Pregnancy, Labor and Delivery, and so much more!

I've had a couple requests about the details of my labor and all that goes with it. So here it is. Hope you're ready. Grab yourself some popcorn, sit back, and relax.

So I discovered I was pregnant pretty early along. Ryan and I had discussed having children and decided to put it in the hands of God. So apparently, God decided to bless us with a baby sooner rather than later. I remember being at work the night I found out. I never expected the results I got. I was just curious to see if I was pregnant or not. I knew there was a possibility. I decided to take a pregnancy test. When I saw the second pink line appear, I couldn't believe my eyes. So I took another one. The pink line seemed to appear even fast the second time around. It was around 11pm. I knew Ryan was at home in bed, but I couldn't wait to tell him. So I called him and told him the news. Of course he didn't believe me. He still didn't believe me when I brought home the positive pregnancy test. He still didn't believe me when I bought a pregnancy test from the store and showed him the positive results. He was in shock and denial. It really didn't sink in until my first ultrasound. I was 12 weeks pregnant. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous. I didn't feel or look pregnant at all. I was beginning to think maybe I was going crazy. Maybe I believed I was pregnant so much that my brain led my body to act pregnant. My worries were set at ease when I finally saw her on the screen. Ryan FINALLY believed me when he saw her on the screen. It was so amazing. I loved the look on Ryan's face. He was in such awe. From then on, it was all about baby.
So basically I sailed through pregnancy. I didn't experience all the "normal" pregnancy symptoms. I never got morning sickness, I never really felt uncomfortable. I really actually enjoyed the entire pregnancy. I think the only "symptom" I experienced was fatigue. Daily naps were pretty much a necessity. Other than that, it was great. I was 16 weeks pregnant when I felt her move for the first time. Of course, I didn't know it was her moving. I thought it was a muscle twitching, but when it kept occurring over and over, I knew it was her. I absolutely loved feeling her move. That was the most amazing part of being pregnant. I felt such a huge bond with my baby. I was always poking my belly to try and figure out which part of my baby I was touching. She really enjoyed resting on the right side of my uterus. Her butt was always up in my ribs. If I nudged her she would nudge back. It was great. Plus, I didn't start showing until I was about 22 weeks pregnant. Funny thing, it came to a point where when I started gaining weight, it was non-stop. When I started really showing, I just bloomed. I didn't stop growing until the day she was born. I couldn't believe how big I was getting. I only wanted to gain 25 lbs. Well, I clearly gained more than that. Even though I was the biggest I've ever been in my entire life, I was still enjoying pregnancy. I may not have enjoyed hearing how huge I was from everyone, but I guess it was kind of true. I will also admit that when the end was near, I was getting anxious. Also, my feet, ankles, and hands started to swell. After I hit 40 weeks, I thought the day would never arrive. Being pregnant still wasn't an inconvenience for me, I was just ready to meet my baby girl. I had predicted earlier on that I would go a week over, have to be induced, have a 3 day induction, make it to 10 cm, push for 3 hours, then have to have a c-section. It's the curse of the nurse. I was ready for it.
So that was my pregnancy. Easy sailing for the most part. Then came the labor. I wish I could say my labor was just as easy. So January 12, at 3:15am, I got up to the restroom and felt a huge goosh of warm fluid rush down my legs. I was thinking at first that I was peeing myself. So I changed my pants and went back to bed. An hour later I got up to the restroom again and felt another huge goosh of warm fluid. At this point I knew I didn't pee myself. Instead, my water broke. I wasn't contracting regularly at the time, and they weren't painful. I decided to wake Ryan up to give him the news. I wanted to go back to sleep, but both Ryan and I had some adrenaline going. I sent out a mass text to let everyone know in Ft Wayne that my labor was starting, and I would update them later. My mom and Ryan's parents were with us and still asleep. I had decided to wait until they woke up to tell them. So everyone finally got up. They were all excited and ready to rush to the hospital. I still wasn't ready. I decided to eat some breakfast and take a shower. I then made sure my bag was packed. My contractions didn't really become more regular until around 7. They still weren't terribly painful either. I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. Eventually my contractions were anywhere from 3-5 minutes apart and getting pretty painful. Everyone in the house was just jumping to go. I was still trying to be patient and breathe through it. The clock kept rolling and contractions kept coming. I had decided around 12:30ish to go to the hospital because I didn't want to fight the traffic. The drive to the hospital was a challenge. Every bump and turn intensified the contractions.
So when I finally arrived to the hospital around 1:00pm, I was only 3cm dilated. However, my cervix was almost completely thinned out. Baby was still very high in the pelvis. My contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and very painful. When I was finally admitted to a room, the nurse suggested I get in the jacuzzi tub. This was a wonderful suggestion. I was able to relax a little. The contractions were still painful, but the jets eased them slightly. There came a time when I was contracting every 1.5-2 minutes apart. I wasn't getting much rest. You would have thought my cervix was changing drastically. However, when they checked my cervix around 5, I hadn't changed very much at all. I think at that time my cervix was maybe 4cm. For the next several hours I was in and out of the tub. I was hanging in there the best I could. Ryan was an awesome coach. I wanted to give up. He kept me strong. I kept breathing through the contractions and hoping something was happening. I will admit a few swear words slipped out every now and then. I think the next time my cervix was checked was around 8pm. At that time my cervix made it to 6cm. However, baby girl was still pretty high. So I still did my thing, breathing through the contractions and utilizing the tub as much as possible. The time came when the doctor wanted to check my progress again. It was around 11pm. I was still 6cm. Oh my gosh. I knew this was going to happen. They had also placed an IUPC which is a tube they place in the uterus to monitor the actual strength of contractions. My contractions weren't strong enough to change my cervix. The doctor wanted to start pitocin and said the tub was no longer an option. After contracting for 16 hours without much rest in between each one, I had decided to get an epidural. I was devastated. I wanted nothing more than to make it through without an epidural. The idea that my contractions were going to get even stronger and more painful once the pitocin was started seemed impossible to handle. I was so exhausted and couldn't imagine my contractions getting any worse. Plus, I had this feeling in the back of my head that I wasn't going to progress much with the pitocin.
So yes, I gave in and got the epidural. I took a nap after the pain was completely gone. After resting for a few hours, they rechecked my cervix. I believe I dilated to 7cm. The doctor said he was going to give it a few more hours because my contractions still weren't strong enough to make a big enough difference in my cervix. At least I was pain free at this point. I was so pain free I couldn't move my legs. At one point Ryan was poking my foot, and I couldn't even feel it. So I rested some more. A few hours later the doctor came back. I knew my cervix was going to be the same, and to my families surprise, not mine, I was the same. He then told me a c-section was going to need to be done. It was around 6am on 1-13-11. I had been in labor for over 24 hours. I had come to terms with a c-section about 6 hours before they told me it was going to happen.
So finally around 9am, they were ready to take me back. Lying on the operating table was weird. I was used to being the nurse and seeing it from the other view. Now I was actually the patient. When everything started, I knew what they were doing. I could visualize it all. They brought Ryan in to sit beside me. I think he was way more nervous than I was. Actually, I was just ready to be done. Finally at 9:43am my baby girl was born. She came out crying. I couldn't wait to hold her in my arms. It was the best feeling ever to know she was in the world, and she was healthy and happy. She weighed 8lbs 14.6oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. My baby girl was a big baby. I can't believe I was carrying around such a large baby. Amazing.
Things are so different now. I live for a whole new person now. She's the most amazing thing I've ever done. I love her to death. Abrielle Christine Edwards is my baby.
So basically, I made it through. It was long, it was hard, but it was so worth it. I hope everyone enjoyed my long blog. Any questions, just let me know.