Warning - gory details to follow - I don't believe I ever shared this on the blog. This is the events of the night Laura was born - as I recall them. I typed it up when she was 3 weeks old. I thought some of my readers may want to read it, but I realize not everyone wants to hear the gory birth details, so if you don't want details - feel free to skip this post. It's raw and real. I read through this last night and it just felt like it was so fresh in my mind. ... also kind of scary that I realize I'll be giving birth again in just 4.5 months from now...
Wednesday September 26th - (excerpts from my blog that day)Not feeling great this morning. Headache since I woke up. Took tylenol at 7:30. Hasn't really done much. BP was 134/98 an hour or so ago, layed on the couch and tried to sleep and just retook it... 154/76... I hate to cry wolf...so I'm on the fence about calling... I'm headed back to the couch for now with my pillow, a glass of water, and Harry Potter... (I never did crack the book - just ended up dozing!)
I ended up trying to sleep on the couch the rest of the morning, but every hour when I'd wake up/roll over my headache was still there. (I had taken tylenol around 7:30am) My BP isn't terrible, but it isn't pretty either... 151/87 last check. I took more tylenol at noon just before calling...
We're headed to the hospital. Graham decided to have me come in - do more bloodwork and monitoring as well as start cervadil to nudge things along and discuss possible induction tomorrow or friday (unless the cervadil works on its own!!!) My platelets from yesterday are stable and my H&H (blood levels) are good.
So I told Graham that it'd be probably an hour and a half before we could get to the hospital. Richie was still at work and had to wrap up a few things then head home, quick shower for him and off we went. We got to the hospital at around 2pm and we were set up in room 314. I wasn't admitted - just put in as "observation" status at that point. They set me up with another 24 hour urine jug. Graham came in and discussed the plan. She explained to us that cervidil ~can~ kickstart real labor if the cervix is ready. If it's not ready though, the cervidil may not do much... so, she was really telling us that we could end up with a baby really soon - or that we could end up needing to do pitocin late Thursday or Friday - or, that I may be sent home after the 24hour urine and we could still have the baby the next week! We took that to mean "don't call family and have them all rush here yet". We did call my parents and Richie's parents to let them know the plan though.
The cervidil was put in at 3pm. I was "a good 1cm" - same as the day before when she stripped my membranes at the office. Amazingly - as soon as we got to the hospital, my BP was fine! Better than it'd been in months! (hmmm.... maybe I was able to relax knowing that things were getting going!) I was hooked up to the monitor and baby's heart rate was wonderful! The machine had a hard time keeping the reading when I was on my side though and all I wanted to do was curl up and relax.
At around 3:45pm I started to feel some pretty constant dull achey menstrual type cramps and some low back ache. This continued pretty much through the evening - I tried watching the monitor to see how far apart contractions were, but I couldn't really see the strip from where I was. I remember we ate dinner and watched the Dallas Cowboy reality show on MTV. After dinner my back was really starting to bother me. I was afraid I was in for a long back labor. I had Richie set me up with one of those disposable heating packs and it helped a lot!!!
Richie's mom stopped by really quick to bring us some muffins and to see how we were doing. While she was there I remember watching a lightening storm go across the lake... It rains on all of our big days I guess (Yes, it rained on our wedding day and my baby shower day!)
At 8pm Richie started watching a Mets game. I remember saying that at 9pm I wanted to switch it over to watch "Criminal Minds" but by 9pm I was so involved in just trying to stay comfortable during and between contractions that he kept the game on until it was over at 10pm. I was laboring in the rocking chair most of that time. It was a hard wooden chair and I remember that the darn thing creaked everytime I rocked and that creaking was just grating on my nerves!
At a little before 11pm, Gisellse (our evening nurse) went off shift and we met Jeanne. Jeanne did her beginning of the shift rounds - checked my vitals - all looked good. Checked the contractions and baby's heart rate - all looked good. Then she shut the light off and left Richie and I to rest. Richie had changed into his lounge pants and pulled out the uncomfortable bed for him - he read some of his Chronicles of Narnia book while I was working through the contractions.
I remember looking at the clock at 11:30 when this one really hard contraction woke me up and at the same time Laura must have kicked really hard - I woke up crying and shaking. I remember thinking that if ~this~ wasn't real labor and that they were really going to send me home to come back next week .... that I didn't want to come back!
I had really strong contractions from 11:30-12:45. I was shaking and/or crying through nearly all of them. I don't even know how long they were, but I know I wasn't getting much of any rest in between them.
At 12:45 I asked Richie to go get Graham because I was absolutely miserable! I wanted drugs. [Now, just as some background - in one of my appointments with Graham at about 28ish weeks when they start asking you about labor options I told her that I'm a wimp when it comes to pain and that I wanted drugs... I was thinking intrathecal] So, Richie goes to get her and she comes in awhile later (was busy with something) and she must have checked the strip and seen how strong the contractions were and she decided to check me. I remember someone making a comment about how I wasn't showing the typical "wimp" signs and that I was tolerating the contractions really well. So she checked me and I was 4cm. She took out the cervidil and said that I was being admitted because I was in active labor! YAY!
I told Richie right away to call my mom and dad... they were 2 hours away and we thought it'd be best if they headed to our house for the rest of the night and then we could call them when we were closer to delivery (our house is only about 20 minutes from the hospital.) He also called his mom to tell her to come, and my sister just to let her know things were happening.
At this point, someone asked if I wanted to use the jacuzzi tub. I was all for that! They went to start filling it and in the mean time I was given the birthing ball to try - that didn't do anything - I just felt akward. I think I only used it for 2-3 contractions. As soon as the tub was filled we walked down the hall to that room. I got in and it felt so good... between the contractions. During the contractions though it just felt weird - like I had no leverege and couldn't do anything but float. I was in there for a short while and Richie was getting me super cold cloths for my forhead and my chest - I was sweating terrible. I asked the nurse to go get Graham because I WANTED DRUGS! I really didn't think I could endure anymore ...especially if ~this~ was only 4cm... Well, Graham got in there and between contractions she was asking me if I recalled how the different drugs work etc... (I think she was stalling hoping I'd decide I didn't want them!) ...
The contractions at that point were different than they had been with the cervidil. The ones with the cervidil were one on top of another. These were coming really hard for one - then a not so hard one right after (or maybe it was just the end of the same one!?) And then I was getting a few minutes (I don't know how long really, but it felt like forever compared to the cervidil breaks!) I was getting a few minutes between and I was actually able to drift off to sleep. Each time, I'd wake up and open my eyes and I was stunned each time when I realized that it wasn't just a painful bad dream...this was real! Real labor! Really a baby at the end of it! One of the contractions at this point felt different and I said "I either have to poop or push out a baby!" ...Graham told me to follow what my body was telling me. So with that next contraction I pushed and Graham was like "That was a real push - we have to get you out and check you". I think I had maybe 2 more contractions in the tub while they were getting me a wheelchair and towels. I was wheeled down the hallway and I remember thinking that the cold air felt SO GOOD!
I got in the room and Graham had me sit on the toilet - not really sure why at the time. I told her I didn't have to pee. She said that the natural pushing position might help out. IF the toilet wasn't made for a giant and my feet actually touched the floor, that might have been true - but I was just uncomfortable there so I asked to get back into the bed. As I was sitting there, I remember the sweat literally running off of me. I also remember that all the way through labor they were offering me sips of water or juice - but I was belching so much that I didn't want anything in my stomach. I wanted to limit the possibility of puking!
So, off the toilet and back into bed to be checked - Graham said she couldn't even find my cervix! I was complete already... I say already because I glanced at the clock and it was only 1:45am! Only an hour since they last checked me! They figure that I went from 4-full in the time I was in the tub which was only about 25 minutes! So... needless to say - no time for drugs! She asked if my water had broken - but I didn't know. I hadn't felt a big gush so I didn't know. She told me that either she was feeling the bag of waters or my baby was bald...Richie called my parents back to tell them to skip stopping at our house and to just come directly to the hospital, but that they were going to miss the delivery. They were in a dead zone so Richie had to try back a few other times before reaching them. Richie's mom was at the hospital by this time.
So I technically started pushing at around 1:45am. I started out in bed and either Jeanne or Graham was holding my right leg up. My left leg was just kinda flopped over on the bed. Richie kept getting me cold cloths I was still able to fall asleep between contractions. I remember saying how surreal the whole ordeal was.
Everyone was telling me how great I was doing - that my pushes were all being very effective and that I was very efficient. I think efficient was the word of the night... Then Graham asked if I wanted to try squatting as the gravity could help speed things along. I thought that was pretty crazy and I wasn't going to do that... I was enjoying my mini naps too much! A little while later she strongly suggested I get up and try the squatting to speed things along - so I did... and it was amazing how fast it made things go! I think maybe 4-5 contractions squatting by the bed and then I was told I HAD to get back in bed or there'd be a baby on the floor... so, back in bed and they got all the sterile stuff ready ... When the baby was crowning we found out that Graham must have been feeling the sack of waters earlier - because there was a ton of hair! I had already told her I didn't want to see things down there, but she asked me if I wanted to feel - no thanks.
I ended up delivering Laura's head and body in one push at 3:22am on 9/27/07. She was quickly put onto my chest and I was bawling... I asked if it was a girl because there was no "big announcement"...and Graham told me to look...so I pawed through the few blankets until I found her little purple legs and looked ...yes! All GIRL!
They asked if Richie or I wanted to cut the cord - but we opted not to -Richie cut it later when it was cut closer to her body. They were going to let the cord stop pulsing before it was cut, but they wanted me to deliver the placenta so they could stop my bleeding. Laura was able to stay with me on my chest the whole while I was getting stitched up. Laura was screaming the minute she came out. Her cord was really thick - must be her momma was feeding her well!
My mom and dad arrived at the hospital at around 4am - they missed the birth by about 45 minutes. My dad waited out in the hallway while I was getting stitched up and as soon as my mom came into the room I started bawling all over again!
I had torn in 2 places ... 2nd degree and also a pretty deep labial tear. Not sure how many stitches I got, but it's been 3 weeks and they're still there...still bugging me!
My dad was allowed in after I was stitched up and he came right to us and bent over Laura and said "can you say papa?" It was so cute!
NYS law says that the babies need the vit k shot and the eye goop within 1 hour of birth, but it was more like an hour and 15 minutes by the time they got to that. When they did do the eye goop, she didn't like it going in the left eye - she really fought it... so much so that she peed on me TWICE while they were trying to get it in. I first thought that her cord had fallen onto my belly, but then realized it was pee.
It was about this time that they took Laura off of me to get her weighed and measured.... 8#8.6oz. 19 3/4 inches long. 14 inch head circumference. The next while was spent passing Laura to her daddy, grandmas, and grandpa.
Then at 6:30 Jeanne took Laura to give her the first bath. Richie was right with her and watched and took pictures. She didn't like the bath at all!!!
I remember talking with jeanne and telling her that I bet when she got report on me at ~10:45pm that she probably thought she had a pretty easy shift ahead of her - especially since I was tucking in and getting ready to sleep when she first came in at 11pm...
I tried to get up and use the bathroom at around this time and I was too dizzy to get there. They asked if I wanted to try a commode - but I didn't want to do that with everyone still in the room. I decided to roll over and try to rest while everyone was leaving. Just after everyone was out of the room, I rolled over and felt the urge to pee again - so I called in the day nurses (Anita and a student nurse). I said I'd like to try the commode and they helped me stand - then sit again because I was dizzy. Then stand - then sit ... then stand - then quick to the commode while I felt okay... then i didn't feel so okay. I remember Anita standing really close to me and pulling my head into her hip and telling me to keep talking to them...next thing I know I was waking up smelling that god awful smelly stuff... I had passed out. There were 3 nurses there by that time and I was hoisted back into bed. Poor Richie had walked out with our parents and he had just come back into the room just before I passed out. He said that really scared him!
Once I was back in bed my feet were put up and I had the cool cloths on me again - and I had the shakes really bad! They ended up bringing me breakfast and I was instructed to eat that and drink lots before trying to get up again - The next time I was up was much better! I did have headaches for a few days afterwards and was dizzy on and off. Also had racing/pounding heart that next week... My hematocrit had dropped to 24 and they think I may have lost a bit more blood than they thought.
All is better now though So, I ended up with the perfect labor and delivery. I can't think of one thing I would change! I will definitely use the midwives for our next pregnancy. They were all wonderful!
Upper extremities - the round on the left is his head, looking down onto his arms.
Knees. legs and feet on left, belly on right.
