a birth story, part 2

So if you missed the beginning of my birth story, you can read it here.

Now, where were we?

Oh yes, my water had just broke in Walmart.

So after paying for my groceries, and slowly making my way back to my car

(my cramps were really starting to hurt at this point), I sent hubby a quick text:

"On my way.  Will need you to come get groceries.  Water broke."

Why didn't I just call him?  I have no idea.  It's not easy thinking rationally when you're by yourself and slightly panicked.  

Luckily we only live half a mile from Walmart, so it was a quick drive home.

And lucky for hubby and our car, I had a towel in the car that I was able to sit on while driving home.

So by the time I got home (only a couple minutes later), my cramps had turned into contractions.

And they HURT already.  There was no "building" period.  They simply started at 2 minutes apart.

Yikes.  

I took a quick shower.  Hubby helped me grab some last minute things for our hospital bag.  

And I called the midwife.

She told me it was up to me whether I wanted to stay home and ride it out for awhile 

or come on in to the hospital already.

I always imagined I'd stay and labor at home for as long as possible, 

but with the contractions already at 2 mins apart and getting more and more painful, 

I decided I would much rather just go to the hospital.  

So 2 hours after my water broke, we found ourselves in labor and delivery.

They took us to a room to do their initial check, just to make sure my water had actually broke.  

I HATE cervix checks.  They are seriously so painful.

My cervix was still really posterior, so the midwife had a hard time getting to it.

She finally found it and confirmed my water had broke.

With contractions still coming at 2 mins apart, we were all amazed I was only dilated to 4cm.  

Well, maybe amazed isn't the right word.  Frustrated and in pain might better describe my feelings.

Anyhow, we were moved to one of the labor and delivery rooms at that point.

I walked around the room for a bit, hoping to help progress things along.

The contractions started getting closer, occurring anywhere from 1.5-2 mins apart. 

I was in a lot of pain at this point and having a difficult time recovering between contractions, since they were happening so close together.   

I decided to give the shower a try, to see if the warm water would help calm me down.

It calmed me for a bit, but I had found that the only "comfortable" position during contractions was down on all fours, and that was difficult to do in the small, stand-up shower.  

I was crying and beginning to hyperventilate between contractions.  

I honestly couldn't catch my breath.  

And by the time I started to be able to, another contraction came with full force and fury.

How was I only at 4cm still??

Part 3 (final segment) coming soon...