6:00am: One week after my due date, I wake up after a few hours of restless sleep (Brian slept soundly, totally psyched that for once we didn't have to be up all night in order to give birth).
7:00am: Feeling very uncomfortable and lots of pressure gets my hopes up that I would've gone to the hospital today anyway, and that when I get there, they'll tell me I'm 5cm already (I was 3 at last check). Wave good-bye to 3 grandparents and the kids as we pull out of the driveway.
8:00am: Arrive at hospital, feeling surreal as we walk from the parking garage with our boppy pillow underarm. Saw our dental hygienist arriving for work on the way in (yes, I know it's strange that we get our teeth cleaned in a hospital - university insurance requires strange things).
9:00am: Shown to our room. (like I said, University Hospital - takes FOREVER)
9:30am: First check reveals 2.5 cm - which I politely refuse, because they can't take that half a centimeter away from me. (notice Brian still reported 3 on that blog post - good man) Pitocin drip starts.
10:30am: My OB stops in to check on me. I'm already having contractions 2-3 minutes apart, but they're very manageable. She says I'm a 3 and lower, so she breaks my water. Hurts like CRAZY (previously when I had my water broken, I was farther along and already had an epidural. This OB practice is known for breaking water early on).
11:45am: The contractions have picked up, and I'm calling them 7 out of 10 on the pain scale. They check me again and I'm at 4cm.
12:15pm: After a couple of contractions REALLY catch my attention, I decide to go ahead and get the epidural. I had hoped to make it farther than 4cm, but I was nervous to be in too much pain before they tried to insert it, since I had issues the last time.
12:45pm: The epidural was inserted successfully (i.e. my blood pressure remained steady and it was in the right spot). I'm relieved that this part is over and that it is providing some relief. However, they check me again and I'm STILL 4cm.
12:45pm-1:45pm: Even with the epidural, I'm still breathing through contractions. Over the hour, they increase back up to 7/10 even with the epidural (can you imagine how intense they would have been without? Pitocin is kinda scary). The nurse calls anesthesia and they give me a bolus (extra medicine through the epidural site). This provides instant and almost total relief. Sweet mercy.
2:00pm: I'm feeling so shaky that they decide to check me again and I'm at 6-7 cm. Finally!
2:55pm: Even though I'm not feeling any pressure, my nurse decides to check again because I'm shaking so much. She is shocked to discover that I'm fully dilated and ready to push. Since I told her that I only pushed for 20 minutes with David, she asks me not to push until the doctor arrives.
3:17pm: OB arrives and gowns up.
3:21pm: My first instruction to push. I push through one contraction and he is out - time of birth is 3:24pm. I was shocked - just could not believe that he came so quickly.
3:30-4:30pm: I got to spend that first precious hour holding my son. He seemed to be uncomfortable, and finally they determined that his blood sugar was too low (common among larger babies). He was not able to nurse, so they decide to take him to the nursery to give him some formula.
6:00pm: Up in postpartum, I am having very strong contraction-like pains. I assume these are normal after-birth pains, and I ask for a stronger pain medication. As the nurse comes in to give them to me, I experience a very scary hemorrhaging episode. It was the kind of thing with paging doctors and rushing medical professionals and vitals and panic and pain. At one point one of the nurses says something like, "This is why you shouldn't give birth at HOME," which I thought was a strange thing to say. The word "blood transfusion" is mentioned, but over the course of the evening, things get under control.
8:00pm: Katy and David (and grandparents) stop by for a short visit, but I barely remember it.
9:00pm: Although the scary part of the episode is over, I am now pumped full of a bunch of drugs and feeling terrible. I get sick when they raise the head of the bed, and I'm not able to attempt to nurse because I'm too weak. Brian holds Luke and we hope for a better day tomorrow.
Night: Gradually over the next 16 hours I start to feel better, and in the morning I am able to cuddle with Luke and appreciate my fortune.
Summary: Overall I'm a fan of the induction process: we got to plan for it, sleep the night before, and skip the wondering whether it was time to go in or not. Also, this labor was certainly my easiest overall - but then did that lead to all the complications of the following 24 hours? Or was that destined to happen anyway with such a large baby? Either way it turned out fine and the end result is healthy mommy and baby. We couldn't ask for more than that.
The Five (#10 Slowly Getting Later Edition)
5 weeks ago
4 comments:
You are really amazing. LOVE a good birth story!
The same hemmorrage thing happened to me after Emmett's birth. When the meds didn't work, I had an emergency d&c about 90 minutes after he was born, and that did the trick. I still had to stay on the meds to make you contract for three or four days. And those SUCKED. It made the after pains during nursing so much worse.
I hope you are feeling better! I love all the pics of your beautiful family.
I also love reading birth stories- so glad you shared it :)
Wow, it sounds like you had quite an experience and I agree with you about the pitocin thing- not fun. Healthy mommy + healthy baby=happy ending. I hope your recovery goes smoothly and that everyone settles into your new family of 5 :)
Blimey that is a story!! I'm so glad you are starting to feel better.
Luke is lovely and healthy and like you said, you can't ask for more than that. X
I had heard some of these details from Cindy, but it is interesting to read it in your words. I hope you are finally feeling better and glad the nursing has picked up!
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