Oh- and I'm the queen of details. It's long. :-)
This story starts on Monday- 38 weeks, 4 days. (December 13th, 2010)
Aside from being overweight when I got pregnant, my pregnancy was very healthy. I gained very little weight. (re-distribution was my plan). My biggest complaint was swelling. I was just "that preggo" who's feet swelled up a ton! BP was always good. Baby was right on track. Maybe measuring a week or so ahead. But nothing crazy.
All of my monthly/weekly (by this point) appointments were on Monday afternoons.
The morning of the 13th, I woke up with what felt like "regular" contractions. I was dialated to 2 and 60% the week before. (this means nothing as we all know) But that morning I thought it was possibly early labor, mild contractions about every 8-9 mins. So I called work and said I think I'm gonna stay home and see how things go and go to my afternoon appointment. Hoping I'd be officially in labor by then and sent to the hospital. (oh, a first time mama....big hopes and dreams)
Off to my afternoon appointment. Nurse weighs you in...takes your BP. BP was 168/90. Huh? That's odd. But the nurse didnt say thing. Dr. comes in and checks me. I'm still 2 but 80%. Not in active labor (bummer) She strips my membranes (can we say, OUCH). And then says she hope to see me before next Monday. I asked if it was OK that my BP was elevated? Nurse didn't mark my chart, apparently. I told her what it was. She said, no that wasn't OK. ANother nurse re-checked it. 158/86. (lower but not good). She sends me directly over to hospital for non-stress test.
I thought this was the appointment she was going to tell I'm in labor and going to hospital. I was still going to the hospital, but not to have a baby. Hooked up to monitors for 3 hours. I was fine. Baby was fine. But BP was staying elevated. Bloodwork came back - good. They sent me home on strict bed rest. No activity. No sex. Nada. And orders to do a 24 hour urine collection (yuck!) and come back the next day for another non-stress test
My response- insert panic. I am someone who has a REAL hard time sitting still. Not to mention I'm more determined than ever to go into labor. ---WAIT, how will I get my body to go into labor if I can't do things that are supposed to help jump start later? I have almost 2 weeks till my due date, I will never go into labor at this stage. My dr. doesnt like to induce -but promised to not let me go past 41 wks (long ago). Great. I'm going to spend almost 3 wks on the couch. Use up my paid time off BEFORE i even have a baby in my arms. You gotta be kidding me. No WAY. I was very sad.
Tuesday - 5/14/10
Still convinced I will never go into labor. I'm bored already after 12 hours of bedrest.
My mom came to keep my company in the morning. (babysit me and make sure I stayed off my feet and took me to my non stress test). She was wonderful. Helping do things around my house I had been working on getting ready for baby, but hadnt finished. And apparently at this point wasnt gonna get to do on my own. She yelled at my often for getting up to: grab a drink, go see what she was doing, taking my own urine to the collection container (she's a nurse. it doesn't gross her out like it does me) But i inisted on collected and pouring this one thing myself. lol
24 hr urine collection complete. Time for non stress test and bloodwork. All results show negative on pre-e. BUT BP is still elevated and running between 150s-160s/80s-90s. So bedrest orders still stand and I'm to report back to hospital for non stress test in 2 days. (Thurs). Mom went home late Tuesday evening. Making me promise to be good the next day. She would come back on Thursday and take me to my appointment while matt was at work.
Wednesday- 12/15/10
I am more than bored. And being over dramatic about NEVER going into labor if I can't do anything. I can't even go for walks! So I watch the news. A big snow storm coming tonight. I think to myself two things "a snow storm is a very cliche time to have a baby" and "tomorrow is dad's (my dad) bday, wouldn't that be perfect". Immediately back to....I'm never going into labor!
By mid day on Wednesday I started to "feel funny". But I couldn't put my finger on it. My back was achy. But I suppose not much different than usual late pregnancy. Around 4p I decide to take a bath. It would kill some time before matt got home and maybe relieve some of the back ache.
After the bath something finally happens - the grossest thing yet to occur in my pregnancy. loss of mucous plug. and seriously, that was a shock. I thought WTF, seriously. But then you read that some people loose a little at a time. (there couldn't possible be anymore to lose) And that people lose it and it is still 2 weeks before a baby arrives. I call my SIL. She says with all of her kids she had babies within 12 hours of losing the "plug". I call my mom. She says she never remembers losing the "plug". And has no clue what it means. Tell hubs. But I also tell him, it could mean absolutely nothing.
We eat dinner. Matt says he isn't feeling great. I tell him maybe he should go to bed early. It could be the night I wake him up at midnight to say..."It's time". We laugh. I stay up to watch Survivor. It's my FAV show! But all during survivor...I'm having contractions. About 10 mins apart. Not painful. But about every 10 mins. I don't think much of it....Monday I was having them 8-9 mins apart and that didn't result in a baby! I go to bed shortly after 9p. (tired preggos have an early bedtime)
11:50pm- I wake up with a painful contraction. (seriously? It can't be, can it? they said i would "know") We time contractions for a while. 6-7 mins apart. Hmm. Call hospital. They say to come when they are 3-4 mins or if my water breaks. I call my mom and put her on alert. She is joining Matt and I for the delivery and has an hour drive- and snow is just starting. Since this is a first baby, we are all under the impression that it will be HOURS and HOURS before a baby is born, if in fact I am truly in labor.
Thursday 12/16/10- 12:30am. We just had made the hospital phone call and the call to my mom. And I tell matt to go back to bed for awhile. This could take awhile. I get up to pee, and at first I thought I peed my pants. (9 months preggo....these things happen). I go to the bathroom and pee for real. Stand up, and "pee" again. Pull up my pants, take a step and more fluid is coming out. LOLOLOL Seriously, this isnt happening to me. Either I have zero bladder control or my water has broke. By this point it's obvious my water has broken. Every time I have another contraction, I pee. (not really, but it's what it felt like).
Call hospital and tell them we are on our way. Call my mom. It's time for her to head to town. Call my dad....He is stoked I'm about to have a baby on his bday! Call matt's parents. - We promise to call them when we are closer to having a baby. (Several hours and hours from now).
After my water broke...my contractions almost instantly went to every 3-4 mins. And were very painful. We got to the hospital and I asked they call the anesthesiologist right away. The only birth plan I had was to get an epidural and looked beautiful immediately following pushing my baby out. (i promise to now laugh at anyone who has this as their "plan" i was laughed at too. but i didn't care it was my plan :-)
1:30am- Hospital has to confirm you are in labor and your water broke before they will check you. BOO. I was obviously in labor. Lame policy for a woman in labor. Seriously where is my epidural?
2am- Yes they agree I'm in labor(duh). They check me. 3 cm, and 90%. I promise to be at 4 cm by the time my epidural arrives and remind them its a snowstorm and they should not be waiting to call people too last min. (yes, I'm the patient bossing around the OB nurses) My mom arrives shortly after they get me in my delivery room.
2a-3a They try to start and IV and get me enough fluid for the epidural. Over 6 people try and start my IV. Eventually, with a tiny tiny needle in my wrist they are able to start an IV. (worst place ever!)
3am- Nurse anesthetist arrives and is ready to start my epidural. OH AMEN! I want to kiss you. You and I are BFFs. Please give me some relief. I sit up and practice the shrimp back they told me I would have to do while I got this. I'm ready, I've been practicing so i would be a good patient. This is the only thing I have ever wanted when thinking about giving birth. For a half hour she tries to start this....she is unable to. She does not have the right size needle. WTF. I'm pissed. WHAT the _____do you mean? I wasn't getting an epidural and my contractions were getting worse. They offer me a spinal, but with the warning I won't be able to feel to push. I said I will push when they tell me even if I can't feel it. For another 1/2 hour she tries to start the spinal. She is unable to start the spinal. Is this really happening to me?
I'm in tears. What does this mean? The nurse tells me she will check me and then give me some stadol (sp?) in the IV to take the edge off. But that's gonna be it. She checks me and well in the past hour they had been trying to start the epidural/spinal....I went from 3cm-9cm. WHATT? It was too late for the stadol. The nurse said "Looks like you are gonna do this natural!" In a nice cheerful voice. I was in no mood to be praised. I said "i don't give a shit" (LOL a woman in labor- not humored by her nurse at all- matt and mom laugh and grin at me, they knew exactly what i meant)
So everyone is quickly getting dressed, Dr called in, nurses are acting as if they are about to deliver a baby like NOW without a Dr. I'm shocked. I thought it would take much longer. But eager to get it over with if I can't get any relief. Push....Push...Push. For about 20 mins, and no changed. Then they realize she is face up. Everytime I stop pushing she comes right back up. I push for awhile. I'm looking at my mom and matt, and they seem to be paying close attention to the monitors of the baby and not me. Apparently, P's heartrate would drop as I pushed. The dr. did something incredibly uncomfortable to me...dunno know what it was at the time -(I found out the next day, the cord was around P's neck and he was trying to get it off, but getting his hand up in there. ) Eventually they made me get on my hands and knees and labor like that and push. (most embarassing moment of my life, bare fat pregnant ass up in the air. for real? even in that state of pain and labor I was still able to feel completely mortified that I was having to do this- infront of anyone. It didn't matter that it was nurses, my mom and matt- terrible)
Eventually, back to legs being held and regular pushing. I pushed for 2 hours total at 10 cm because of her position and the cord. She just kept going right back up.
At 5:52am- Presley finally arrived. That final push provided the most relief I have every physically felt. I can't even put words to how it felt.
Pink, beautiful, and with a little squeaky voice. No big cries. Just little noises. 7 lbs, 11 oz 21 inches. The most beautiful thing in the world.
Worth, the pain, the pushing and getting the only thing I didn't want. An all natural birth.
(disclaimer. I'm not agianst natural births at all. please do not take me the wrong way. It just wasn't the route I wanted to go. And even after going thru it, the next baby....I'm going to want the epidural. :-) I think anyone who willingly goes thru natural birth and it's their plan is a rockstar. I also think that any mama who brings a baby into the world in any means is a rockstar. I'm a person who believes that no one choice is better or worse. It's just the right choice for that person. With that said, for me....I will repeat many more times. "please give me the epidural next time. I beg of you")
I am thankful the spinal didn't work. It was a blessing in disguise. I would have never been able to push out little girl in her position and with the cord around her neck if i couldn't have felt it. I would have ended up with a C - section. Which scares me 100 times more than a natural birth (i think)
I'm not to a place yet for I have "forgotten the pain" - people say you will. I'm not so sure. I would agree it was worth it. And I would do it agian naturally...if I HAD to. But I will again request the epidural immediately.
I'm thankful that the 5 hours of labor I experienced, was just that. Only 5 hours. Despite the fact that it was the longest 5 hours of my life....I can't complain people go thru many hours of natural labor. No thank you. God blessed me with a "quick" labor. And in fact, if she would have been in a different position, it would have been closer to 3 hours from the time my water broke. Lord have mercy for baby #2. Good thing I live 3 blocks from my hospital. Or I'd be afraid I'd be having a "home birth"
Welcome Presley. You share a birthday with your Papa. He's is thrilled. You arrived in a terrible snow storm, making the travel to meet you from all your family member hazardous. Papa had to get up and get new tires on his truck first thing in the morning so he could come see you in the afternoon. (he always waits till the last min.) You were the best birthday present ever for him.
We can't imagine life without you. You are almost 20 weeks old and you change every day. We love you more than we could ever explain.
Are you still reading? I'm impressed. Details, details.
1 comment:
BEAUTIFUL birth story!!! I loved my epi SO much and even though I had a c-section I can't imagine delivery without one!
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