On May 17th I was 40+4, and my induction was scheduled for 2 days later. At my last check, I was 2 cm and 50% effaced. I had been walking, having sex, and eating pineapple like crazy, but it didn't seem to be doing anything. I had been having period-like cramping for a week, but it didn't seem to be getting any stronger or closer together. That day, I was resigned to the fact that I would have to be induced; there was no way I'd go into labor naturally. WELL, at around 8 or 8:30, my cramping turned into a sharper pain in my pelvis, hips, and back. I started timing the pains and they were consistently 10 minutes apart. As excited as we were, my husband and I decided to try to get some sleep. That didn't end up happening. My contractions quickly got closer together and intense enough that I couldn't lay down while I was having one. Around 10, they were 5-8 minutes apart and getting closer and stronger. I called my OB office to get in contact with the Dr on call, and after 2 calls and 45 minutes, I got connected to him and he said to come in for an evaluation.

We packed up and went to the hospital, where we were screened for coronavirus then brought to a triage room. The nurse connected me to some monitors, took my blood pressure, heart rate, etc... I struggle with anxiety, and my blood pressure was understandably high. However, being on the monitors and having to lay in bed while having stronger and stronger contractions was not helping. The nurse was concerned about baby's heart rate and my blood pressure, so I stayed on the monitors for probably an hour as she took my blood pressure 5 more times until it was consistently normal. Finally, the doctor came in to check me and I was 5cm and 80% effaced so they admitted me! We went to the L&D room, where I was once again connected to monitors and told I had to stay in bed. I was struggling to cope with contractions this way, so I decided to get an epidural.

While waiting for the anesthesiologist, the nurse pushed fluids and continued monitoring me. My blood pressure was inconsistent, so she helpfully reminded me to calm down because if my BP stayed high they would need to put me on meds 🙄. Finally the anesthesiologist came and put in the epidural (numbing shot during a contraction = excruciating, but the epidural itself was painless). They laid me on my right side and I began to feel some relief. But then my right arm and breast tissue began to feel numb. They insisted it couldn't be the epidural, I must be having a panic attack. I was not having a panic attack, I was having a rare reaction to the epidural that they think was Horner's syndrome. Because of this, they brought in a cardiologist (all was fine) and we decided not to connect my epidural to the pump. By that point I was starting to feel a little "pushy" and asked the nurse to check me again. She was skeptical because upon putting my catheter in less than an hour before, I was only 7 cm. I convinced her to check me and I was at a 9! Within 30 minutes, I was complete and beginning to push. I pushed for about 45 minutes and at 5:05 am, just 5 hours after getting to the hospital, my baby girl was born! She had some meconium and a knot in her cord, so they took her for a few minutes to suction and give her some oxygen. After that, they put her on my chest, cleaned me up, and left us to our new family of 3 for over an hour. ♥️♥️