jon derrick

For several weeks leading up to Derrick's birth, I had been feeling mild crampiness. I asked my mother what a contraction felt like, and she informed me that I would "know" if I was having a contraction, so I just figured that nothing was going on. Imagine my surprise when I went in for my 38 week check up to find that I was 4 cm dilated! I was completey shocked because I had been feeling no pain. My doctor informed me that he would most likely see me delivered in the next couple of days and sent me on my way. The rest of the day proceeded normally. I didn't feel any contractions throughout the day, and began to wonder how long I could stay at a 4. While taking a bath that night, I thought that maybe my water had broken, but was unsure so I called my doctor and asked what to do. Although it was probably nothing, she told me that I could go in to the hospital to be checked if it made me feel better. Jon came home from work and we went in. I approached the nurses station and told them that I knew I didn't look like I was in labor, but asked if they would check to see if my water had broken. I'm sure that they thought I was absolutely paranoid, but they humored me anyways. Imagine my surprise and theirs when they told me that although my membranes hadn't ruptured, I was dilated to 6 cm so I would not be going home. I was still feeling no noticeable pain. They admitted me and I began to walk the halls, trying to progress beyond a 6. I was checked periodically but remained at a 6 for almost 6 hours. I was finally able to tell when I was having a contraction, but they still didn't hurt. Around 3 am my nurse decided to break my water to see if it wouldn't spur things on, otherwise I was going to need pitocin. She did, and immediately I could tell a huge difference in the contractions. Finally I was getting somewhere. From there it took another 3 hours until I was ready to push. My nurse was wonderful, she stayed with me the whole time which resulted in me not using any pain medication during the labor. I was finally ready to push around 6 am, but ended up having to hold Derrick in because there had been a miscommunication with the doctor on my progress and she thought she had more time to get there. Finally, 30 minutes later, the doctor arrived and I was able to push. What a relief! Derrick finally entered the world and has been keeping us busy ever since!