So off we went to the hospital, suitcase in the car. We were both nervous. We went to the maternal observation ward, it was about 6:15, and they close up at 6:30. So they went ahead and took us to the labor and delivery floor and put us in a room there. I thought we would just go in, have the test done, and leave. Instead, I had to get in the labor and delivery bed, strip down and get a hospital robe on and wait. The nurse came in and asked about a million questions. She then checked me, and I was only dialated to a one. It was extremely uncomfortable when she checked me. Then she did this simple test to see if the water had broken. Right away, she said "this test came back negative. So what we usually do is keep you for a little while longer and then send you home." Lance and I were of course disappointed, but at this point we were both so hungry all we could think about was food! And the main thing I could think about was the Dairy Queen I saw on the way to the hospital and how much I wanted a blizzard. I called my mom and told her it was a false alarm, and she was really disappointed as well. We waited about an hour, watched a lot of "17 Again" on the hospital television, when the nurse came back in. She said "I called Dr. Bradford and she wants me to do one more test just to be sure." So she did the test and it was like a pregnancy test. You had to wait 10 minutes and if there were pink lines it had broken. That was a very long 10 minutes! The nurse came back in, looked at the test, and said "oh...wow...well, it is positive!" WHAT! We couldn't believe it! She then told us we would definitely be staying and having a baby! I quickly called my mom back and told her, then called Noni and told her. They were of course very excited. I then had to call my dad, who was in Colorado, and tell him the bad news that he was going to miss the birth.
At this time, there was a shift change and a new nurse came in. She was older and more rough looking, and she had a very dry sense of humor. She actually came off quite rude and brash, and I did not like that. I was about to have a baby...I needed someone to be warm and fuzzy and super nice to me! The first thing she did was tell us we were going to change rooms...and right when she said that I got a weird feeling. Let me give you a little bit of a background of why I might get a weird feeling over a room change (really a room number). My Papa, who was a very big part of my family, passed away several years ago at 1:11 am. Since then, 111 has had a big significance to my mom and I, and this number always seemed to be around when there were big events in my life. We always took it as Papa's way of showing us he was there. For example, at my college graduation, we went to dinner after and our table number was 111. Our bill at dinner was $111. At my wedding, we did th dollar dance and when we got to the hotel and counted the money, we got $111. So when the nurse said we needed to change rooms, my first thought was, "there is no way it's room 111." But sure enough, it was room 111! I had to immediately call my mom and tell her...Papa was with us for this moment.
After moving rooms, my mom, Noni, Aunt Bonnie and Susan all came to the hospital. But with the brashness my nurse had, she immediately shot down everyone's excitement by saying, "You might as well go home, she's not having a baby tonight. She probably won't even have it until this time tomorrow." Well, it was around 9 pm. My family decided it would be best to go home and get a good night's sleep since the next day would be an exciting one.
When that nurse told me she was going home for the night, I was so happy. I did not like her at all! My next nurse was super nice and was from Ireland. I loved her accent. She gave me an Ambien and told me to get a good night's rest. She strapped the monitors on my belly to track my contractions and the baby's heartbeat. It was crazy because I was not feeling any contractions, but I sure was having them! I felt sorry for my nurse, because I kept having to switch positions (at 9 months pregnant sleeping comfortably isn't very easy), and when I'd do this my monitors would get screwed up. So she had to come in about every hour and fix them. One time when she came in I asked her if I was going to have that same mean nurse the next day for my delivery. She said, "Do you want the same nurse?" I told her NO WAY. I was glad I told her this, because I couldn't imagine having the mean nurse while having a baby. I barely slept that night because I was so anxious about what the next day would bring. My Irish nurse came in my room at 6 am and said "you are going to be a parent today!" She was so nice. She then started my Pitocin at 7:30 am. Then her shift was done.
I was nervous about who my next nurse would be. Finally she came in, and her name was Cory, and she was the NICEST nurse ever. I could not have had a better nurse. If you deliver at Harris, ask for Cory! The pitocin was working and I was finally feeling some contractions. They weren't anything too horrible, and they just felt like pretty bad period cramps. They were just uncomfortable. Then about 9am my doctor came by. I LOVE my doctor. She is the greatest! She talked to us for a bit and then checked me. She was very impressed with how far down the baby's head was. Then she broke my water. And that's when the pain started. Almost instantly, I had the worst contractions ever. There was no break in between. It was contraction after contraction after contraction with no rest between them. I told the nurse I couldn't take it and wanted my epidural. Cory, being awesome, went out to find the anasthesiologist. She came back in and told us he was just starting an epidural on someone else and that we'd have to wait. At this point I was writhing in pain. I told Lance to tell our family to please stay in the waiting room until I had my epidural. I didn't want anyone in there to see how bad I was hurting. Lance was trying to be sweet and touch my leg and say "It's okay, Taylor, it's okay." And all I could say back was "Don't touch me!" Poor Lance :( Cory was able to get me some other pain medicine to try to make the contractions more tolerable and it did help a little. Then after an hour or more of pain, in walked the anasthesiologist. I was so happy to see him! I got in position to get the epidural by sitting on the side of the bed. They want you to lean over and curve your back out, and Cory was in front of me and she had me put my head on her shoulder while she had her arms around me. This was the most comforting thing ever. At this moment is when I really felt like she cared about me and my well being. I was so grateful for her. Once the epidural was in, I was a happy girl :)
Then about 2:30 or 3, I was dialated to a 10 and started pushing. I am very goal oriented, so I told the nurse, "Okay, give me a goal. How many pushes do you think I can get the baby out in." Since his head was so far down, she thought it would be quick. She said she thought I could have him out in 5 contractions, 3 pushes per contraction. Well, 5 contractions came and went...so that goal went right out the window! After about an hour and fifteen minutes of pushing, she called in Dr. Bradford. In the room at this point was Lance and an awesome photographer, Marla Westbrook. She puts together these amazing slideshows of births. She doesn't stand at the end and take the graphic pictures, but she stands at my head and tries to capture each moment, especially the big one where he is born and we see him and hold him for the first time. I am waiting for this slideshow and cannot wait to see it! Okay, back to the birth...the first hour or so I got pretty worried about Lance. He was looking pale and there were times I thought he might pass out. He kept having to sit down, and I think he thought he might pass out as well. Dr. Bradford came in and I knew it was business. I really wanted this baby out! One of the times I was pushing, which you try to push for 10 seconds and you are holding your breath while doing so, Dr. Bradford said "Come on, Taylor, get jiggy with it!" At the end of that push I said, "Okay, you cannot say something like that again if you want a good push because it took everything I had not to laugh." Dr. Bradford is a funny lady! Then I see Dr. Bradford really start suiting up...splash mask on and everything. I knew it was going to be very soon and I was excited, but I was also very scared at this point. The pushing did not hurt, but I could feel contractions and touching but no pain. I was worried about Ryder's size and him passing through safely, and I was worried about me feeling him passing through. But there was no going back now! Dr. Bradford said, "Okay, so I guess we're not doing cord blood?" OH MY GOSH. Yes, we are, but Lance and I had totally forgotten! Thank God Dr. Bradford said something and was able to quickly go get a cord blood collection kit. A few pushes and minutes later, Mr. Ryder was born at 4:51 pm! They immediately put him on my chest and Lance and I both cried in awe over our little boy. He was so precious...even covered in goop. And boy did he have quite a conehead. I think it was the biggest conehead I have ever seen on a baby! After a few minutes of him being on me, they took him to weigh him and get his length. We were very anxious to hear about this because the sonograms were showing him being so big. But I was also 37 and a half weeks, so we weren't sure how big he'd be. He was 8 lbs 2.1 oz and 20 and a half inches long. Not nearly as big as we thought he would be, and boy was I glad! Overall the birthing experience wasn't bad at all. It was a great moment, and I am so glad I got to experience child birth and the feeling of holding this little person who had been growing, kicking, hiccupping, etc., inside me in my arms for the first time.
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