Remember when...: Pearl Ivy- A Birth Story

My due date was November 5th but with my last Dr apt (the 3rd) I hadn't made any progress so I knew I was going to go late. But on the 5th I wanted to try everything I could to get this baby out on my own. My back and pelvic bone and hips hurt so bad. All. the. time. No relief. I was ready. So I ate an entire pineapple, walked a ton, ate a spicy Thai dinner, walked more, curb walked (what I did the night before I had Shirley too). The hubs' mother came into town that night, his sister opened her mission call and I went to bed thinking maybe just maybe I would go into labor. I woke up at 12:30 with some significant contractions and an upset belly. I waited about an hour, took a shower, blow dried and curled my hair and then woke the hubs up and told him it was happening. The contractions were STRONG, and so very painful. He showered and got ready and my contractions went from 7 mins apart to 4-5 mins. We got to the hospital at 2ish and they observed me for an hour because I was only a 4. The contractions were unreal and I was praying they would keep me. An hour later I progressed to a 5. (BTW when the nurse checked me for the first time I thought I was going to die. so much pain!) So we walked to my delivery room and they got things ready. The contractions were literally so painful I thought I couldn't handle them. The nurse told the hubs to push my knees into my back to help and it brought so much relief but they were still really painful. The anesthesiologist finally came and had me sit criss-cross on the bed and lean forward...my other two I was able to lay down so this was really weird to me. He got the epidural in and left. I was in so much pain and then I felt all WRONG, I felt like I was having an outer body experience and my body felt all off. I actually thought I was dying. I started crying and asked the hubs to pray I wouldn't die, I was begging God to let me live. Literally. I was so scared. The nurse got really antsy and said my blood pressure had dropped 70/40 and to tell her if I felt like I was going to pass out. I WAS PASSING OUT, that's why I felt so off. I was so relieved. She quickly gave me two shots of ephedrine and a lot of IV fluids. I finally started to feel normal. The Dr came in and broke my water and to let the nurse know if I felt any pressure. He left the room and I called the nurse, the pressure was crazy. She checked me and I was an 8. She left and I immediately called her back and she called the Dr, I was a 10! They got all ready and told me to start pushing. I remember the Dr telling me he wanted "white knuckle pushing" and I thought in my head NO WAY, this hurts like heck, please give me a c-section. I told them I couldn't do it and they told me to give the epidural an extra push, I did. But it literally felt like my insides were being ripped apart...no joke. I pushed maybe four times. I screamed every time I pushed, it was out of my control, the screams just came out. It hurt so bad, so so so bad. Did I mention it hurt? And then she came out. And I wept. Sobbed. I wept and couldn't stop it and didn't even care. Then I cut half the cord and let the hubs do the rest. And just like that at 5:07 am little Pearl Ivy came in weighing 7 lbs 3 oz and 18 inches long. And for the fourth time in my life I fell in love.