How Henderson came to be.....

henders1_edited
Originally uploaded by aleigha.

I am going to start this after the two trips to the hospital when we were kindly sent back home - I remember once I just knew I was in Labor - the contractions had started and I was in a heap of pain.....the nurse hooked me up to the monitor and my little ant hill contractions were showing up on the screen--she kindly said to me "ummm sweetie your contractions have to be sky crapers before we will admit you." I thought to myself - Crap it's gotta get more painful than this............got a shot a stadol and was sent home.

I want to make a distinct difference between my pregnancy and my labor- my pregnancy was wonderful, I had the typical glow, didn't have that much weight gain, I went on a cruise, hiked through mayan ruins, went to numerous social events and even went to see his Purple Badness(PRINCE) in the musicology tour!! fun times!!! I didn't even get all the crazy symptoms you hear about during pregnancy like the nose spread, hair thinning, or the dark neck - OH GOD PLEASE..NOT THE DARK NECK

I would be pregnant ten times over but the labor part is where I have to put the brakes on.

My "official labor" started on August 31, 2004 -(I was not due until September 6th) I had already been off of work for about a week because I believe I started back labor earlier that week and it was too much to sit in Atlanta traffic and then work 8 hours and head home in traffic --so I did some work from home a couple of days before things started. The morning of the 31st my hubby got up to head to the job as usual and I was completely exhausted from the hospital run the night before and not sleeping well. The pain was very intense through my back and lower abdomen. I was peeing like there was something wrong with me - I don't know why that stuck out but it did!!! Around noon - I felt like it was unbearable, but I refused to go back to hospital and have them send me home again (that would've been the third time). So I concentrated on counting the times in between each contraction - which as far as I am concerend is a steaming load of bovine crap because it ALL hurts!!!!!!!!!!! There was no gap in pain! :<

So of course, I am home alone and I refuse to go through this by myself so I summoned hubby home to agonize with me -- I made it until early in the evening and I really could not rest. After doping myself up on tylenol PM nothing was working so I did not call the nurse like times before I just procIaimed at the top of my lungs that I cannot take this any longer and something has got to happen. So off we headed to the hospital! Hubby was so nervous that he stopped at a Wendy's which was 5 minutes from the house to go to the bathroom - I was dazed and confused because did you not have to go 5 minutes ago when we were at home - why in hell do you have to go NOW!!! Can you not wait until we get to the hospital which is probably 20 minutes away - I digress....We did not call any of the "fam" because they had already made two - bogus trips before, so we wanted to be sure that this was the Real Deal.

We get to the hospital and you have to go through all the stinking paperwork, which I didn't understand because we were just in here last night I KNOW YOU STILL HAVE THAT SOMEWHERE!!! We give them all the answers to every single question and I got hooked up to the monitors in the "holding room." A nurse would come in periodically to check on me...I am being checked for dilation because apparently they won't admit you unless you are 3 cm dialated. A crazy nurse from hell tells me to that I am not quite at 3 so maybe I should get up and walk -- Well that wasn't happenin' so I told her she needed to come up with another plan because I was not going to get up and walk!!! We played the "waiting game" and finally called the family to let them know that we were here at the Hospital and that we were not going home without a baby!!! The crazy nurse came back and told me that she could not put me in a room quite yet because I still wasn't 3 cm. I thought to myself what is with her and the friggin 3 cms!!! Can't you see that I am writhing in pain - doesn't that count for something??? My family begins to arrive and my best friend Pammy, they all come back to see me - My sis is freaked out and doesn't want to see me in pain - I actually don't see her again for a while???? Pammy comes to see me and she begins to cry - I remember that because I thought it was so touching - and my mom was in "Get my daughter a doctor and make her feel better immediately" mode.

I finally get a room - and a new nurse and I thank good because I am still mad at the crazy nurse because she is being very terse with me and my patience was already worn thin. I guess a shift change happen and a west indian nurse comes in and she immediately starts punching buttons on the monitor next to me - she tries to make me comfortable and she calls my doc. The nurse midwife comes in from my docs office (which is across the street) and says that Dr. B is going on vacation and she will deliver me - OH MY GOD...I AM SURE THAT SHE IS A NICE PERSON , SHE HAS BEEN VERY SWEET TO ME SO FAR --BUT WHERE THE HELL IS DR. B!!!!!!!!!! of course I get very anxious and that seems to make the pain worse. I am given a pitocin drip because I am dilated only at 3cm and they want to get things moving. Watching too much of a TLC's a baby story - I knew exactly what Pitocin was and I just knew that it wouldn't be long. The midwife said we should have the baby by 8 a.m. But a few minutes later the pain becomes blinding --your limbs don't even exist anymore--you just feel like pain is the only element in the world - damn oxygen, damn carbon dioxide, pain is what is sustaining your body right now. I felt like It had completely taken over me!!!! The west Indian nurse is right beside me still punching buttons!!! I want to ask her what she sees but she seems to be engrossed in the screen and I can't remember how to move my mouth and speak because the pain seems to be controlling my vocal cords as well. The nurse asks if I would like an epidural and I just nod!!

The anesthesiologist comes in and tells me to lean forward, blah blah, and my mom comes in so that I can lean on her - I don't know what the epidural felt like but I do know that within about 20 mins I felt the blood begin to rush back into my veins - now I remember what my body is supposed to feel like - now I can breathe and even talk. But, I feel as if I have fur in my mouth - I get some ice chips and begin to suck on those periodically. My nurse tells me that the baby's heart rate seems to be dropping a little and she wants to put me on oxygen--fine I think to myself - bring it on. I feel like I can handle anything right now. The nurse exclaims -" O.K. we should have this baby by 10 am." They even begin to break down the gear to get ready for the delivery. But then something weird begins to happen and my body begins to shake - at first it was slight tremor, then it begins to shake a little harder - I feel it but I can't do anything about it... The nurse tells me to relax and breathe in the oxygen - but what the hell is with this shaking!!!! Apparently I am having some sort of reaction to the epidural. I can't get myself under control!!!!! My mom comes in and she is trying to hold my hand but nothing seems to work. Everyone begins to come in and you feel like they are looking at you like a coma patient as if to say - Oh it's so sad!! Poor girl. And I really didn't have the strength to say anything to them so.... I felt like a coma patient!!!!

The West Indian nurse is still plugging away at the buttons and urges me to keep my oxygen mask on that keeps falling off my face ( HELLO I AM SHAKING LIKE A LEAF OVER HERE!) Then to my surprise my Doctor arrives - Dr. B - I thought to myself doesn't he have to go on vacation??? He checks me and says that I am only 4 cm dialated - ARE YOU SURE?? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME......By this time it's around 12:00 p.m., and he says that he is going to hang around to deliver me - that makes me feel so much better!!!! (mentally)

Then familiar pains begin to resurface and I am feeling very weird!!!! I let the nurse know and she says I may need another epidural - OMG!! this is crazy - I don't really want one - until the pain begins to crash into my body like a tidal wave. I let her know it's ok to give the second epidural. I get that done ( yes I am still shaking) so it takes EXTRA effort on everyones part to keep me still for the needle. Dr. B comes in around 2:00 and says that I am only 5 cm dilated and we may have to start thinking about C-section. I am like WTF - why, I don't want a C-section!! He says if I have not dilated past 5 cm by 3:00 p.m. he is going forward with a c-section. So In the midst of my intense tremors I try to tell my body to get ready to have this baby...Dilate, Dilate, Dilate. In the meantime all of my family: Dad, sis, mother n law, sis n law, hubby, mom, and Pammy file in and give me these really worried looks. My mom is crying and so is my dad - Wait MY DAD HAS TEARS IN HIS EYES!!! hmm, I think to myself they must really all be moved from this entire experience!!!! At 2:15 p.m. on the dot a gurney is wheeled in with a bunch of nurses and they are preparing to move me for a C-section -- I remember it was 2:15, because I looked at the clock and thought wait a minute it's not 3:00 p.m. yet!! What's going on - I begin to cry uncontrollably and I can't figure out what is going on!! The nurse tells me that only 1 person can go in with me for the c-section...I can't even make a decision because I am distraught and I feel like don't know what is going on. I am wheeled away to this room and my mom joins me she said that hubby thought it best that she be with me. She is rubbing my hair and praying with me and I think to myself this ain't nothing like "A baby's story." The doctor begins the surgery and I feel the tugging - it doesn't hurt but I feel that something is uncomfortable. I am still semi-shaking and my head is killing me. It seems that we are there for hours and I keep asking if everything is OK and Dr. B reassures me! My mom is looking into my eyes and it dawns on me that something is wrong!! The whole ordeal I just experienced is because something did not go as planned. Dr. B stays on from vacation, the nurse and her constant watch on the monitor, the rushed C-section. Now I am in a panic but my head is hurting so bad and I am so exhausted from the shaking I can't even get my thoughts together. I never hear a cry and I ask again is everything Ok - the doc reassures me again and my with my eyes I try to beg my mom to tell me what is going on. She just continues to rub my hair and try to keep me calm. Finally at 3:04 the doctor gives Henderson to my mom and she cries, and cries, and cries and says "oh Aleigha...look what you have given us!!!" I cry to and I look at how much he looks like me -- it's a little mini-me - LOL

After much recuperation I find out that Henderson's cord was wrapped around his neck and they didn't want to tell me for obvious reasons. Whew!! I am exhausted just writing that. This is why it has taking me so long to write my birthing story. But it had such a HAPPY ENDING!!!