Baby G's Birth Story: Part 1

I think three months is more than enough time to get my thoughts together and put Baby G's birth story out there. I've been working on it since I was in labor. I just needed time to fill out the details and make it presentable. Proops to the parents who can get these stories out there within a month!

I'm going to break this down into three parts: labor, post-labor, and my thoughts on the experience (I have many!). Hopefully I won't go another three months before getting my post-labor story out!


Because my blood pressure was elevated at the end of my pregnancy (high 130's to low 140's), the midwife at my OB's practice put me on bed rest and my OB decided to incude me a few days later.

I saw my OB in the morning. My blood pressure was taken and I was hooked up to a fetal monitor for about half an hour.

Hubby and I discussed that possiblity on the way to the appointment. I wasn't ready. By my calculations Baby G wasn't really due until March 30 and I had convinced myself he would be late and arrive in April. I was perfectly okay with that. I wanted to wait and experience going into labor naturally.

But my OB had other plans. She took a look at my chart and said, "You're going to have a baby tomorrow."

She did an internal check and determined I still wasn't dilated or effaced. She scheduled me for a hospital visit later on that afternoon so I could get a prostaglandin gel inserted to help soften my cervix.

When I got to the hospital I was hooked up to a fetal monitor. I had a couple of contractions but I didn't feel them. The doctor arrived about an hour later and did another internal check. I was 1cm dilated and had started to efface! She inserted the gel and had me monitored for another half an hour. She said that sometimes the gel was enough to send women into labor, but I had to be back at 6am to start pitocin to induce it.

We left the hospital about forty five minutes later and I was already starting to feel contractions. Knowing that I was going to have a huge day ahead of me, Hubby and I decided to head back home to eat dinner.

I tried to remember everything I learned in my birthing classes. I knew I couldn't eat a super fatty, spicy meal so my dinner consisted of watered down soup, unsalted crackers and a bit of chocolate cake. I called a friend to cancel our plans for that night. My contractions started getting a little more intense. They felt a lot like period pains. I was surprised I remembered what those felt like.

Finding a good position to be comfortable in was starting to get harder. I went back and forth between sitting on the edge of the couch and bouncing on my exercise ball. I was amazed at how fast the gel worked! I hoped that I would be one of the "lucky" women who could have a baby with the gel alone and no pitocin.

I decided to follow "expert" advice and sleep while the contractions weren't too bad. I put my PJs on and got into bed. But I couldn't get comfortable. Every time I had a contraction I felt like I needed to fart or poop. When I tried to do either, nothing happened.

So I tossed and turned from 9:30pm to 11:30pm try timing contractions. They were lasting about 1.5 to 3 minutes and were about 3-5 minutes apart.

At 10:45 felt the urge to pee. I sat on the toilet a while because it was more comfortable than laying in bed. When I got up to flush I looked down. I lost my mucous plug. Yay!

I had spent the first part of my pregnancies looking at my underware and toilet bowl expecting to see bood, expecting to see signs that I was losing my baby. I spent the last month of pregnancy looking at my underwear and toiet bowl wanting to see my mucous plug, a sign that labor was approaching.

It didn't look at all like I thought it would. It was white with a couple of red spots. I was expecting something more like the bloody, snotty stuff I have been blowing out my nose for the last few months.

I spent another couple of hours moving from the bed, to my exercise ball, and the bathroom. I tried lying down, sitting down, and bending over the sink. Nothing I did made me comfortable. In between contractions I sipped on water, because I didn't want to be hooked up to an IV during labor and knew I would be if I was dehydrated.

At 1:00am I'd had enough. I knew it was still too early to head to the hospital -- I was still able to crack jokes and smile about things. I had no problem talking through my contractions. All signs that I should really stay home a while longer. But my contractions were getting closer together and I really wanted to know how far along I was. I had Hubby call the OB who gave us the green light to head to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital I requested a room with a tub. I really wanted to labor in a tub. A nice big tub with full of warm water. The nurses obliged. I went into the bathroom to change into a hospital gown and was bitterly disappointed. The tub was a standard size bath tub. It wasn't anything like I had pictured.

I was checked (3cm!) and then hooked up to the fetal monitor where I was monitored for about 40 minutes. During each contraction I just wanted to move around. After I was monitored I was free to walk about the floor. Hubby and I visited the nursery to look at the babies. I couldn't believe I was going to have one of those before the day was over. The thought made me feel a whole mess of emotions: happy, scared, excited, overwhealmed.

I thought the doctor would arrive around 6am to check on me and talk to Hubby and I about putting me on pitocin. She never showed up. At 7am I figured she definitly wasn't coming. Every time I had a contraction I felt the need to poop. My assumption was that I was having back labor and nothing I did made contractions doable. Hubby wasn't as on top of his game as I wanted him to be. He felt compelled to email our parents with updates on how things were going which seemed to distract him from his coaching duties. I started to cry with each contraction and wanted the epidural. What I had wanted was Hubby to really make sure I wanted one. I wanted him to coach me through a few more contractions. But he didn't. He fetched the nurse who checked me. I was at a 4.

A 4?! That's it?

The nurse suggests waiting until at least a 5 when I'd officially be in active labor. She said that getting it before I was 5cm would mean my labor would slow down. It was time for me to be monitored some more so I reluctantly got hooked up to the monitor again. Laying in bed was worse than standing up at that point and I started to cry. And curse.

Around 8am I definitely couldn't take it any more. I was in a lot of pain as I lay on the bed being monitored. I wanted to stand. I wanted to move around. I still felt like I had to poop but nothing happend when I tried. I told told Hubby to find a nurse. I didn't care if it was too early, I couldn't handle the contractions anymore. I couldn't handle Hubby not knowing what to do to help manage my pain. I couldn't handle not being able to explain how I wanted to be helped. The second shift nurse checks me, I'm a 5.

She ordered me the epidural without making sure it was really what I wanted.

From 8:30am - 4:30pm I go through labor pain free but uncomfortable. I was attached to an IV with pitocin, IV fluids that weren't keeping me hydrated, the epidural needle stuck in my spine, blood pressure cuff, and cathiter.

I started to get feeling back below my knees and my stomach. I started feeling itchy from the cholestasis, which had been numbed from the epidural. With each contraction I could feel the cathiter move.  By 4pm I wanted to rip everything out of me. I was done. I wanted to go home and try again later.

The nurse comes in and I ask if it's normal to feel the catheter. She said yes. I told her I was starting to gain feeling back. She said that's okay. She adjusted my pitocin and left.

I started getting really agitated. Hubby got the nurse and I asked again if I should be feeling things. She said they were letting the epidural wear off so I could feel the pressure to push.

Why didn't she bring that to my attention the first time?

She checked me around 3:30pm and I was at 9cm. She called my OB to let her know I was almost ready.

At 4:30pm I see my OB for first time. She checks me and I'm a 10. Finally! She broke my water and told the nurse I could start pushing at 5:15pm.

While I waited I started feeling the urge to poop again. The nurse finally came back into the room at 5:30pm to assist with initial pushing stage. She took out my catheter and explained that I would poop, there was no way around it. Exhaustion had set in. I was told to hold breath and push really hard for a count of 10. I think nurse was really having me push longer than that. She kept talking while she was counting. I couldn't hold my breath for as long as she wanted me to and my pushes didn't seem to be good enough for her.

I really wanted to squat. I felt as though the epidural had worn off enough that I could squat as long as I had someone to spot me. But I didn't think the nurse would let me. She seemed reluctant to let me sit up a little bit more to push, so I kept my mouth shut.

I dozed in between contractions. When I felt them gain intensity I'd ask if I could push. It seemed as though I wanted to push when the contractions weren't at their peak.


Almost 7:30pm. I push, feel like ALL of my lady parts are going to split open. I feel the ring of fire and the head is out. I'm told to stop pushing.

WHAT?

This does not make me happy. One more push and I was sure I could have the baby out. Another nurse calls the doctor and I start yelling for her to get here quick.

7:31: The doctor tells me to look at her. I open my eyes to her pulling Baby G out. He's laid on my chest and I'm not quite sure what to do with him. The moment was nothing like I had thought it would be. Nurses start wiping him down. He looks slighly blue and is slimy. I think I just patted him because I really didn't have enough energy to do anything else. I vaguly notice Hubby cutting the cord.

After that, Baby G is lifted off my chest to be weighed, measured, and assessed. I am too tired to remind the nurses that I wanted to cuddle and feed him first. The doctor delivers my placenta and holds it up for me to see. "Oh, I forgot about that part," I tell her when I see it.

I look around and realize that there are a number of nurses in the room. I think every nurse that had helped out that day was there. The night nurse we had when we arrived had just gotten back on shift and came in to watch. I realized that during those last two hours I didn't care who was in there watching. All that mattered was getting Baby G out.

A nurse announces Baby G weighs 7lbs 14oz. I asked, "Are you sure?" Then I think I laughed at Hubby because everyone was so confident he'd be somewhere between 8-10 pounds at birth.

The doctor said I was bleeding a lot. A nurse came to press on my stomach and I could feel a lot of blood gush out. Once that subsided, the doctor stitched up a second degree tear. The epidural had worn off enough that I could feel the needle as she instered it into the skin (felt like getting a shot) and the tugging as she stitched. It was uncomfortable, but not painful.

Oh, and I did poop. Twice, I beleive. Once early on in the pushing phase and again right as the head started to emerge. I didn't really feel myself doing it, just felt something warm down there as it was happening. No one said anything and the nurses were good about. I wasn't sure I wanted to know if I had actually done it, but when I was telling a friend about my experience a few weeks later, I turned to Hubby and asked if I really did. He said yes.

39 Weeks 1 Day

Dear Little Guy,
Six more days until your due date. I have been feeling fairly well during the last few weeks considering how late in the pregnancy it is. I've told a few people that I feel better now than I did during my entire second trimester, when I was supposed to feel great. I'm tired, but I haven't caught any viruses or colds and my round ligament/extreme pelvic pain has lessened a great deal. Nights are uncomfortable since I can't lay on my stomach or back, but I think every pregnant woman has that issue this late in the game.

We had our 39 week appointment yesterday and it proved to be very eventful! The nurse took my blood pressure and asked if it was normally high. I told her it can be, and has been from time to time this pregnancy. I asked if it was high and she said yes. She took it again. It was 140/89. Not good. When she said I would be seeing the midwife I looked at Daddy and we both knew I'd be getting pulled out of work and put on bed rest immediately.

I told the midwife I was experiencing nausea off and on over the last couple of days. And throughout that day I was having sharp pains underneath my boobs. Both are a sign of pre-eclampsia, especially when coupled with a high blood pressure reading. I also told her that for the last few weeks I have been experiencing itchiness all over my body. It started at my tummy, but over the last week I was starting to feel itchy on my arms, boobs, neck, and thighs as well. The strange thing is there isn't a rash that I could see and I only had dry skin on my tummy.

The midwife said the itching was probably due to cholestasis. That's a condition where the flow of bile from the liver is restricted or blocked. Apparently the bile can start to pool under the skin and cause itching. It can crop up during the third trimester of pregnancy and doesn't produce a rash, although the itching can spread to other parts of the body.

We went on to discuss my blood pressure. She wanted to do another blood test to see if I had pre-eclampsia. Since it would take a few days to get the results back from their lab, she said she'd be sending me to Labor and Delivery at the hospital. This meant that I'd be hooked up to the fetal monitor while we waited for the results. She said that if the results were higher than the results from the blood test I had a few weeks ago they would go ahead and give me medicine to soften my cervix and a sleeping pill and induce me in the morning.

I think I sat on the table with a goofy grin on my face. Partly because I was going to be able to listen to you for a couple of hours and partly because I was in shock. Complete shock. A number of things started going through my head: I could have a baby tomorrow?...I'm not ready for this!...The baby isn't ready for this!...I haven't packed a hospital bag -- I need to go home first!...I'm starving. I need dinner...This is not how things were supposed to go...I wanted to know what labor was like when it happened on it's own...I'm going to end up with an epidural...I'm not ready for this!

Daddy made sure it was okay for us to eat and pack before heading to the hospital. The midwife was confident that I wouldn't be induced, but I wanted to make sure I at least had the items I wanted to labor with just in case.

Needless to say I was feeling very overwhelmed. The midwife explained that if everything was okay and I wasn't induced, then I was officially on bed rest. Which means laying in bed or on the couch on my left or right side only.

The rest of the appointment went as normal. I love seeing the midwife because she'll prod my tummy to figure out how you're positioned and how much you might weigh based on touch. She said you're definitely 8 pounds, if not a little more. But definitely not less. If we make it to the last possible day before the OB will want to induce, you may be a 10 pounder after all.

She said my belly is all you! And I agree. I really can't feel too many empty, squishy parts anymore. Every time I poke around I feel you. She even said I was having a contraction as she was feeling around. I didn't realize I was having it, so it was more than likely a Braxton Hicks contraction.

We made our next appointment, where the nurses and front desk staff insisted I was having my baby in the next 24 hours, and then got dinner. I felt like I was eating my last meal. Only it wasn't a very exciting last meal and all I could think when trying to decide what to eat was whether or not it would come back up if I had to be induced.

Then we went home and I had to try and remember everything I had on the list of what to bring to the hospital I had saved on my computer (yes, I have a list, but nothing had been packed yet).

Then we went to Labor and Delivery. I was asked to pee in a cup and change into a hospital gown. Then I was hooked up to the fetal monitor. One sensor to monitor your heart beat, one sensor to monitor contractions, and a blood pressure cuff to monitor my blood pressure.

zig zaggy lines on the monitor. The nurse insisted she didn't know what that meant. There were a couple of rounded "hills" she said were definitely contractions. I felt some pressure down low with those, but because you were moving whenever my number would go up, it was hard for me to tell if I was feeling a contraction or if you were pressing on a nerve. More than anything, I just felt like I had to pee and a sharp pain in my cervix when it happened. I found that if I layed on my side I would hardly feel anything, so I think the way I was sitting was causing you to press on a nerve and I was really feeling a ton of Braxton Hicks. I don't think the nurse agreed with me.

We were at the hospital for about two hours. It was late and Daddy was having trouble staying awake. I started getting hungry again. We tried to come up with a name for you and were unsuccessful -- although we have a couple of names we can agree on now.

My blood pressure was all over the place. I think at one point it spiked to 151/something. When I lay down on my left side it was as low as 95/something. They say laying on your left side is best when pregnant and I believe it now. The higher number was while I was reclining back, so I'm sure the baby was pressing on nerves and blood vessels.

My blood work came back fine, so I was sent home with orders for bed rest. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to be induced, but on the way home I realized that, even though I'm feeling great and several hours earlier I had the mentality that you could take all the time you want in coming, as long as it's by April 5, that I would rather have you sooner rather than later. Bed rest isn't fun, but now I'm more concerned that waiting is going to put you in danger. I guess I can try and get some of my fears put to rest when I go back to the doctor in a few days.

Here's the weekly update. I didn't do this last week because I didn't go to the doctors (they were on vacation).

Weight gain: 32

Dilated/Effaced: The midwife said my cervix is softening and is in the correct position. But I'm not effaced and I'm not dilated. (I keep telling myself it doesn't matter, because it doesn't, but part of me wishes I was a little bit effaced or dilated.)

New symptoms: my nausea has come back. I also have a lower back ache that comes and goes. My itchiness is spreading.

Your position: you're still head down, but still not quite facing the right direction. Hopefully all this side lying will help put you in place.

Your heart rate: The doctor said it was good. It varied from 140 and 166 at the hospital.

This week's cravings: chocolate chip cookies and root beer.

New maternity or baby purchases: I bought a few more cloth diapers. And an Easter onesie, because it sounds like you'll be here by, if not on, Easter at the latest.

Things to look forward to: YOU! After last night's fiasco I can't wait for you to arrive.

This week's pregnancy cheat: coffee again. And walking around the condo when I need something to eat or drink. I'm not supposed to, but Daddy still has to work. I think Grannie will be coming over tomorrow so she can fetch things for me when I need them.

Tired/sick/sleepy? Tired and uncomfortable now that I have to lay on my side all day.

I definitely can't wait to meet you now, Little Guy! I'm hoping I get to see you sooner rather than later. And hopefully you'll decide to come on your own terms and not the doctor's. I can't wait to see what you look like, name you, cuddle you, and to find out just how big you really are!

Love,
Mommy