Part 2

...knowing I was at a 4, this was my 4th baby, and given my history, I knew I had to hurry because this was going to be over quickly. At that very moment, I heard the garage door open - Dave couldn't have timed that any better even if he tried.
As soon as he came in the house I yelled down the stairs, "my water just broke!" Then bellowed instructions for babysitters, gathering stuff, making sure the boys were all set, etc.
Dave helped me gather things as quickly as possible and I hobbled around nervous and excited with a towel loinclothed (totally a word ;) between my legs. We were out the door in no time.
On the way to the hospital I made all the necessary calls and tried to prep myself mentally. I had decided before I was even pregnant that if my water broke at the beginning of labor, I wanted an epidural. If it didn't, I knew it would be a lot easier for me. If you have recently read my other birth stories (kidding of course), you would know that my water broke at the beginning with Carson and it was my hardest experience and with Brooks my waters were intact until I was at an 8 and it was a fast labor, and by far and away my easiest. I was obviously hoping for the latter, but got the first.
When we got the the hospital and checked in it seemed fairly calm and quiet. It was about 5:00 pm. I can't remember what room they wanted to put me in, but I knew that the hospital had installed a big tub within the last year and all I wanted to do was labor in the water -water and me; we are friends. It REALLY takes the edge off. Anyway, they changed me to room 5 where the tub was. It was at the furthest end of the hall so I hoisted my towel high and waddled down to the end with my sweet husband.
I stood there for a few minutes wondering what to do next. By then at least with my previous babies there had been someone there either wanting me to change or get a hep lock or getting information, or something. This time - Nobody.
After a few minutes someone came in with a gown wanting me to change. I still just wanted to get in the water, but they wanted to monitor me first. Again, they disappeared for a while. I finally got fed up with just sitting there half naked, loinclothed myself again and hobbled back down to the front desk to ask yet again if I could get in the water. They said no and sent me away.
Another stretch later they checked me - I was at a 6, then they wanted to hook me up for 20 minutes to make sure the baby was tolerating the contractions alright. Here's the real kicker. Even though I was sure my water had broken, I didn't have much fluid draining after the initial gush. While I was sitting in the car and on the phone with my dr. I wasn't gushing with each contraction and told her so when she asked. Because of that, she wasn't sure that my water had broken she told the labor and delivery nurses she wanted them to verify that before they admitted me. (Would they really  have turned me away at that point...dilated to a 6 and clearly in labor???)
So there I sat hooked up to monitors while they did some sort of test that involved a q-tip in not so dignified places that then had to be tested and confirmed for amniotic fluid. (With Carson it was a strip of paper they dabbed in the fluid that turned blue if it was positive for amniotic fluid...I still don't get why this process was so much more complicated...). Sure enough, my water was broken, and yet, I still sat - hooked up to stinkin' monitors with very much increasingly painful and closer contractions. I was really having to focus and breathe at this point.
I was feeling pretty frustrated. I couldn't get anyone to come assist us, I was really hurting, I only wanted to get in the water, and I was feeling very much ignored. AND I had been hooked up for much longer than 20 minutes. In this time I expressed to Dave that I wanted an epidural. I didn't want to do what it took to have a natural delivery, nor did I feel like I had it in me at that point...