Last Sunday, Sona and I went to brunch. I posted a belly photo on Instagram, joking that we were “brunching this baby out.” Three hours later, we were on our way to the hospital.
As we walked out of the brunch restaurant, Sona asked, “Is there something on my pants?” I looked and saw a huge wet spot. We immediately called our OB, excited and nervous. She told us to come on in to the hospital to check things out. We FREAKED. Was this real? Were we really in labor? But–we hadn’t showered!
We drove home, took quick showers, grabbed all of the bags we’d packed, and headed to the hospital. After getting checked in and monitored for a bit, our OB came in and informed us that, although Sona was having contractions, her water hadn’t broken, and she was in very early labor. She said we should go home and wait it out, but she asked to monitor Sona for 20 more minutes, just to be sure.
As she left the room, Sona was nearly in tears. She was SO ready to get the baby out, and she was tired of waiting. Just as I’d talked her down, the doctor came back in and said, “You know, you’re contractions are actually 5 minutes apart. If I break your water now, I think we’ll be able to move things along rather quickly.” Sona and I looked at each other, eyes bright, and said, “Let’s do this!”
Nearly 22 hours later, after hours and hours of laboring, including several hours of pitocin, our son, Finn, was born. Despite a few scares, he was delivered vaginally, and he is perfectly healthy! Sona was a warrior. Truly, I never loved her more than in those wee hours of Monday morning, holding her in a tiny hospital bed, telling her that she can do this over and over again.
Here are some photos that tell the story of our day. Yes, they are revealing–revealing of just how scary and wonderful and painful and wonderful and long and WONDERFUL those 22 hours were.
These next two photos–taken just minutes apart–are from before and after the epidural. You know, just in case you were wondering what kind of difference having one can make.
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