Guin's Birth Story

I was due on 4/2, so every day after I made sure I walked and stretched in an attempt to promote labor. I had a dr appt Monday 4/6 (at 11 or 11:30) to assess my progress. I was also warned a talk about induction was coming by Friday 4/10 if I didn't go into labor.

Sunday night we decided to try the spicy food thing - eating at an upscale Indian restaurant. I ordered something on the menu that had a warning, something like: Not for the faint of heart OR For the brave of heart. When I ordered it the waiter made sure I knew it was a very spicy dish. I said that is exactly what I was looking for. Ha-ha, oh boy it was intense but really tasty too! After 2 or 3 bites little Guin was already twisting and turning - you could see her movements through my clothes. It was obvious to the entire table. I ate all the coated lamb pieces and as much sauce as I could handle along with some much needed rice and naan. All the while tears dripping from my eyes and nose running. Others tasted the dish and were astonished that I was able to eat as much as I did.

Around 3-3:30 am I was awakened by what I thought was abdominal/digestive cramping. Thinking to myself, ok maybe extreme spice wasn't a good idea after all. But I managed to fall back asleep for a while.

It was a Monday morning and I was working from home. Between 9 and 9:30 am my water broke. I called Rick, telling him I'm not sure but something is happening. I told him to let me check and call him back. He said that he will just leave and come home (about 23 miles). I insisted that he wait for me to call him back, he agreed to appease me; however he left right away. Smart man! I also called my doctor’s office asking if they wanted me to keep my appointment or just head on in. They snickered a little and encouraged me to come to hospital and check myself into labor and delivery. I then called my manager saying that I was seeing my dr early with no additional info. I put my out of office on my email and voicemail then shut down my computer.

Though my water broke, I didn't experience the gush of water seen on T.V. and in movies. My nurse or doctor later explained that in my case the baby's head quickly moved down and prevented major leakage. Interesting. Anyway, when Rick got home I was still in no rush. Being concerned that the hospital wouldn’t let me eat if I wanted to, I made myself a banana and peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread with a large glass of cold cow’s milk. (I also asked Rick to sneak me food in the hospital if I wanted something. He said ok-ok, reassuring me that he wouldn’t leave me hungry.) So after this second breakfast we finished packing and loaded the car.

Rick drove quickly and pretty smooth, other than unavoidable dips near our house – wow-wee so glad Eldorado (street) has been smoothed out so we don’t have to repeat that part next time around. When we arrived I asked Rick to help me in and get us checked in, so we left all our pre-packed items in the car to get later. Plus we thought I would have a few rooms while waiting so we didn’t want to have to keep up with everything. Check-in was easy since we pre-registered with the hospital. I got a delivery room right away. Nurses, aids, and doctors were coming in and out checking on this checking on that. Rick stayed with me the whole time. He grew hot and hungry, so we decided he would run out in the halls to grab a snack. This was about 5pm (guesstimating). He heard a baby cry and rushed back to our room (without getting anything), he didn’t want to miss anything! He was such a great support and so sweet. We learned to bring in our stuff with us when we check-in. That way he’ll have his change of clothes and snacks J

I wanted as little intervention as possible, so I opted out of an IV and progesterone… I had to drink plenty of fluids (I was provided water, ice and juice) by mouth to stay hydrated. And labor was advancing at its own pace. I didn’t want to be hooked up and strapped down so they intermediately checked my and the baby’s heart rate instead of the constant monitoring. This allowed me to stand and walk around a little to promote labor. This continued until my heart rate rose and they warned if I couldn’t calm down/decrease my heart rate that they would put me on constant monitoring and I would then be restricted to the bed. Well, that’s what happened. We still declined progesterone to advance my labor, however after a very difficult conversation I decided to have an epidural after all due to my increased heart rate and oncoming anxiety attack. I didn’t cry from pain, but I cried while making this decision. I talked to Rick and had to call my mom to be comforted and reassured.

Guin was born between 9 and 10 pm, after 2-3 hours of pushing. I surprised the staff during the pushing phase. They were used to encouraging mothers to push, push, and push again. While in labor, I asked well do I have to stop and rest between pushes or can I just keep pushing. They said keep pushing is fine, just make sure to breath. So that’s what we did. It was such a wonderfully intense feeling of physical instinct. My body knew it wanted to push and didn’t want to stop until the job was done. My brain did very little, it was all muscle pre-programming. Neat-o! The dr commented that this went fast for a first time mom. Oh ok, we did good then J

Our visitors were allowed to come in for a short visit since it was already past visiting hours. A few pictures were taken, there would have been more if I would have permitted it. Guin was cleaned, weighed, and check out all in our delivery room. We had many of these wonderful features since our hospital is baby/family friendly. Finally we got our stuff from the car with the help of a family member or two. After receiving many congratulations and hugs and kisses, we said our good-byes and were moved to our room. Rick still had not ate or drank, so our best friends brought us some Jack-in-the-Box meals. So glad something was near the hospital and open 24! They were permitted to say a quick hello before being escorted out.


I ended up being awake over 30 hours straight. It took the nurse warning me then alerting the dr, hearing it from my dr and finally Rick lecturing me to finally sleep. I wasn’t trying to be a trouble maker and didn’t think I was being high maintenance. I was cheery and alert so I just stayed awake, but I guess I needed to try to wind down and sleep while I had the additional assistance from the hospital staff. I got 2 naps of about 3 hours each. It did help, imagine that – everyone was right J

Side note: Guin was born four days past her due date. And I believe both Rick and I were born late too. Will the next one break the trend and be early or on time? We still have so much to do to get ready. So as far as I'm concerned "Eggert" can stay in there as long as he/she wants :) Well, actually I hope not too long where I would “need” an induction. Above all else I simply hope for continued health for the entire family!