Longest Night

I thought I would be in labor for hours but not days. In my mind I was going to the hospital be induced, screaming at everyone and after a lot of pushing and sweating and probably more then a little swearing the baby would be born and I would hold him saying how beautiful he was and crying tears of joy that my baby boy was here. 

Not how it happened in real life. After more and more painful contractions I did something I didn't plan to do and asked for an epidural. The nurse looked at me pitifully and I rolled my eyes with the contraction and felt no shame. I was there for two days almost and wasn't making any progress in my dialation and I now completely understood the full meaning of labor and understood why women did a lot of cursing and screaming. 

The nurse reminded me that after I got the shot I would not be able to get out of bed. At that point I didn't care if my feet every touched the floor for the duration of my stay. So, I said that was fine while my sons father was napping on the couch they had in the room to make it more comfortable for everyone. Everyone meaning him I guess since he was the only one using it. Before I had the shot I did wake him up. 

A doctor returned with a different nurse and once they looked at my chart and noticed my decline into senior citizen hood, from the look I got I assumed that I was close to right. The nurse told me her mom didn't have her until she was 45 and the doctor said his mom didn't have him until 43. I guess in an attempt to make me feel better. It really didn't help. 

I sat on the side of the bed preparing myself for more pain but the doctor said it would feel like a pinch. I wasn't sure that I believed him but as long as it wasn't as painful as the back to back contractions I was feeling I was good. 


A few minutes later I was laying in bed pain free. The nurse and doctor left and they said get some rest. Rest was impossible since every five seconds someone was coming in and out to check blood pressure, reading the contraction machine I was hooked up to or taking my tempature. Not too mention moving me from one side of the bed to the other cause the baby preferred the left side at midnight and then the right side at 3 am. So, I was rolled from side to side with a pillow between my knees and later an oxygen mask covering my nose and mouth. 

I was in for the longest night of my life so far.