4 Hours, 24 Minutes

Here's a truncated (kind of) timeline of the hours leading up to Anaiya's birth.  The total time between the first contraction and Anaiya being born was 4 Hours and 24 Minutes (which, for the guys, is extremely fast).

October 2, 2010

3:51 a.m. - Reena and I fell asleep on the couch at about 2am while watching a movie.  Just before 3:51, Reena got up to go to the room, and she woke me up to follow (but I of course said I'm coming but instead fell back to sleep).  All of a sudden, Reena was yelling my name, so I quickly ran to the room.  Reena was sitting up on our bed trying to get through her first contraction.  Thereafter, she was having contractions about 10 minutes apart.

About 4:30 a.m. - Reena thought she would feel better if she had a warm shower.  Since she figured it would be a while before she needed to go to the hospital, she washed her hair (there's a reason I'm sharing this fact).

About 5:45 a.m. - The contractions became more frequent, with about 5 minutes between each.  Over the next hour, the frequency increased to about 3 minutes apart.  Since Reena's hair was wet, she dried it and started to flat-iron it.  Since the contractions were 3 minutes apart, I would give Reena a 30 second warning before the next contraction so she could put the flat-iron down (so she wouldn't burn herself).  We were told to call the doctor when the contractions were less than 5 minutes apart for about an hour, so at around 6:45 a.m., we called Reena's OBGYN.  She told us to head to the hospital, but there was no urgency.  Reena finished doing her hair, and we both got our things together.  We did not anticipate going to the hospital so quickly, so it took some time to gather all our belongings. 

7:10 a.m. - We left our house for the hospital.  Reena continued to have contractions, so I pulled over for the first one to comfort her.  Since the contractions became more and more intense, I drove as quickly (but safely) as possible.  I did run one red light at Reena’s urging.  Since I was not sure where to go, I pulled up outside the ER and left the car at the curb at around 7:25.  Once inside, we told the attendant that Reena was in labor, and she pointed us towards the Women’s Center, which was on the other side of the hospital.  We were hoping for a wheelchair, but one was not offered, so we began walking.  Unfortunately, Reena got a severe contraction half way there and dropped to the floor.  After much yelling and agonizing, a nurse found us and I ran back to the ER for a wheelchair.  About 7:33, we made it to the Women’s Center.

7:33 a.m. - The first thing the nurses do is figure out how much the mother is dilated.  Generally, if it is 5 cm or more, you check in; if it’s less than 5 cm, then they send you home.  So we were just hoping Reena was 5 cm.  The nurse did the check, and she informed us that Reena was 10 cm dilated, which means she was ready to deliver.  We were shocked.  Reena’s first comment was to ask about her epidural.  I told her she probably could not have one since she was already 10 cm, but she insisted I ask the nurses.  The nurses confirmed that Reena would have to push through with NO pain medications.  Reena wouldn’t accept that answer, so she kept asking if she could get an epidural; the answer didn’t change.

7:40 a.m. - The nurses immediately took Reena to the delivery area and quickly prepped her.  The following 35 minutes was extremely painful for Reena.  She did not plan to go through this without some assistance, so part of the battle was psychological.  Reena was in intense pain, so it was hard seeing her go through the delivery.  In the movies, the pregnant wife often yells obscenities at the husband, including "You did this to me," but Reena didn't do that.  Instead, she made me promise that we wouldn't have any more kids (I agreed to adoptions going-forward).  

8:15 a.m. - 4 hours and 24 minutes after the first contraction, Reena pushed out our lovely Anaiya.  Reena was a rock star.  She battled through the severe discomfort and agony and did what she needed to do for our daughter.  The OBGYN mentioned that this was one of the fastest labor/deliveries she had ever seen.  In hindsight, we were happy for the efficient process, but if you could have sees the look on Reena’s face, you would appreciate how difficult it was for her.  After the delivery, Reena did agree we could have another pregnancy.

We are still in disbelief how it all went down.  We anticipated a long labor process, especially since this was our first, and instead we had whirlwind four-and-a-half hours, which we will never forget.