Birth Story: part 1

Week of waiting

   I love hearing birth stories, so I thought I'd share mine.  The birth of my baby didn't go as planned, but I still think it was a good experience of labor and birth.  Most importantly, I'm just happy to have a healthy baby, and that we're both doing well.  I'm splitting up the story because I like details and the story is lengthy-- like my almost 17-hour long labor and delivery.

  The week leading up to Ty's birth was very emotional for me; first of all, I was saddened by the loss of my grandfather who died on June 1.  We had learned he had stomach cancer shortly after I found out that I was pregnant, and my grandpa tried to fight it this entire time to stay alive to meet his first great-grandson.  Unfortunately, he didn't meet him here on earth or see pictures of him after he was born, but I do feel fortunate that I was able to get another ultrasound picture of Ty when I was 39 weeks along to send to my grandfather.   But I like to think that they did meet in that small window of time.

  The other reason I was so emotional the week leading up to the birth of Ty is because I was SO bummed (super grouchy and anxious pregnant lady) that I wasn't going into labor spontaneously and within the necessary time frame that midwives and doctors see best.  I walked like crazy every day to help me prepare for this baby and all that jazz just to try to get things going.  I really wanted to have a natural childbirth experience.  Friends of mine suggested that I talk to the baby to help persuade him to come out.  One of them also suggested that this baby was like his dad and that he was just chillin' in the womb.  Ha!  I think that sounds like Greg.  But then again, both of Ty's parents were two weeks overdue...

  On Wednesday, June 3, I had an ultrasound to make sure the baby was doing well.  And I can't tell you how frustrating it was to do this ultrasound because I really wanted to have the baby in my arms at this point.  Everything looked well, and baby was still healthy.  My midwife called later that day to make a plan.  We'd go into triage on Friday, June 5, to have a non-stress done and plan for induction for June 6.  Again, I hoped for a natural childbirth experience.

   On Friday morning, I hung out in triage after a very restless night. I was tired, and triage was so boring: two hours hooked up to monitors in a scary hospital room (so many scars on the wall and such).  I really wish I had brought a book with me or took a nap (seriously, the one time I don't bring a book with me?!). The plus side of this experience is that we learned that Ty was still doing well in the womb--just chillin' out.  We decided to use Cervidil-- a cervix ripening tampon--when we learned that I was only dilated to 1 cm at the top of the cervix.  So off I went home feeling crampy--thanks to Cervidil--, grouchy, and anxious.  Greg took a nap and I tried to relax and distract myself in the basement with The Three Musketeers.  I was just frustrated with my body because it wasn't doing what it should be doing.  At one point, I decided that I needed to get out of the house, so I went on a walk with my neighbor to the library to return a book.

  I experienced unpleasant cramps that whole afternoon, and by the time I went walking I had had a few contractions that I needed to stop for on my walk.  When I got home, I noticed things changed quickly.  Apparently, Cervidil can also help one go into labor.  So as I'm messaging family members on Facebook, "If I don't go into labor tonight, I'm going to be induced sometime tomorrow,"  I was having contractions that I need to breath through about every five minutes, and I started to get uncomfortable.  I'm not sure at what point I decided to curl up in a ball in bed, but soon after I went to bed Greg had to ask me, "Do we need to call the midwife now?" After we spoke to the  midwife (and I enjoyed a lovely contraction while speaking with her), Greg gave me a blessing of comfort, and we headed out the door.

   Around 8 p.m. or about three hours after I went into active labor, we went to the hospital to be reassessed in triage.  I don't think my body does well with pain because I have never trembled so much before in my life.  My arms were shaking so badly that I felt like I had Tourette syndrome (my arms shook throughout my entire labor which was really annoying quite frankly).  As we walked up to the hospital, another woman in labor was approaching with her husband.  I felt so embarrassed because my moans of pain were quite loud while she was still able to just breath deeply through her contractions.  Those hypnobabies techniques that I sporadically practiced just went out the window...  
  So once we learned I was dilated to 4 cm, we waited for my midwife in the family waiting area and tried to watch The Big Bang Theory. After we waited for her to arrive, we then had to wait for a room. I was so ready to have privacy to go through labor especially since I was noisy in going through pressure waves. Around 11:00 p.m., my midwife broke my waters which alleviated some pressure during contractions. Shortly after that, I was hooked up to an IV and started on oxytocin since my contractions still weren't strong enough. I never thought an IV could cause that much pain, but it did. The nurse had to make her second attempt at inserting the IV into my hand. Apparently the IV insertion caused A LOT of bleeding, and Greg intentionally covered my eyes so I wouldn't faint or whatever. He even got a picture...

My midwife placing my hospital ID band on me.  Unfortunately, since I had to be induced and subsequently had a transfer of care, she couldn't deliver my baby.

The IV from hell. You can't see any blood, but I went home with dried blood on parts of my hand.

 At this point, I was thoroughly exhausted, and being tethered to a pole didn't help me out with the whole natural labor idea. I wanted to take a bath, but I was tired and so were my companions. I tried to sleep in between contractions, but that was difficult. I thought if the baby was born soon, I could manage, but not having adequate sleep to push the baby out was a concern. So around 1 a.m., I took the plunge and got an epidural.  The anesthesiologist had to play "bad cop" with me. He asked if I wanted to go through with the epidural and I said "I guess." "It's a yes or no question, Suzannah." I swallowed my pride and got the epidural. I ended up getting 1 1/2 hrs of sleep while my mother-in-law and husband slept most of the night which made me super jealous (snoring through the whole night, guys!).
    So I did get to experience labor for like seven hours without medication--although I'm pretty sure Cervidil made things a bit more intense for me sooner than expected... As my midwife said to me, "You have to play the cards you are dealt, and sometimes you get a crappy hand." Well, trembling like crazy and hooked up to Oxytocin at 10 days late in my pregnancy, I think I played my best.  Ya know, whatever happens, happens.  

Part two of this story will highlight the rest of my labor and delivery as well as my recovery.