We got to the hospital around 4:00. The admitting nurse took one look at me and said, "You're still smiling. They won't be admitting you." I have to admit, my heart sank a little. I'd been laboring for 8 hours by this point and I was hopeful that I'd made at least some progress. Plus, my contractions were pretty intense (although there was so much more in store for me) and I was tired.
We got put in a room right away. I'm glad I didn't have to sit in the waiting room, at least. They immediately hooked me up to a fetal monitor and a contraction monitor and left me flat of my back for "twenty minutes". An hour later, they finally let me get up and move around as per doctor's orders. I was 4 cm dilated, my contractions were regular and strong, and the baby's heart rate was perfect. However, the doctor on call wanted proof that I was progressing before he admitted me. So off I went to pace the halls. While I was walking, my parents showed up and Matt went to the cafeteria to grab some milk. My contractions got to the point that I had to stop and lean on something to get through them. I was doing great as long as I wasn't on my back, though!
They hooked me up to the monitor again, supposedly because they were seeing some decelerations in the baby's heartbeat. Laying down for the monitor was the worst. Walking the halls wasn't too bad, so we did more of that. Matt's dad and stepmom got there at some point. The rest of our time in admitting is a little blurry, but they finally took us back to a room in labor and delivery by mid morning. I was still able to walk at that point, so I did!
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