The Sorensen Family Adventures

Our beautiful little Ellie was born on Friday morning.  Matt had been at Scout camp for four days.  I had asked my mom to come down on Thursday to spend the day and night with us.  I had been dialated to a 3 and 80% effaced for two weeks.  I had a few contractions off and on early in the week, but nothing on Weds.  I felt really good on Wednesday and not a contraction in sight.  Matt and I had kept in pretty constant contact via text.  He wanted to be sure to make it to the hospital if I went into labor while he was gone.
Thursday morning I woke up after a horrible night's sleep.  From the time I woke up, I was having inconsistent, non painful contractions.  My mom came down in the early afternoon.  We did some things around the house and then took the kids to get snow cones.  I was still contracting, but I hadn't timed the contractions or noticed an increase in intensity at all.  More than anything, I was paying more attention to my sciatic nerve which made it so I could barely walk.
By late afternoon the contractions had started to get a little more intense, but still not painful.  My mom went to the store to get some things for dinner and as we cooked dinner, she kept trying to get me to time the contractions, but I didn't think they were very consistent so I didn't.  Matt knew I was having contractions, so he was already planning on coming home to spend the night, just in case.
After dinner, my mom convinced me to call the hospital and talk to a nurse.  We decided to go in to get checked, because a) it is my fifth baby, b)although not more than uncomfortable, the contractions were 2 minutes apart and c)I had tested positive for Group B Strep and the doctor wanted to make sure I had enough time to get some antibiotics before delivery.
Matt called right about then, he was driving home and I told him to meet me at the hospital instead.  I was convinced I would get sent home, but willing to go so as to put everyone's mind at ease.  A girl in my neighborhood came to stay with the kids.  My kids were surprised I was going to the hospital because I hadn't told them I was contracting.
We got to the hospital about the same time as Matt.  It was around 8pm.  We came in and I got checked.  They started to monitor contractions.  I was only dialated to 4.  After an hour, with my contractions feeling like they had dropped off considerable, I was expecting to go home.  I was surprised when they decided to keep me.  The doctor came in and said he wanted to go ahead and start the antibiotics and that he would come back to break my water around midnight.
So we settled in for the night.  My mom went home to my kids.  I really felt like nothing was happening.  My contractions were still not consistent.  At midnight, they suggested I have the epidural before my water was broken, because usually after my water breaks, the baby is born really fast.  I had the epidural and the nurse came to check me before the doctor broke my water.  She checked and I was only at a 4 1/2, super disappointing.  However, as she finished, my water broke on its own.  Hurray!  Something was happening after all...I really didn't want to get any pitocin and I knew that as long as I was progressing so slowly, the nurses would start trying to get me on it.
We turned out the lights and tried to get some sleep.  Matt definitely got a little, me, not so much.  I hated the epidural.  I have had some good ones and some bad ones.  The good ones are where I can still feel my legs, I can tell when I need to push and when I am contracting.  Bad ones are where you feel nothing from the waist down and your legs are useless stumps that you have no control over.  It was a looong night.  Because the epidural was so strong, I couldn't even tell when I was contracting.  So I was definitely not in pain, but did not feel like I was making any progress at all.
Around 5:15 am, the nurses came back in.  I had not been checked since my water broke.  The doctor came in with them and told me that I was dialated to 9, nearly 10.  He said he would come back in 30 minutes.  Hurray!  It had been so hard to tell if anything was happening through the night.  It was a weird labor.
The nurses brought everything in and by 5:45 we were ready!  With only three pushes, Miss Ellie was born!!
The kids were so excited when they woke up.  She is perfect.