Chapter Forty Five
Caroline
The nurse confirmed that I was indeed leaking amniotic fluid and that I was going to be admitted to a labor and delivery bed to have this baby.
And suddenly, my fears turned into excitement.
Being present in this moment was the only way through it.
I didn’t need to worry about the outside world or what was next, only on what was happening today. And today, I was hopeful.
Once we were settled in, things moved pretty slowly.
I was surprised at how little the contractions hurt in the beginning.
But after a few hours, I started to get uncomfortable.
Things picked up and I really had to focus on my breathing.
Reid looked so helpless, watching me from the couch and coming to let me squeeze his hand when needed.
Once the nurse came back in, I finally asked for the epidural.
Needles had always scared the ever living heck out of me, but at this very moment I could not have cared less.
I just wanted to make sure I didn’t see any of it.
They escorted Reid out of the room when the anesthesiologist arrived to avoid him passing out from the sight as well.
Sitting perfectly still through the next contraction was not easy, but the nursing student holding my hands helped a lot.
I think I just about squeezed her hands off.
After that, things were a blur. There were a lot of people moving in and out of the room, checking monitors and vitals, dosing meds and checking my status.
They assured me that we were close to pushing time.
While no longer in burning pain, I did begin to feel a surge of pressure down there.
Was I about to shit on the table with Reid standing right there?
I would not be one of those girls, would I?
Then I realized, that was not poop pressure… “Uh Reid, can you tell them I think it’s time to push? I think she’s about to come out.”
He frantically went to the door & cracked it open to look for anyone in the hallway.
The nurse popped in and asked if I could hold it for a few minutes until the doctor finished up with his med student.
I told her I would try, but I really think this baby is coming now.
Believing me, she made her way over to the bed and felt underneath.
“Yup! That’s a baby head. Let’s get you ready to meet your baby girl,” she eagerly shared, pulling her latex gloves off and throwing them in the trash.
Oh my god, this was really happening.
After only fifteen minutes of pushing, she was out.
They quickly placed her on my chest, rubbing her with a towel and allowed Reid to cut the umbilical cord.
No one even questioned if he was the father, and honestly I was grateful for the somewhat normal experience.
I didn’t even pay attention to the delivery of my placenta or the doctor stitching me up.
I just held on to this little crying bundle and let everyone else take care of the rest.
After things settled down and we were relaxing during some skin to skin time, I asked Reid to call my parents and let them know. He stepped aside and started typing away to our families about the baby's arrival and my status.
“What’s her name?” One of the assisting postpartum nurses asked while Reid sent a few texts.
“Chloe Mae,” I look up at her with a closed lip smile.
“That’s beautiful, congratulations!” she exclaimed a little too happily as she pressed down on my uterus causing an uncomfortable pain in my abdomen. I winced a bit, waiting for her to be done. Then the room cleared out and I enjoyed the peaceful newborn bubble, while I could.