So here we go. Wilson's birth story.
Once in the room, they started my IV of Magnesium Sulfate. I had been researching preeclampsia for the past 6ish months, so I had read ALLLLL about this stuff. I knew it was going to make me feel like I was dying and basically wish I could just die, so I was understandably scared. Holy Cow. I am not kidding when I tell you that the first hour of the magnesium was the worst hour of my whole life. (And I've stabbed a knife through my hand soooo....) It felt like my organs had caught on fire. It was like the worst hangover you've ever had, combined with the most miserable flu. Can't imagine what that would be like? Good. I hope no one I know ever has to go through it. After about an hour, though, the feeling of being on fire and needing to puke started to go away and I was feeling a little more normal.
Skip all of the boring, weird parts where the midwives checked to see where Wilson was and started the whole induction process. Let's go straight to the part where I started to feel contractions for the first time. My nurse and midwife suggested I get the epidural before they induced me, but I really wanted to feel what it was like to be in labor. That sounds weird, but it's just something I wanted to experience. They told me I'd probably want the epidural within an hour of being induced, but I made it 7. :) But once those contractions started, I was more than ready for the anesthesiologist to come in and give me that epidural! 2 of my friends had had babies just a few months earlier, and they told me horror stories about getting their epidurals, so I was completely terrified. BUT... I was a freaking champ. Once that was in, it was smooth sailing.
I tried to sleep all night, but I was just way too excited. It's such a weird feeling being in labor. Knowing that your baby is RIGHT THERE, ready to be born, but having no idea when you'll actually get to hold him. The anticipation was killing me and I just could not get any sleep. (It also didn't help that I had to be on my side with a peanut ball between my knees and my nurse had to check my vitals every 30 minutes.)
So the night dragged on and on and I just wanted to hold my baby!
In the morning, my VERY FAVORITE nurse from the week before came in and I was so happy to know she would be the one delivering Wilson. She was a saint and deserves some kind of award. (I bawled my eyes out the whole way home from the hospital saying that I wished I could have said goodbye to her.)
FINALLY, after 256 days of waiting, it was time to meet my sweet little boy. Right before 11:50 am, my nurse helped me with a "practice push". One push and she said, "STOP!" and told the tech to get the doctors and midwives. Since Wilson was a preemie and had been exposed to magnesium sulfate, he would need extra doctors in the room in case anything was wrong. One, two, three, SEVENTEEN people piled into the room and took their positions. At 11:51 am, the midwife told me to start pushing. 3 minutes and 3 pushes later, Wilson Andrew Shavlik was born!
"And she loved a little boy with all of her heart- even more than she loved herself."