Pregnancy - September 2011

I have a few minutes, so I thought I'd try typing up our birth story. ... wow, it's long!

I'll start on Wednesday. It was a stressful day, lots of things seemed to go wrong, but I tried to adjust (like when I couldn't swim I walked down campus instead), and the good thing was that the contractions had pretty much stopped. I remember wondering if that meant my body was gearing up for something, but I dismissed it because I didn't want to get my hopes up. It was also my daughters 13th birthday, and we had family over, which added to the stress, but I wanted to focus more on her than me. By the end of the night I was tired but too wired to settle down for sleep, so I stayed up till midnight reading.

I woke up at 2 am, with a strong urge to go to the bathroom, which was kind of odd since I usually don't need to get up for several more hours. But I made it just in time for a small gush that I was sure wasn't pee. When I wiped there was bloody mucous, so I figured it was a bloody show. I also thought the gush could be my water breaking, but it wasn't that much, so I wasn't sure. My pj's were a bit damp from before I got to the bathroom, so I thought it might be something else. But I couldn't just go back to bed either, so I decided to read some more, alternating between sitting and lying down. I wasn't having any contractions, but I figured if it was my water, they'd start soon.

An hour later there were still no contractions but a few more gushes of fluid, especially when I changed position. I figured there was a good chance it was my water, and I'd better call my husband even if there weren't contractions. I called him just after 3 and told him I thought my water had broken, but that he didn't need to really rush, I was doing fine. Fortunately, his supervisor and co-workers knew I was close, and were prepared for if he had to leave mid shift (My husband works a graveyard shift). While I waited for him, I got dressed, washed my face, and gathered the last few things for the hospital bag (stuff like a toothbrush, that I wanted to keep out until we left). It's amazing how different a morning routine (getting dressed, washing face and putting on lotion, etc) helped me feel ready for what could be a long day ahead.

We got to the hospital a bit before 4. The nurse checked and I was dilated to 3 cm and probably about 80% effaced. She shifted the baby's head, and there was a HUGE gush of fluid (I had high fluid levels anyway). She said the baby's head was kind of like a cork and holding it in, but my water had definitely broken and I was staying. Still only a few very milk contractions, but she wanted to give me time to progress on my own before they thought about any meds to assist. Within an hour the contractions were definitely stronger and about 5-10 minutes apart. I was doing okay, breathing through the contractions and resting in between. Then, some time between 5 and 6 am they changed. They were a lot more intense and a lot of back pain, and I only had about 5 seconds between the end of one and the beginning of the next, so I couldn't relax between. We called the nurse to see how far I was (if I was almost there, I could hang on, but if we had a while to go I wasn't sure). I think this is when she said I was at a 4 but fully effaced, and that baby was posterior. At this point I decided to take an epidural - I didn't know how much longer this was going to last, and I wanted enough energy to push him out, which I wasn't sure I would have if I had to spend hours dealing with the intense contractions. The anesthesiologist was with another patient, so I had to wait about half an hour before he could get in and get everything set up and ready. This was the time when I was really glad I had my husband there, but I think I almost took his hand off a couple of times. :laugh: There are some questions the anesthesiologist has to ask, making sure I understand the risks, etc, and I remember answering them impatiently, thinking - I know, I know, I've done this before just give me the darn epidural!

Once he got the epidural in and I laid back down again (which wasn't easy at that point, it hurt so much), the nurse checked again and said I was at 9! But after a shift change not much later, the new nurse said I was only at a 6, but very thin, so I was glad to have taken the epidural. The big issue was that there was one spot on my left side that it wasn't really doing much for, just taking the edge off. I'd been lying on my right side for a while, so the nurse helped me roll, both to see if it would help, and to encourage baby to roll. The pain persisted, but I was able to doze anyway until the epidural started to wear off (about an hour and a half later, which seems really fast). The "extra" button didn't help any, either, so they brought the anesthesiologist back in for another dose, then the nurse rolled me back to my right side. The baby had turned partway, so he was facing my side. Another hour or so and it started wearing off again! The nurse checked me and had me push a couple of times, then said I was ready. She called the doctor, who said to go ahead and start pushing, so they got everything set up for delivery. The nice thing was, once I had hit that ready point, the pain all went away. I was still contracting, but it was the pushing contractions, not the transition, and much easier to deal with.

I pushed 3 times, and at the beginning of the 4th the nurse said to stop. She called the doctor again, and he got there in 5-10 minutes. Since I didn't have an urge to push, there was no issue with waiting. The nurse wasn't sure if baby had finished turning or gone back to posterior, so she wanted to make sure the doctor was there. When he got there, I pushed once, and then on the 2nd, his head was out, and the rest came right after. I saw him in the mirror as the doctor clamped the cord and let my husband cut it, and I said "he's so small!" Then they put Soren on my tummy and we rubbed him with a towel. He was squirming and making little noises, but not really crying, and still rather blue, so after a minute the nurse took him to suction out his airway and give him some oxygen. He pinked right up, but then they wanted to weigh him and measure him and do all those other things, and it seemed like forever before they gave him back and I could try nursing him.

After all of that was done and the doctor finished with me (no tears, yay!) everyone left us alone with our sweet Soren. We had an hour or more, just the 3 of us, to bond and try breastfeeding. It was wonderful. My husband took pictures and texted everyone to let them know Soren Thomas was born at 10:07, 6 pounds 4 oz, 18 inches, (he WAS little) and we were all doing well. Then, I got to carry him up to the room before he went to the nursery for bath, etc. My right side was still very numb, and my leg was completely useless, but I had some control on the left, so they shifted me to a gurney and rolled us up that way.

Breastfeeding was a challenge to start. Soren has a recessed chin, and it was hard to get him to latch on. But I stuck with it and kept trying every time he fussed. When he did get on, it would only last for a few minutes, and the nurse was concerned. Fortunately, he had enough wet diapers that I could easily say no to the suggestion of a bottle and she didn't argue. (Trust me, it would have been so much easier to just give him the bottle, but I knew that could well be the end of it for nursing and wasn't going to do that). Finally, he settled down to a serious nursing that night, although we started all over again the next day. Soren's been like that all along - fussing and just taking little bits most of the day, then really going at it for a while to catch up.

We came home Saturday afternoon. I had told my husband and kids I really wanted to come home to a clean house, and I wanted them to get the vacuuming and dishes done, and they did! It was really nice (I knew it wouldn't happen if I didn't say anything, that's why I did). My milk came in Saturday, and nursing has been much easier since. We're all settling in, although to the other kids, it's still like having a new toy - they keep asking to hold him, keep touching his head, etc. Hopefully when that wears off they won't be tired of him.

Scorpiomom - I was 38+2 when I went into labor. I think it's kind of funny that the nurses seemed a bit amazed that I progressed quickly on my own with no pitocin, etc. Maybe they're used to seeing a lot of "stalled" labors.

Ambie - I mostly walked during my pregnancy, usually carrying a 20-ish lb backpack. I am a college student (again) and take the commuter light rail, so it's a nice walk from station to class and back, and occasionally home from the station, too. When the weather was good, I also swam. I highly recommend swimming when pregnant. It relieves pressure and can help with swelling, and can be a good workout to stay in shape and tone muscle.

As far as breastfeeding, I knew I wanted to do it for benefits to baby, me, and pocketbook, but if I hadn't successfully breastfed before it would have been harder to get through those first few days. It would have definitely been easier, in the short term, to just give him a bottle. But once my milk came in, and his appetite appeared, it's gone better. He's a "cluster" feeder - he'll want to nurse a whole lot for several hours, then be content to go a long time in between (where I have to even wake him after 4 hours, especially since he's so tiny). So I encourage you who want to BF to stick with it!

I don't know if I mentioned it before, but wanted to remind all you ladies who are planning on an epidural or other pain meds to still take a birthing class and practice the breathing techniques, etc. You may not always get the epidural right when you ask for it (whether the anesthesiologist is busy, or you aren't progressed far enough) or it may not fully work, and it's good to know how to cope in the mean time!!

Welcome baisleac and Nikole! congratulations to you both!

Caperfae - hope that you can labor naturally. I'm assuming that the doctor doesn't want you to go past 40 week because of GD? It does make sense, but you do still have the right to decline, as Scorpiomom said. Hopefully you don't have to make the decision.

Mukie - yikes! Hopefully your little guy turns - you still have a few weeks for that. I don't know if you remember Brittony - she had her baby a few months ago. She was breech and jammed in so tight that the doctor advised against a version. She tried everything to get her little one to turn, but ended up going with the c-section and everything was fine. Then Ronya's baby was breech at about 35 weeks (if I recall) and she turned on her own. So you could go either way with that.

I guess I'm fortunate to have a doctor I trust. I've been with him for almost 15 years because of that. He's open minded and not quick to jump to medical intervention unless he really feels like it's necessary. I feel the same way about our pediatrician.