Our birth story!

January 2, 2008

8:00pm	Jason and I checked in via the ER to the hospital for the induction, leaving all bags in the car…just in case!
9:00pm	My first internal cervical exam was done. The nurse in training checked first and said I was about 2cm dilated, unfortunately when the 2nd nurse checked, she said I was still only a fingertip. Apparently the first nurse, Jennifer, was checking the outside cervix. It was exciting, then disappointing to know how far we had to go!
9:45pm	IV was inserted…Jennifer started on my left side, but after being unable to secure the vein, had to move to my right side. This one went in without any problems!
10:15pm	Cervidil was inserted. This one had a string so it could be pulled out in case I moved faster through my effacing/dilating than was expected.
10:30pm	Ambien (sleeping pill) was given to me. I absolutely hated this. It made me loopy and crazy, and all night I was nauseous, dizzy, and had a headache from it. I told Dr. Z the next day I never wanted one of those again!

January 3, 2008

Overnight	Jason was a lifesaver, and walked me to the bathroom the many times I felt like I needed to go. He had to unhook the fetal monitor and contraction monitor, and roll me to the bathroom with my IV. I know he hated being in that uncomfortable chair/bed, and of course, he got very little sleep, just the same as me.
6:15am	My night nurse Helen/Fang (pronounced Fong), was very kind all night, and removed the Cervidil the next morning, around 6:15am. She also did a cervical exam, and said I was still a fingertip dilated. Once again, the idea of only being a fingertip dilated with all the contractions I had been having, was very disappointing, especially considering the horrible night we had had!!
7:30am	At this point I had two new nurses, Kim and Tiffany, and they were with me all day!! Kim, all the way up through labor…She started my Oxytocin IV (Pitocin) around 7:30am, and increased my IV saline solution as well.
8:15am	Dr. Z came by in the morning, and the first thing she did was fuss at me because I was eating when she came in. The nurses had asked if I wanted a liquid tray (jello, juice, ice pops, broth), and I had said yes! The last time I had eaten was for lunch around 2pm on Wednesday! So as I am mowing down the jello, she says “don’t eat that!” and said I wasn’t supposed to be eating. The nurses said it was on the orders that I could have a clear liquid diet, and Dr. Z said she only meant for the past evening! I stopped eating immediately, and I think she felt bad cause she said I could finish it just to not have much…but I was turned off by food at this point. She did another cervical check, and said I was 1cm, and 50% effaced. I took comfort in at least I was effacing, and then Dr. Z showed me the tool she would use to break my water. It looked like a tiny condom for a finger, and it had an itty-bitty hook on the tip of it. She went in and broke my water, and there gushed a huge amount of amniotic fluid.
Morning	Throughout the morning, I labored with contractions becoming more intense. I began to hate the question “on a scale of one to ten, how is your pain?” I wanted to scream, “A ten this time, but the last time you asked me this, you can change that answer to a 6!” By 11am, I was really hurting a lot, and finally understood what a contraction felt like, really, and asked for an epidural.
11:45am	The anesthesiologist (Dr. Radiki?) came in to put in my epidural. I was so emotional at this point I just weeped through the whole procedure, and I remember her asking me if I was in pain or just emotional. I told her I was scared because having never had an epidural, I didn’t know what to expect. She was super kind, and it was actually fairly painless. The numbing medication felt odd, and when the catheter hit one of my nerves, my foot immediately twitched and I about kicked the nurse, Tiffany. It scared the crap out of me!
12:15pm	My foley catheter was inserted after the epidural was done. Again this felt funny, but I imagined it would hurt more than it did.
1:15pm	Dr. Z came back after the epidural was done, and decided to insert an intrauterine pressure catheter, which tracked my contractions more precisely. At that check, I was 3-4cm, and completely effaced.
Afternoon	Apparently my epidural could not keep up with my contractions, and so by late afternoon, I had labored for several hours with super spiky contractions every 2-3 minutes, basically without the epidural. Jason and my mom were wonderful at walking me through these, and finally I asked the nurse for an increase in my medication.
4:30pm	The anesthesiologist gave me more epidural, and at this point I was almost full dilated, with only the rim remaining. Apparently all those hours of extremely painful contractions worked! I tried one push but the rim wasn’t moving, so we waited a while longer.
5:30pm	Kim came in and said Dr. Z said to start pushing, so we started pushing. With the increase in epidural, I had completely lost feeling in my right leg, so pushing on my right side was the most comfortable, and I felt the most effective for me. I pushed about 3-4 sets of pushes on my back, and about 5 sets on my right side, and then 2 sets on my left side (the baby HATED this side), and then back to my back.
6:30pm	Dr. Z arrived after about an hour of me pushing, and Charlie’s head kept coming down, but then would pop back up. She watched me push, and after about 5 minutes of more pushing, she tried to turn Charlie during my next contraction. Charlie was face up, and could not get under my pelvic bone. I continued to push about 3 more sets, about 10 more minutes or so, and then Dr. Z talked to me about a C-section. Not only was the baby facing the wrong way, but also the baby’s heart rate would drop when I stopped pushing, as opposed to dropping while I was pushing. So his heart rate was not recovering, and there was blood in the amniotic fluid. She said we could keep pushing, but she could not guarantee that I would be able to have the baby vaginally, nor how long it would take. I was so delirious from the medication and the contractions, and all the pushing, I said yes of course. And I did completely trust her. But the next 30 minutes were very scary.
7:00pm	From the moment I said yes, I was in tears. I felt scared and disappointed, and frustrated, and worried about the baby, and once again in a situation I was completely unfamiliar with. I signed a million consent forms for transfusions, surgery, etc. I was shaved, and whisked off to the OR. Jason was with me, and he had to dress in scrubs, but wasn’t allowed in with me while they prepped me, so he had to wait outside until the moment they started cutting. I was on a “crucifix” table, where my arms were required to be out to the side, and my legs were taped together (not that I could feel this). The increase in epidural (again), caused my left arm to go numb, and though I could squeeze Jay’s hand, I really couldn’t move it, nor could I move anything from the butt down. I worried about feeling the incision, but I felt nothing except the pulling and pushing, and lots of pressure.
7:14pm	Charles “Charlie” David was born. :) They pulled him out and because he was so low down in my pelvis, it took a lot of pulling. He came out and immediately started screaming. It really was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard because it made it all so real. Jason left me, and went over the table to be with him, and was allowed to cut the cord. They finally brought him over to me, though I wasn’t allowed (or really able) to touch him, and I kissed him on his cheek. Jason went Charlie to the nursery, and the finished with me, and then I went to the recovery room for about an hour and a half. I started regaining the feeling in my knees and hips first, and my left arm. I felt super naesous, so just closed my eyes and tried to basically sleep. After about an 45 minutes, Jason came in with Charlie and I was able to immediately nurse him. I could only handle it for about 30 minutes, and then they left to go be with my parents while I finished up.
Hospital Stay	I was at the hospital until Sunday January 6, 2008 (3 day postpartum), and it has been interesting. I am ready to be home, though it was nice to be able to send Charlie to the nursery in the wee hours of the morning in order to catch a few Z’s before his next feeding. Latching was not a problem at the beginning but starting Friday night/Saturday morning, he has had a lot of difficulties wanting to latch. We love him though, and cannot really believe he is ours :)