs off and I wouldn't have felt a thing. Now I know to some of you, that sounds like a good thing--but I HATED it! I never did feel another contraction and never felt the urge to push--I just had to go off of what everyone else was saying. "Oh look, you're having a really strong contration now!" hmmm? Really?!
Anyway, finally at 2:38 am on January 11th, Brooklyn Kate was born weighing 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. When I first saw her all I could think of was that she had RED hair!!! My doctor, whom I had become friends with and who knew I wasn't fond of red hair, assured me that it wasn't red hair..but just blood from the birth and that it would all wash out and she'd be a cute little blonde. HA! As you all know...she's 6 years old now and her hair is as red as ever. The only thing that has changed is that I LOVE LOVE LOVE it and I would NEVER want it to be any other color! Anyway, back to my story...I stayed in the hospital for a couple of days, had tons of visitors and gifts and then went home, where I was in for the rudest awakening of my LIFE! Our first night at home ranks among the worst nights I've ever had EVER. I actually called my mom and the hospital in the middle of the night crying because I was so upset. My sweet little girl was screaming her head off and had been for hours and even the dogs were crying. I was getting no sleep and yet I was so exhausted I was delirious. It was awful...but we made it through. I ended up not being able to nurse like I had hoped. Turns out my boobs were so GIGANTIC that I was suffocating my poor kid! I ended up pumping/nursing till she was 3 months old while supplementing with formula. It's hard to believe that was all 6 1/2 years ago! In some ways, it seems like just yesterday, but then in other ways, I feel like I have become a completely different person than I was then. Now if I could go back and do it all again, I'd know what to ask for and what to say no to. I'd be so much calmer and less stressed out with every cry and whimper. But then...that's the beauty of your first child. No one can tell you these things...no matter how many books or magazines you read beforehand...NOTHING prepares you for the change you're about to encounter.