Babywatch: Liveblog Part 5

12:45 Aaaaaaaaaaah.

The epidural is in, and everything seems to be going much, much, much better.

Jess was laboring away, really uncomfortable (read: in pain) but not being loud or yelling or anything. She said she didn’t have enough energy to yell. I was doing my best, keeping eye contact and trying to help her breathe, but there’s only so much you can do when it’s not your body on the line. We went through that for a couple of hours, and then Jess decided that since these labor pains were only going to get *worse*, that she might as well get the epidural before everything became to painful to sit up.

The monitor is great, by the way. It was really nice to have while Jessie was laboring without the painkillers because we could use it to distract her, show her the contraction ending, and know when a new one may be about to start. I can also watch Tyler’s heart rate. It’s fun when it jumps around, he’s clearly awake and getting jostled around a bit in there.

Anyway, the pain doctor showed up after just a few more contractions and set about his work. He was efficient and practiced and walked Jessie through every step. She was worried about the whole process, but she did quite well, and it didn’t hurt her nearly as much as she was worried she might. I, for the most part, looked elsewhere. I was told I didn’t ‘look’ like a fainter, but I figured that would just make it even more embarrassing when I fainted. I certainly didn’t look at her back, but I did steal a few peeks while the needle was in. I remember looking over and seeing the needle jutting out of her back. A drop of liquid came out, too. Gross. Other than that, I mostly looked away. The nurse was helping Jessie with her posture, so there wasn’t much for me to do other than try and stay conscious, which I did.

Now the drugs seem to be working just fine, and Jess is doing much, much better. Her legs are pain-killed, but not totally numb, and she has been able to cary on normal conversations and everything. She looks 100% better, which is great for me to see. She’s even so relaxed that she’s taking a nap...during labor! Science is so great!

I’ve been watching the peaks slowly rise and fall on the monitor, the contractions continue at their regular pace. Looks like one every two minutes or so: right on track. I went down to get some lunch while everything was more relaxed (fish, carrots, and rice, yum!) and now that I’m well fed, Jessie’s Mom is off getting her lunch.

So since all is well, I’m going to take a nap, too.

-N