The epidural? It works. I feel the pressure of the contractions still, but I have no more pain. I also have no legs. I am vaguely aware that there are very heavy anchors attached to me that make it very difficult to roll over, but I can't feel them at all.
And I'm rolled over by the nurse (with Jimmie's help, sometimes with my mom's help) at least once per hour to keep this show on the road.
I'm making good progress, but not good enough to be ready to deliver by 5:00pm. My doctor won't be available for the delivery, then. Backup doctor, it is!
I spend the next few hours with my oxygen mask on, shaking slightly, and feeling very sleepy. It's partly the fentanyl coursing through my system, but it's also partly the fever that snuck up on me at some point. I don't know I have a fever until the night nurse, Estella, takes over and starts me on antibiotics.
Estella says that my backup doctor is not in the hospital. This causes some concern for me and my mom because I'm quite sure that this baby is on its way out right this second. I'm feeling pain again, and I swear I can feel something going on down there that indicates to me that this is happening any second now.
But Estella assures us that there are still hours yet to go. I won't even start "trial pushing" for another two hours, and then it will be another couple of hours after that. Wat? No way. I'm not buying it. I tell myself that she's going to be sorry when the baby pops out in a few minutes.
Two hours later, we start trial pushing. I've had a bolster shot, so my legs are sufficiently numb again and the contractions are dull, but I'm still feeling pain. Estella tells me that there is pain that the epidural won't be able to touch, so I roll on through.
My mom has one giant dead leg, and husband has the other giant dead leg. I can't move them at all.
The first hour of pushing is tiring and uncomfortable. Estella is gently coaching me through it, and she promises that I can have a break after a few more pushes. The problem is that my legs are back. All of it is back. The pain is no longer dulled at all, and I can definitely feel the contractions. She tells me to take a break, I don't need to push this time....but I do need to push. I feel the bear down instinct, strong. It has now occurred to me that the epidural is not working at all anymore.
Estella checks the machine to see if the epidural has run out. Yeah. The machine isn't even on.
Natural childbirth, here we come. One more thing to check off that bucket list! I should have paid more attention to that Lamaze class...