No Rain, No Flowers

Chapter 7 Viva Las Vegas

Viva Las Vegas

The worst part about moving to Las Vegas was having to stay with my brother. Don't get me wrong, I loved being with him and his family, it was sitting on the couch where Christian and I made love for the first time. I saw it over and over in my mind and all I wanted was to start over fresh. Luckily, we were only there for a week while we waited for our apartment to be ready. Our place was about five minutes from my brother. It was a gorgeous two-bedroom apartment. Each bedroom was huge and had its own bathroom. I left all my things behind looking to start over with even my belongings. I brought the things that were important to me, of course, but if it didn't have sentimental value to me, I didn't want to bother lugging it across the country. I set out to find both furniture and a job. I found both in the same afternoon. I walked right into a salon at the mall and was hired on as a stylist, and after leaving there, I was able to find an awesome bedroom set for my room. I felt so good for the first time in a long time. The salon didn't even care about my pregnancy.

After I got my first paycheck from the salon, my Mom, Dad and I went and had an ultrasound done. My first one was back in Pittsburgh just to see if the baby was healthy and growing as it should be. This ultrasound was the one I was waiting for. I was going to find out the sex of the baby. We waited anxiously in the waiting room and then we were called back to a nice viewing room.

I paid the extra money to have a 3-D ultrasound. The room we were in was dimly lit and the bed I was laying on was one of the most comfortable beds I had ever been on. Lullaby music played softly and everything the technician was doing was projected on the wall in front of me. No awkward turning to see what was on the screen. We watched as she measured the head, the arms, legs... All the parts of the heart, lungs. Finally, she paused and said "OK, Mommy... Would you like to know what the sex of your baby is?" My stomach fluttered as I nodded excitedly. She circled something on the screen and then started typing. "Hi, Mommy. I just wanted to tell you that I am excited to meet you. Also, I am a GIRL!!!!" My mom, dad, and I all gasped and had huge grins on our faces. A tear slid down my face. I was so happy. Being a mom at this age was not in my plans, but I was beyond ready. It was something that just seemed natural for me. There was no "Oh shit!' moment. Nothing in me was asking what do I do? The only option I needed to think about was what car seat I would pick out for my registry. I stopped working a few weeks before my due date.

Standing on my feet in one place all day was just too painful. The salon let me go because of my early departure. I completely understood. I would just find a new salon. It was the end of July in Las Vegas. The temperatures were scorching. I was as big as a house and miserable. The AC in my car was out and getting to and from my doctor's appointments was hell. When my parents were home, they let me use their car with a working AC, but that was very rare. I had an appointment on my due date, August 4th.

I was nowhere near labor. No dilation. No contractions. My doctor was giving me 4 days to go into labor on my own or she was inducing me.

August 8th

My parents drove me to the hospital, and I got all checked in and put in a room. They inserted this cervix softener that needed to sit overnight and then in the morning, they would begin a Pitocin drip to start contractions. I was supposed to relax and sleep that night because the next day would be a long, hard day. I didn't sleep at all. Whatever they put in to start softening my cervix kicked me into labor. I started having contractions shortly after midnight. Nothing terrible, but enough to bring me mild discomfort. By morning, they were stopping me mid-sentence. I could feel them coming on. I got hooked up to the Pitocin and that was when the fun began. The contractions started rolling in, one after the other. The problem was, I wasn't dilating. By noon, it was raining, which was crazy in Las Vegas. I was in excruciating pain. The nurse came in and gave me a shot into my IV and suddenly, I got very warm. "That's normal..." she told me when I expressed my concern. I got very lightheaded and suddenly, I needed to get out of the bed. I was panicking over the way the drug made me feel. My flight or fight was kicking in, and I needed to run away from what I was feeling. My blood pressure shot through the roof. My Mom started wetting wash cloths as I was having a panic attack through my terrible contractions. She patted me down with the cool wetness. I started to calm down with each trip to the sink she took. It was a very scary couple of hours for me and I am sure for everyone involved. My doctor came in at 4 pm and checked me once again. "You're still only 3 centimeters dilated. I feel like the stress of the pain is causing you to be super tense which is hindering your progress..." She reached back in and suddenly, I felt a tremendous stretching. "OW OW OW OW OW..." I yelled. "Wow... You're at 4!" She looked at the nurse, "Get anesthesia in to do an epidural." She turned to me. "I will be back in a few hours."