December had a great page for birth stories that I thought was fun. I know we have a birth announcement page but thought it would be nice to have somewhere to chat and be able to ask/answer questions. (I don't think I've seen one, sorry if I missed it)
Here is mine...
Caitlin Mary was born Dec 27 at 8:18am (37w6d) weighing 5lbs 12oz, 18 1/2 in long. I had been on modified bed rest for preterm labor since 29 weeks and had been about 4cm dilated for a couple weeks (60% effaced). My water broke at 1:30am, and we went into triage to get checked out. We're were immediately admitted, but nothing was really happening at that point. At about 5am I was still only at 5cm, but I suddenly started having really painful contractions so I ordered the epidural. It was a slow night so the anesthesiologist was there in 15 minutes, which was great! I could still feel everything only without any pain at all, which was different than with my first. An hour later they checked me again and I was fully dilated. We decided to give her some time and let her descend on her own. (I had pretty severe hemorrhoids with my first after 2 hours of hard pushing.) After 2 hours she was about to crown. We pushed through 3 contractions and she came flying out (like something you'd see in the movies) lol... I was watching in a mirror they had set up at the foot of the bed. Her head and shoulders came out at the same time, and she was sunny side so she was practically looking right at me. The dr told me to to reach down and grab her to put her on my chest for skin to skin. It was the most amazing experience ever! I was surprised to only have first degree tears, which still required quite a few stitches. Everything went really well and we were able to head home 24 hours later
Yes! I want to read birth stories! but maybe a disclaimer in the beginning if anyone has a rough story to share? Hoping to make it thru unmedicated and "ignorance is bliss" is part of my prep strategy.
Me: 30 DH: 31 Married: 2012 BFP #1 Sept 2014, MMC Dec 2014 | BFP #2 May 2015, DD Jan 2016 | BFP #3 May 2017, MC July 2017 | BFP #4 Jan 2018, MC Feb 2018 | BFP #5 July 2018, fingers crossed
Liam Cole was born last night at 7:41 PM. 8 lbs 9 Oz and 20.5 in long. I was exactly 39 weeks and we are so in love with him.
I felt my first contraction about 9:30 pm the night before and it was not very painful yet and they continues throughout the night being very irregular. I got to sleep the first half of the night. Around 5 am they started getting a little more consistent about 10 minutes apart and not too bad yet. Then 6:30 rolled around and we're consistently 6 min apart and mostly back labor. I took a nice bath and called my OB office after about another hour in a half and they told me to go to L&D.
I was there for about 2 hours and I did not dialate anymore than I was at my appt on monday which was a 3 but I thinned out a little more. They tried to send me home but I fought a little and my Dr was in the building so she came in and was awesome and told me to try another hour of walking around and if that didn't work she would send me home with some pain mess that would help for a couple hours. I'm so glad I stayed another hour to walk because I dialated to a 5 after that so they admitted me. My contractions were horrible and only in my low back at 4 minutes apart since walking.
I got an epidural around 4:30 pm after being there in pain since 9 am and it was amazing! I was still at a 5 and the nurse emptied my bladder and about 10 minutes later I was at a 7. After that it progressed pretty quickly. The epidural kept making my BP go low so they had to keep giving me medicine through my iv to make it go up but that was my only complication.
Sorry this was so long. Good luck to everyone and have a safe labor and delivery!
H and I went to the mall on 1.1.16 to walk while my mom watched my other 2 LOs. My due date wasn't until 1.7.16 but I wanted to try and get things started because at my appointment that was the previous Wednesday I was almost 4 cm and 60% effaced.
That night, I could feel the baby pushing down on my cervix. I had a few Braxton hix at midnight and again when I got up to use the bathroom at 2:30 am. This was normal. I had been getting them anytime I move it seemed the last few days.
At 5:00 am, on 1-2-16, I started having more Braxton hix contractions that were not going away. I decided to get up and shower at 6:00 am. Once I showered and got back to my room the contractions slowed and almost stopped. I finished getting ready and felt disappointed. I got back in bed and started watching tv in which the contractions started again about 1/2 hour later.
Contractions were getting more regular and started feeling more cramping during contractions so I had H get up and start showering and pack just in case.
My mom came over at 9 am and my sister came over shortly after. My mom took the kids and I called the hospital at about 9:45. By this time my contractions had ramped up and were coming very fast. We got to the hospital and in L&D by 10:15 am. They checked me and were surprised and scrambling because I was complete with a bulging bag of water. They got me situated and the resident Doctor broke my water and said I could start pushing. He didn't realize that as soon as I started pushing the baby would start coming out right then. Three good pushes and the baby was born at 10:36 am. We were team green and we were excited to see that it was a boy!
Two minutes after baby was born in walked my doctor. He missed the birth and looked so confused and lost as to what to do lol. He just stood there and asked how I was. It was such a fast process. I was not prepared or thinking things would progress the way they did.
I was able to have a med. free delivery like I planned. I also only had one small tear but no stitches required. Later, the nurse told me that if my water had broken at home we would not have made it to the hospital. That was the only thing holding baby back.
My son, George Patrick, is absolutely perfect and amazing!! I am so in love.
I'm sitting at the hospital while LO sleeps so I'm happy to share mine as well. I'll put a disclaimer on mine that it was a rough birth, but my baby is perfect and I couldn't happier!
I was due on 1/8. At 11:30 pm on 1/7 I was in bed and felt a horribly sharp pop and ran to the toilet because I felt a rush of liquid. My water broke and within a half hour my contractions started. I called my birthing center and they said to get rest, but my contractions quickly went from 10 min apart to 2-5 min apart and there was no sleeping. They were ramping up and becoming quite painful so we met my midwife at 5:30 am. I was 3 cm at that point and in a lot of pain since contractions post water breaking are pretty intense. They usually don't admit you until 5 cm dilated, but felt pity for me and let me hop in the tub to labor. Since I had dilated 3 cm in just a few hours there was a good chance I was going to dilate quickly anyways. The only form of pain management that's even relatable to meds is gas and air. My midwife said to hold off using that "until I thought I might kill someone." I laborer in the tub and kept going back and forth between swaying on my side and getting on my knees. I couldn't keep still and just kept trying to move and breathe through the contractions. They were getting more and more intense and I couldn't find any relief. I was feeling nauseated and couldn't eat and hadn't slept in over 24 hours so I was feeling weak. I got in the bed and tried to labor on my side, but kept hopping on the floor because it was cool and I needed a hard surface. I would rock on my hands and knees during a contraction and collapse on the cool floor in between them, but I was getting very short breaks. My midwife finally set up the gas and air machine for me and I sucked on that until I was so high I didn't know where I was. It was the only way to deal with the pain. I could hear myself screaming but it was an out of body experience. I thought I was on the magical mystery tour and had no idea where I was. At some point I snapped out of it and realized I was going to have a baby. My midwives and DH kept laughing at me, but I don't know what all I said. My contractions started getting so strong that my body would involuntarily push even when it wasn't time and I would scream through them. The pushing was horrendous and made my body collapse and I couldn't do anything to stop it. It was awful. I reached 10 cm and tried pushing on the bed. Nothing. Moved to the birthing stool. Nothing. It was long and painful and midwife kept sticking her hands inside me during my contractions and pushes and that doubled the pain. They finally put me back on the bed with the gas and air to rest and nothing was happening and I was giving out. After my break I got back on another stool. I tried on the toilet. I tried on my hands and knees and the birthing ball. After 2 hours I made no real progress and my contractions were taking over my body and working against me. My blood pressure was rising and my baby was getting distressed and making no change. They decided after 20 hours of labor I needed pitocin to get get him out and transfered me to the hospital. I arrived screaming in pain and scared quite a few people outside the hospital, oops! They got me an epidural to stop the contractions from involuntarily pushes and also to help LO move into position because they discovered he was sunny side and unable to fully decend, especially with my contractions working against him. They started me on pitocin and let me labor for several hours at a slow and steady pace. The epidural was a life saver, I felt like my body betrayed me during natural labor and the epidural allowed it to do what it needed to. I was so relieved to not be writhing in pain anymore that I didn't care how much longer it would take. Finally it was time to try pushing again. I spent two hours giving it all I had and he was FINALLY born at 4:30am! I was in shock, it felt like he was never going to come. I'll say that my labor at the birthing center ended up being traumatic, but my midwives were so wonderful and tried their best to make it work. My body and baby just didn't let it happen, but I gave it my all. After the epidural I had a great birthing experience. It wasn't completely pain free and the pushing was a lot of work, but my midwife and nurse and DH were amazing coaches and got me through. I couldn't believe when my son finally came out, I can't explain the surprise and proudness I felt. He seemed so big! They put him right on my chest until we were ready to cut the cord, then I delivered the placenta and got stitched up. Those were not nearly as bad as I thought they would be. I'm so insanely tired, but I could hold this angel all day!
Thomas Walter was born December 27 at 2:30pm. He was 5 lbs 10 ounces and 18.75 inches long. He was born at 36 weeks gestation technically making him a preemie.
after a mini stroke at 28 weeks, I was on modified bed rest. My entire damily decised to visit for Christmas. We had 9 people in the house but in reality it wasnt crowded since my oarents brought their camper. Everyone is packing to leave and I feel my first contraction. Then a few minutes later I get another. I being an idiot dont share this with anyone there. DH notices and says I need to go. I dont want to go and get everyone worked up. Have breakfast and mom notices. After another hour, I cave and go in. Everyone says theyll stay till I get out. By now, I am at 5 minutes apart. They take me right back and as Im walking my water breaks. Nurse calls my doctor and they give me an injection to stop my contractions. OB gets there and says ok lets go. Being early they send me to get an ultrasound to observe breathing. We dont see any. Now I am getting scared. They're wheeling me back to the room and the nurse stops her and says nope take her to OR. I am now officially freaked out. My OB rubs my shoulders while I get my spinal. Thomas comes out wailing. They take him to NICU. Meanwhile, I start to notice that its been a realky long time since they started. Nobody is talking to me and the doctor calks for units of blood. I am starting to feel light headed. I hear the PA say, "I cant find the bleed." Then I smell the burning and the doctor says hes got. The nurse tells me I have lost a lot of blood and they are going to give me some before moving me. OB comes over after finishing and tells me the baby was transverse and I had started hemorraging. He had to do a vertical incision once inside and it will take a while to heal. Thomas was fine. We were able to bring him home when I was discharged three days later. A little crazy but its over with and we get an extra tax deduction this year.
Baby Alessandra Ayesha Rose born on 14th jan at 3.34pm weighing 3.14kg after an induction at 9.15am when i was 4.75 cm dilated and 100% effaced after result of 2 membrane sweeps over 2 days. After 2 hours i couldn't take the pain so nurse gave me a pain killer injection on thigh area (morphine i think) to help me rest thru minor contractions so i'd have energy to push.
I get to about 2pm because pain was so bad and nurse dr said i was only 8cm dilated and it'll be 4pm they estimate when i'm fully dilated. 2.45pm i had sensation to poop and pushing baby out but nurse said to breathe in and not push as i was only 9 dilated and i would tear really bad.
By 3pm i couldn't help but push a little at each contraction and 3.15 i told hubby i'd been pushing the last 15 mins and last push i felt something enter birth canal and get sucked back in.
Nurses rushed in and saw i was fully dilated and coached me how to push. They called dr hysterically and told him to rush as baby was coming out now. Dr came 2-3 mins later and throws some liquid all over my vaginal area and tells me how to push. After 1st push he saw my perineum was tight and not stretching so he made an episiotomy (didn't feel any pain and he never gave any anaesthetic) and next push babys head popped out. Dr told me not to stop pushing and her body came out.
Very healthy baby and a strong crier... I am glad i got my experience at a natural vaginal birth but there was a point i thought geez an epidural n csection doesn't sound too bad.
The pains from contractions from 8cm-10cm are the worst as thats the worsest back pain u ever felt and what people claim to feel like every bone in ur body is breaking.
Hubby never left my side and held my hand and massages my back. If he weren't there i don't think i could have done it.
Moment baby popped out, it was like i had never been pregnant. I was full of energy and felt fine and could walk and nurses were saying how they've never seen a patient like me have all this energy and say i have no pain etc... Even hubby and his family said i looked great
Kylie came into the world on 1/16 at 9:08 am. I went to the hospital Friday night because I was having contractions 3 minutes apart for about 2 hours. They checked me and I was 1 cm! They asked if I could sleep if I went home and I said no, so they gave me a shot of morphine and sent me home at about 8:30 pm. At 1:30 am I woke up to way stronger contractions about 3 minutes apart again. We went back to the hospital at 2:30 am and I was 4 cm. they admitted me and ordered my epidural right away. Hubby and I got some rest and about 7 am my midwife broke my water at 8 cm. at 8:30 or so the nurse checked me again and I was not quite a full 10 but feeling a ton of pressure and need to push. She started helping me push while pushing my cervix and tucking it behind baby's head. At 9 the midwife came in and 4 contractions and 8 minutes later our 8lb 9 oz baby girl was born.
I went in to be induced on 1/10 at 9 am. I was only 1 cm and 0% effaced (40w1d). They wasted no time and started me on Cervidil by 1130. It seemed like a very slow process and I wasn't feeling the contractions, although they were steady. By the time I was 3 or 4 cm, I went for some pain meds (Stadol in my IV). I got 2 rounds of Stadol before getting my epidural. At 530 am on 1/11, they started Pitocin and holy crap, that stuff is no joke! Contractions were kicking my butt, even with the epidural! I dilated fairly quickly at that point. My epidural didn't take as well as the one for my previous birth. Nurses came in to check me and break my water, but decided I was too close and needed to call the doctor before breaking my water. By 700, I was doing everything I could not to push as my doctor wasn't in the room yet and my water still hadn't broke! Once the doctor came in, he asked if everyone was there (we were waiting on my mom who was on her way from our house, watching our kids). SO called her and I yelled for her to bust ass. Luckily, she was walking into the hospital at that point. The doctor broke my water, mom walked in (she didn't even get to take her coat off), I gave one half-hearted push and the baby was here! I ended up with a second degree tear and stitches.
Brynlee Harper 7 lbs 2 oz, 20 in (so much smaller than expected) She looks just like her big brother! We are all absolutely smitten with her!
It all started on January 3rd, 2016. Dave and I started our Sunday like all other Sunday’s before. At Denny’s for breakfast, it was our last trip in a while; as I was going to be induced that evening at 8 PM. When we got home from Denny’s, I took a long hot shower and spend the rest of the afternoon in bed, Dave wanted me to rest plenty before going in.
That afternoon I started having a pretty nasty headache, since I knew I was already going in, I held out. By 5 o'clock I was in pretty bad shape with the headache. Tylenol didn’t help, as it never did before. See I was diagnosed 3 weeks prior for Preeclampsia and was already on medical leave for it, and a headache could be a sign for serve Preeclampsia.
I called OSHU about coming in sooner with the symptoms I had and was advised to come in as soon as we could. What made this challenging was, it was lightly snowing all weekend, that day the the roads were melting and refreezing leaving a lot of snow and ice to navigate though. Lucky for us, 4 days before we put snow tires back on my car which as all wheel drive.
When we left at 6:15 there were not many cars on the road as we headed to OHSU. When we got at the bottom of the hill to go up there was a bit of traffic, apparently there was a crash on the road to the main hospital so we had to drive thru the VA hospital which was busy with everyone else detouring through. Dave then drops me off with all our stuff and parks the car. Knowing I could be there for a long while depending type of birth we packed heavy. Once we got in the hospital, next stop the 12th floor; Labor & Delivery. We check in and is shown to room 9.
Once we are settled in, a nurse takes some initial vital signs. (It’s been very much a waiting game thus far; more of it in room 9). Soon enough, one of the family doctors stop in for chat. I then change into a hospital gown and climb into bed. Next they said I have an IV placed and man that was seriously hurt!. Now that the IV is placed the first blood drawn for the week followed. Then they needed to see where my cervix was at, this was my first cervix check, not the most comfortable thing! My cervix is high and we are at ground zero for labor. The choice we all agree on is the Cervidil (a vaginal insert to ripen the cervix), it feels like a Brillo sponge going in, no joke. Very uncomfortable! After easing back to some comfort.
Dave heads at about 11:30PM to go home to get a good nights rest since I won’t be going into labor soon. This form of induction takes about twelve hours to work. At about 12:30 my blood work comes back and elevate me to severe Preeclampsia, which means its very serious now. And they must begin the magnesium sulfate drip. The first dose of 40 grams goes in like fire, and takes up to 30 minutes. While it continues to drip in, I got very emotional, and about 6 Am the following morning I called Dave and asked him to come out sooner, this process hit me hard.
Hours pass by, and it’s time to see how well the Cervidil worked. It went out easier then it went in but still blah. The next cervical check felt worse than the first, and the results were not good, the Ceridil did nothing. As we begin to talk about other options, more blood is drawn. With all the blood drawn recently and my IV in my right arm my veins are difficult for blood being drawn. So it’s up to my left which left us with many options, so the top of my hand becomes a pin cushion. The doctors suggest us to use Misoprostol, a pill that sits in the inside of your cheek. Which I flavored! But, just before I was given that, my blood work comes back my blood platelets are not in a range for the Miso. Due to the fact that once in they cant stop the Miso and if my platelets dropped too low it could be really bad. So that leaves us the balloon option. A catheter with a balloon on the other end filled with fluid to add pressure to my cervix causing dilation to begin.
Now the the thought of another insert didn’t sound great, but my options were limited due to my severe Preeclampsia. My platelets were at a point that we began to talk about getting the epidural early, the anesthesiologist gave us the option now even tho I have yet gone into labor because it could be my only time since my blood work came back each time not good. There is a small window so it was now, or never. Given my new method of induction plus more cervical checks which I did not handle well, I agreed. And I don’t regret it one bit. Sure it wasn’t in my birth plan, but neither was getting Preeclampsia.
Just before the epidural was placed, I received a shot of Fentanyl which calmed me and put me on cloud nine. The epidural experience was interesting as it was uncomfortable. Once it was placed, and drugs were in, I felt nothing after the first dose. They then placed the balloon in, with a high cervix it wasn’t placed in fast. Lucky for me, I felt nothing, I seriously could have slept thru it. They said up to twelve hours, but just four hours later after walking slowly to the toilet it fell out. Bam! Three centimeters! Yay! We are getting somewhere! 2 hours later I went from 3 cm to 5 cm dilated! Crazy! Dave and are very happy we now decide its time to call our Doula (The Birthing Stone, Beaverton, OR) to update her on the progress. At about 8PM the next line of induction is Pitocin. Finally something easy as it goes in the IV.
As they slowly increase the dose over the next twelve hours. We relax for the evening. I now have saline, magnesium and Pitocin flowing in plus my epidural, I was in a very funky state. My nurses were great, they were my saving grace thru this whole ordeal. The morning comes and more blood work is done. I lost count on the times it was drawn. Getting blood drawn thru your IV was easy and luckily for me, I had two great drawls before they had to stop using it.
About Noon on Tuesday we have the next cervical check, and 8cm now.. its time to make the call to have our Douala join us. About an hour later break my water as it hasn’t done so on its own yet. Now seriously about twenty minutes after our Douala arrives they do another cervical check and I’m 10cm!
Given I haven’t felt no contractions it was pretty amazing. We waited a couple of hours to let her fall into place before pushing. We are excited as the time of meeting our daughter draws closer. The doctors come in and suggest me to give pushing a try. They adjust the monitors around my belly, I find a good position to start. About 4 positions and two hours later, she only makes +1 from the cervix. Not enough! I even had my epi lowered so I can feel the contractions so I would know when to push.
With all that work, Our baby wasn’t moving down and my pushing was unsuccessful. I was exhausted as I tried with all the energy I had to push. She even had a fetal scalp electrode placed on her head as the normal monitor kept losing the heart rate signal. Her heartbeat was dripping low at times which was a concern for everyone. After pushing for all this time, they tell me her head was swollen. my mom instincts kicked in and, I stopped pushing not wanting to squeeze her tiny little head anymore (in my mind it felt right). Even though painful I endured the contractions.
My husband and the docs start talking. Cesarean was suggested by the doctors, and with my agreement they move my epidural dose goes back up. My mind is all over the place, I knew I wanted her to be safe even with all the effects to delivery vaginally. All the induction only to have a cesarean. I don’t see it that way, I had an experience I wouldn’t replace.
About 30 minutes later, I am moved to the surgical room and I met the surgical team. Dave is put into scrubs so he could be at my side near my head. We waited as they preped, we start talking about our little girl, if she has a hair, how much, eye color things to keep us occupied. They start the incision and minutes later at 6:59 PM later she is out. Seems like times stops as we waited for the cry.. And finally we do, I cry with joy. Dave is invited by one of the doctors to go over to see her. He comes back I ask how she looks, he has tears and has no words. I ask him if she is beautiful he nods full of emotions and is unable to speak, trying to compose himself he finally he says, yes she is.
He goes back to her while I’m waiting to see her, I’m informed she is 4lbs 9oz. She is a small baby who came out with with her eyes open and ready to eat. We were allowed our GOPRO just for us to record me seeing her for the first time. One of the doctors is holds the camera for us. Looking back we are so grateful to have that.
Now for the big moment, they bring her to me and I’m in awe. I have tears rolling down and I full of raw emotions. our baby girl Octavia is calm, eyes open and looking all around. The most gorgeous little face I have ever seen! I’m in love. After a few minutes they take her to the NICU to monitor her due to her low birth weight.
After a few tests in the NICU its found she has low blood sugar. Dave went up to visit with her while she was there and I was able to pump 1cc of colostrum for her and she took it all plus donor milk.
I don’t get to see her and hold her till the next afternoon about noon in the NICU, I had to be well enough to get into a wheelchair to be moved up there. She is a strong one, and was released that evening. My postpartum nurses were amazing and took great care of all three of us. With only one round of Clomid, I feel grateful for my entire experience, from being pregnant to now. This is my birth story and the day I became a mother.
My story doesn't quite begin like everyone else's......
Wednesday December 23rd I had my weekly routine OB appointment I was 38wks and 2days pregnant. My mom decided to accompany me because she didn't want me driving as i had been feeling light headed frequently. My doctor was late, I gave my urine sample, was weighed and we waited for the doctor to arrive. My mom and I started discussing lunch and if we wanted to do anything else that day. It was rainy, gloomy and the night before I had about 2hrs of sleep so I told my mom I just wanted to go home and nap. *insert doctor* She checks my blood pressure- it was elevated (170's/ 90's), which wasn't new- my blood pressure was always high sitting... I laid down and again it was high... She hurried and checked my urine and LO and behold proteins in the urine. I was sent to the hospital for observation... Great. I was pretty calm , my mom and I drove all over Timbuktu because me being a smarty pants left my insurance card at home... Finally we arrive at the hospital and I was admitted to OB triage. They took blood, hooked me up to a monitor, I peed in a cup again and started watching "bones" on tv.. About an hour later my labs were in. Protein in the urine and low platelets.. My OB decided we needed to induce.. My heart stopped beating (not literally) I was NOT prepared for this, I'm not ready to be a mom, he was supposed to stay inside until January 4th he's not supposed to come now- I start crying- I was scared and even though my mom was with me, I felt alone (SO was at work and he couldn't leave to be with me) I was moved to a room in the high risk part of L&D and I finally got to eat ( it was 6:45pm and I hadn't eaten all day) they took blood, gave me an iv and started cervadil about 8:30pm-- can I just say that was the most uncomfortable thing in the entire world!-- Fast forward to 8:30am Christmas Eve- cervadil came out, i was able to shower and my OB comes in for a cervix check... Cervadil didn't take, I was thinned out a little but not nearly enough. Round two was ordered- great! *rolls eyes* my nurse was awesome and let me eat lunch and rest awhile before giving me round two and about 3:30pm we started round two. The cervadil was removed after a long night of a rude nurse who all but cut me open to get the fetal heart rate on the minister ( he was fine, I was uncomfortable and kept moving and baby HATED the monitor and kept moving off of it) I took a shower and as planned I moved to L&D at 5am Christmas morning.. At this point: I barely felt any contractions even though I was contracting regurally since the beginning of round one of cervadil- I was still only dilated to 1cm (Id been this way for about 2 weeks) and I was tired and nervous but I was okay. SO had been a champ the entire time helping me to the bathroom and holding all of my iv lines and such:) Pitocin was started about 6am 12/25 (merry Christmas right?!) SO and I settled in for a nap the nurses told us they wouldn't bother us unless they had to. Oh the sleep was wonderful, hours of uninterrupted sleep was amazing! We slept until about 2:15 I woke up to go pee...again and i was in pain.... So much pain my stomach was hurting and I felt like I had to have a BM I tried (and failed) but my stomach pains were so bad i was almost in tears.. I wanted to hold out on the epi as long as I possibly could...at 2:45pm i was hurting so bad i was crying and I decide I couldn't do it any more and by 3pm the anesteologist was in my room and giving me the goods. No more pain, it was amazing By 3:30 my cath was in At about 8pm my doctor came in with intent to stop pitocin and let me shower,eat etc but I was completely thinned out, dilated to a 3/4cm and hooked up to the epi... So we continued. Fast forward to 5am: Lab came in to draw blood, again, like every morning. Nina was her name, little Russian lady - she stuck me, turned to her cart and I heard a pop (on the monitor) and felt warm liquid between my legs.. I look to my SO who was snoozing "babe, my water broke" ( never seen a man jump up so quick from sleep) my nurse came in, cleaned me up, and checked my cervix 8cm fully effaced and she decided it was time to call my doctor. Ten minutes later my doctor comes in running (poor lady - rushed from home) and got everything started to be set up. She checked me and after a long debate decided I still had 2hrs left until it was time to push. They put my legs up on a "peanut" because baby was still VERY high up in my cervix.. This is when the contractions started getting so bad the epidural wasn't doing ANYTHING I was in serious tears and by 6:45am I had one sitting dose of the epidural ... I was able to get some sleep by about 8:45/9am I was taken off the peanut By 9:30/9:45am it was time to start pushing with the nurse... Let me tell you I was uncomfortable, the I have to poop feeling was real I was hot and sweaty I was nauseous and this baby HAS to come out NOW.. I had another sitting dose of the EPI and was told NOT to push my button any more (jerk) About 10am baby was in position time to call the doctor, she came in- tried to calm me down (I wasn't having that nonsense at that point lol) and at 10:21am my beautiful boy was born.
Denver Wayne Due date: 1/4 Birth Date: 12/26 Time: 10:21am Weight: 8lb 9oz
@uptownPearl - Love your birth story. I was laughing out loud reading about your reactions to the gas they gave you. They offer that at my birthing center now and i might just have to give it a whirl!
My original due date was 1/24. DS was born on 12/16 at 2:17 in the afternoon. He weighed 5lbs. 1oz.
The Sunday before he arrived was just like any other day. I was at home, planning out some things for school, working on our house and just taking it easy for the most part. That morning when I woke up, I got out of bed and felt a tiny little gush of fluid. I thought I had peed myself and didn't think anything of it, hence going about my day. Looking back I had minor lower back pains that I just chalked up to end of pregnancy aches and pains. I had 2 more small gushes of fluid before I said to DH that I should probably call the on-call Dr. and ask what they may be. I was advised to go straight to L&D and have it checked. Not thinking this could be the real thing, DH and I left the house with nothing in hand thinking we'd be sent home shortly after arriving. WRONG! Fluid ended up being my amniotic fluid and I was admitted. Went to bed that night with the plan to start Pitocin in the morning, as it was now 10pm once I got my room and got myself settled in.
To some up Monday in 2-3 sentences, we started Pitocin around 9 am after I ate some breakfast. Was on it all damn day and nothing more than mild menstrual cramps came of it. Dr. gave me a dose of the Cytotec and I went to bed.
Tuesday rolls around, again in a few sentences because I had just about lost my ever loving mind by the end of the day; Cytotec did nothing, Pitocin started again around 9 am. This time by mid afternoon I was having some intense contractions and was certain my cervix was at least 3-5 cm dilated. NOPE, barley even 1 cm by the end of the day when they stopped the Pitocin. I was so ready for a C-section. Decision was to put Foley Bulb in, in the morning and try again tomorrow. Morphine shot was given to me to sleep that night and boy did I sleep good that night.
6 am Wednesday, the Dr. comes in, inserts Foley Bulb and by 10:30 I requested my Epi. Epi was done around 11:15, Foley bulb fell out on its own and got me to about 5 cm. At 1 p.m. nurse noticed the contractions were increasing and had Dr. check my cervix. His words were; "Well are you ready to start pushing, because I can feel the head." I never saw my mother jump up from a seat so fast. Within 20-30 minutes 14 people, yes you read that right. 14 people were crowding in my room to watch me birth my son. We were told he'd go straight to NICU after birth as I was delivering 6w early. 5 good pushes and Griffin was born. I pushed for maybe a total of 20-25 minutes.
Griffin spent 9 days in the NICU and was discharged on Christmas Day. It will forever be the best Christmas of my life. He's now 6 weeks old and doing great. This photo was taken on the day we brought him home.
Here he is now. Taken yesterday at 6w old exactly.
Nolan James Due: Jan 10 Arrived: Jan 5 via induction
My bp had been elevated since my 32 week appointment. Dr's weren't too concerned about it but wanted me to keep an eye on it. So I made 3 weekly trips to CVS to check it. As long as one or both numbers stayed below 140/90, it was okay. Fast forward to Jan 4, my 39 week appointment. All day at work I was anxious about this appointment, knowing we were getting close to baby time. Co-workers kept telling me I wouldn't be back....lol. I met DH at the Drs office. I had an ultrasound first to check baby's size as he had been measuring 90%+. We got a great 3D shot of his little face and the tech estimated he was 9lbs. In the exam room, the nurse took my bp and both numbers were high. She said she would be back to check it in about 10 minutes. The Dr came in and took it as well and it was even higher then. He checked me, no dilation and about 50%, which had been the norm for the past few weeks. Nurse came back saying my urine was perfect. Dr said he wanted me to head over to OB triage for an hour or so to be monitored. Across the street we went. I was admitted to triage and hooked up. Come to find out I was having contractions, but couldn't really feel them. They took blood for labs and check my bp every 10 minutes. Dr came over and said that my labs were good, but my bp was still high so he was admitting me and it was baby time. We were in L&D by about 6pm. DH ran home to take care of a few things while I got settled in. They started cervidil at 7pm and I was given an ambien to help me sleep. Didn't really work. Every time I would move the monitors would slip. I cat napped that night. Nurse came in at 5:45am to remove the cervidil. I dilated 1cm. I took a shower and got settled in the bed. Pitocin was started at 7am. My bp was still high. By about 8:30, the on call Dr came in and checked me. I was at 2cm. She started magnesium sulfate at 10am, which immediately made me thrown up. Also had to start a catheter, which sucked! I was stuck in bed for the duration. She also broke my water at this time, still at 2cm. She checked me periodically. Contractions started getting stronger after having my water broken. Not too bad, though. 2pm I was at 4cm. The catheter was starting to hurt worse as contractions got worse. By 3:00, I was at 6cm and the cath pain was nearly unbearable. I asked for an epi with the hopes it would take the cath pain away, which felt like the absolute worst UTI pain ever. Anesthesiologist arrived at about 4:00 with a student in tow. Took about 45 minutes to put it in, then another 30 minutes to get the dose right. I never lost feeling in my legs and I still felt the contractions but it took the cath pain away, thankfully! Right after the epi was in, Dr checked me and I was at 9! By 6pm I was at 10. Cath came out and I gave a test push, but baby was still pretty high at -2. I was elevated in bed to help baby descend a bit. 6:45, Dr came back to do another test push. Baby had dropped a bit, but Dr wanted to wait a little more. 7:15, she came back it was go time. I pushed through about 6 contractions and DS arrived! I remember asking to feel his head and all his hair when he crowned...amazing! The Dr put him on my chest and it was magical. I tore near my urethra and dr did an episiotomy to prevent further tearing. He arrived at 8:09pm, 8lbs, 9oz and 18.75 inches. He had a lot of water behind him and as a result, still had quite a bit in his lungs. The nurse suctioned him and got him back to me as soon as she could. He latched pretty much right away. It turns out that I was very dehydrated as a result of the magnesium sulfate, despite them pumping several liters of fluids in my via IV. The baby was preventing the cath from working effectively, probably causing all the pain. I found out afterwards that after they removed the catheter, they straight cathed me to see if they could get any more output, but no luck. My bladder was pretty much full through the delivery, but I didn't feel it. After baby was out and before delivering the placenta, the Dr was able to push all the urine out, which she said was "a hell of a lot". I was up on my feet about an hour after delivery and we were on our way to the postpartum room. I wasn't tired, despite the exciting day and got hardly any sleep that night. I just kept staring at our little guy in the bassinet. I would do it all again!
I have a mullerian duct anomaly and started out my pregnancy high risk and with the expectation of plenty of doctor appointments, as well as a lot of potential complications, high risk of miscarriage, IUGR, IC, preterm birth, low birth weight, etc. It took us one year to conceive and we knew what we were potentially facing, so we came in ready for anything. My OB referred me to an MFM who I would see every 4 weeks for cervical length checks and growth scans. I started off first trimester with discovering low HcG/PAPP-A as a result of a placental implantation problem that would increase the risk for IUGR and pre-e. At 22 weeks during a routine checkup with the MFM they found that my cervix had shortened by 2 cm and was officially in the danger zone. I got put on complete bed rest and progesterone, and was seen weekly after that. Things stayed relatively stable-- it got shorter but it was gradual. Then at 29 weeks it suddenly dropped down to 0.5 cm. The following week it was considered un-measurable and I was sent to get steroid shots because they thought delivery was imminent. At L&D it was discovered that I was contracting every 2-3 minutes, and my blood pressure was 188/95. I was admitted and put through the ringer to get labor stopped. I was released 5 days later on even stricter bed rest, new meds, and continued weekly checks with my OB and my MFM. Pre-e was eliminated in the hospital, but I had to do weekly labs and 24-hr urine collections to keep an eye on things. At my 32 week appointment during my weekly NST I was still contracting every 7-10 minutes and was feeling some of them, so I was started on procardia. My FFN was positive that week-- after all of my biweekly FFNs since 24 weeks had been negative, this told me something even though a positive result doesn't always mean much. On December 17th (16 days after the positive FFN) I went to bed late because the baby had been abnormally active all evening, but I finally settled into bed around 1. At 3 AM I woke up to a strange sensation that I couldn't identify, and quickly figured out it was my water breaking. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom and was experiencing huge hollywood-worthy gushes along the way. I woke my husband up, called my OB, and we headed to L&D. Within 10 minutes of my water breaking, contractions started... by the time we got to the car, I started timing them and they were 2 minutes apart and lasting a minute each. I was checked at the hospital and was 100% effaced, 4 cm dilated, and contractions were STRONG! Baby was breech so they rushed me back for a c-section right away. At 5:48 AM my baby boy Caleb was born screaming and breathing on his own. He was bruised from the knee down on both legs/feet from being a bit stuck down in my pelvis. Caleb was taken to NICU because he was less than 35 weeks, and he was assessed and had no problems. He was 6 lbs 7 oz, 19" long, never needed oxygen or IVs, blood sugar and body temp were stable, and he ate 1 oz of formula by bottle a couple hours after birth. My little 34 week miracle spent 6 days in NICU for his bilirubin levels, but otherwise was every bit as healthy as a full term baby! Those were 6 very difficult days, but we were so fortunate to have such a brief and positive journey. He came home on Christmas Eve and has been thriving ever since! He has completely changed my life and I am so in love. Here is my fav pic of him in NICU: And here he is this morning:
I went into labor and delivery on January 7th around 6pm for a spike in my blood pressure (I had developed pregnancy induced hypertension for the last few weeks). After they hooked me up to watch my bp and contractions they admitted me after an hour. Contractions had started but were manageable and about 2 mins apart. Around 9pm they started talking about inducing me and gave me some time to decide if I wanted pitocin or to have them break my water. The contractions really picked up so they gave me some time to see if everything went ahead on its own. Around midnight my contractions intensified a lot and my body started pushing all on its own. After 2 pushes I felt something starting to come out so dh hurried to the hall to get a nurse and when she came in she said it was the amniotic sac coming out. I freaked out but all the nurses and dr were all excited about it and said it means it's a good luck baby after just a few more pushes she was out with the amniotic sac still in tact around her. The dr had to break it once she was out to her waist. They told me it's really rare (about 1 in 80,000 births!). Hannah was born on January 8th at 1:18am
It was January 9th and I was 40 weeks 3 days and at my appointment earlier in the week I wasn't dilated or showing any other signs of labor. Up till that point I hadn't even felt Braxton Hicks and had a gut feeling that I would require an induction (it was discussed as possibility at my last appt).
That is why I was shocked when I lost my mucus plug around 1am. I heard of people losing theirs then staying pregnant for days or even weeks so I figured that was just a sign my lil one was coming, eventually. I went to bed like everything was normal but had a hard time sleeping, I was feeling pains in my stomach. I assumed they were Braxton Hicks but they started to get stronger and more frequent and I couldn't sleep. I went downstairs so I wouldn't bother SO and did what any rational person would do...I Googled to see if I was having contractions.
I was convinced I was so I timed them until the pain took over. I tried a hot shower to ease the pain but it was getting more intense. By the time 5:00 came around the contractions were 2-4 minutes apart so I woke up my SO. I don't think he processed what was happening because he asked if he could sleep another hour! I said ok and was about to go back downstairs but he woke up realizing it was really that time, asking me if I was sure, etc. We got ready and by 6ish we were at the hospital.
Once there I was barely at a 3(and checked so roughly) and was told to walk an hour. I was already talking about an epidural so an hour of walking was next to torture.
I made it 45 minutes when I couldn't take it anymore. I was checked again and only at 3 1/2 but luckily the admitted me anyway. As soon as I got in the room the gave me my epidural and wow...from there it was bliss. I literally felt no more pain. This was at 10:00 ish.
I was advised to take a nap but was too emotionally pumped to really sleep (even though SO did). I made phone calls, texted a few people, laughed and chatted when SO was up, and had a grew time waiting for LO to come.
Around 7 it was time to push. I was thirsty and later three up seceral times (just the water I was drinking) while pushing...later we discovered I had a 104 degree fever. Anyway at 8:13 that night, Michael came and it was a feeling like I never felt before. I still look at my baby in complete amazement!
Re: Birth Stories
Married: 2012
BFP #1 Sept 2014, MMC Dec 2014 | BFP #2 May 2015, DD Jan 2016 | BFP #3 May 2017, MC July 2017 | BFP #4 Jan 2018, MC Feb 2018 | BFP #5 July 2018, fingers crossed
I felt my first contraction about 9:30 pm the night before and it was not very painful yet and they continues throughout the night being very irregular. I got to sleep the first half of the night. Around 5 am they started getting a little more consistent about 10 minutes apart and not too bad yet. Then 6:30 rolled around and we're consistently 6 min apart and mostly back labor. I took a nice bath and called my OB office after about another hour in a half and they told me to go to L&D.
I was there for about 2 hours and I did not dialate anymore than I was at my appt on monday which was a 3 but I thinned out a little more. They tried to send me home but I fought a little and my Dr was in the building so she came in and was awesome and told me to try another hour of walking around and if that didn't work she would send me home with some pain mess that would help for a couple hours. I'm so glad I stayed another hour to walk because I dialated to a 5 after that so they admitted me. My contractions were horrible and only in my low back at 4 minutes apart since walking.
I got an epidural around 4:30 pm after being there in pain since 9 am and it was amazing! I was still at a 5 and the nurse emptied my bladder and about 10 minutes later I was at a 7. After that it progressed pretty quickly. The epidural kept making my BP go low so they had to keep giving me medicine through my iv to make it go up but that was my only complication.
Sorry this was so long. Good luck to everyone and have a safe labor and delivery!
That night, I could feel the baby pushing down on my cervix. I had a few Braxton hix at midnight and again when I got up to use the bathroom at 2:30 am. This was normal. I had been getting them anytime I move it seemed the last few days.
At 5:00 am, on 1-2-16, I started having more Braxton hix contractions that were not going away. I decided to get up and shower at 6:00 am. Once I showered and got back to my room the contractions slowed and almost stopped. I finished getting ready and felt disappointed. I got back in bed and started watching tv in which the contractions started again about 1/2 hour later.
Contractions were getting more regular and started feeling more cramping during contractions so I had H get up and start showering and pack just in case.
My mom came over at 9 am and my sister came over shortly after. My mom took the kids and I called the hospital at about 9:45. By this time my contractions had ramped up and were coming very fast. We got to the hospital and in L&D by 10:15 am. They checked me and were surprised and scrambling because I was complete with a bulging bag of water. They got me situated and the resident Doctor broke my water and said I could start pushing. He didn't realize that as soon as I started pushing the baby would start coming out right then. Three good pushes and the baby was born at 10:36 am. We were team green and we were excited to see that it was a boy!
Two minutes after baby was born in walked my doctor. He missed the birth and looked so confused and lost as to what to do lol. He just stood there and asked how I was. It was such a fast process. I was not prepared or thinking things would progress the way they did.
I was able to have a med. free delivery like I planned. I also only had one small tear but no stitches required. Later, the nurse told me that if my water had broken at home we would not have made it to the hospital. That was the only thing holding baby back.
My son, George Patrick, is absolutely perfect and amazing!! I am so in love.
I was due on 1/8. At 11:30 pm on 1/7 I was in bed and felt a horribly sharp pop and ran to the toilet because I felt a rush of liquid. My water broke and within a half hour my contractions started. I called my birthing center and they said to get rest, but my contractions quickly went from 10 min apart to 2-5 min apart and there was no sleeping. They were ramping up and becoming quite painful so we met my midwife at 5:30 am. I was 3 cm at that point and in a lot of pain since contractions post water breaking are pretty intense. They usually don't admit you until 5 cm dilated, but felt pity for me and let me hop in the tub to labor. Since I had dilated 3 cm in just a few hours there was a good chance I was going to dilate quickly anyways. The only form of pain management that's even relatable to meds is gas and air. My midwife said to hold off using that "until I thought I might kill someone." I laborer in the tub and kept going back and forth between swaying on my side and getting on my knees. I couldn't keep still and just kept trying to move and breathe through the contractions. They were getting more and more intense and I couldn't find any relief. I was feeling nauseated and couldn't eat and hadn't slept in over 24 hours so I was feeling weak. I got in the bed and tried to labor on my side, but kept hopping on the floor because it was cool and I needed a hard surface. I would rock on my hands and knees during a contraction and collapse on the cool floor in between them, but I was getting very short breaks. My midwife finally set up the gas and air machine for me and I sucked on that until I was so high I didn't know where I was. It was the only way to deal with the pain. I could hear myself screaming but it was an out of body experience. I thought I was on the magical mystery tour and had no idea where I was. At some point I snapped out of it and realized I was going to have a baby. My midwives and DH kept laughing at me, but I don't know what all I said. My contractions started getting so strong that my body would involuntarily push even when it wasn't time and I would scream through them. The pushing was horrendous and made my body collapse and I couldn't do anything to stop it. It was awful. I reached 10 cm and tried pushing on the bed. Nothing. Moved to the birthing stool. Nothing. It was long and painful and midwife kept sticking her hands inside me during my contractions and pushes and that doubled the pain. They finally put me back on the bed with the gas and air to rest and nothing was happening and I was giving out. After my break I got back on another stool. I tried on the toilet. I tried on my hands and knees and the birthing ball. After 2 hours I made no real progress and my contractions were taking over my body and working against me. My blood pressure was rising and my baby was getting distressed and making no change. They decided after 20 hours of labor I needed pitocin to get get him out and transfered me to the hospital. I arrived screaming in pain and scared quite a few people outside the hospital, oops! They got me an epidural to stop the contractions from involuntarily pushes and also to help LO move into position because they discovered he was sunny side and unable to fully decend, especially with my contractions working against him. They started me on pitocin and let me labor for several hours at a slow and steady pace. The epidural was a life saver, I felt like my body betrayed me during natural labor and the epidural allowed it to do what it needed to. I was so relieved to not be writhing in pain anymore that I didn't care how much longer it would take. Finally it was time to try pushing again. I spent two hours giving it all I had and he was FINALLY born at 4:30am! I was in shock, it felt like he was never going to come. I'll say that my labor at the birthing center ended up being traumatic, but my midwives were so wonderful and tried their best to make it work. My body and baby just didn't let it happen, but I gave it my all. After the epidural I had a great birthing experience. It wasn't completely pain free and the pushing was a lot of work, but my midwife and nurse and DH were amazing coaches and got me through. I couldn't believe when my son finally came out, I can't explain the surprise and proudness I felt. He seemed so big! They put him right on my chest until we were ready to cut the cord, then I delivered the placenta and got stitched up. Those were not nearly as bad as I thought they would be. I'm so insanely tired, but I could hold this angel all day!
after a mini stroke at 28 weeks, I was on modified bed rest. My entire damily decised to visit for Christmas. We had 9 people in the house but in reality it wasnt crowded since my oarents brought their camper. Everyone is packing to leave and I feel my first contraction. Then a few minutes later I get another. I being an idiot dont share this with anyone there. DH notices and says I need to go. I dont want to go and get everyone worked up. Have breakfast and mom notices. After another hour, I cave and go in. Everyone says theyll stay till I get out. By now, I am at 5 minutes apart. They take me right back and as Im walking my water breaks. Nurse calls my doctor and they give me an injection to stop my contractions. OB gets there and says ok lets go. Being early they send me to get an ultrasound to observe breathing. We dont see any. Now I am getting scared. They're wheeling me back to the room and the nurse stops her and says nope take her to OR. I am now officially freaked out. My OB rubs my shoulders while I get my spinal. Thomas comes out wailing. They take him to NICU. Meanwhile, I start to notice that its been a realky long time since they started. Nobody is talking to me and the doctor calks for units of blood. I am starting to feel light headed. I hear the PA say, "I cant find the bleed." Then I smell the burning and the doctor says hes got. The nurse tells me I have lost a lot of blood and they are going to give me some before moving me. OB comes over after finishing and tells me the baby was transverse and I had started hemorraging. He had to do a vertical incision once inside and it will take a while to heal. Thomas was fine. We were able to bring him home when I was discharged three days later. A little crazy but its over with and we get an extra tax deduction this year.
I get to about 2pm because pain was so bad and nurse dr said i was only 8cm dilated and it'll be 4pm they estimate when i'm fully dilated. 2.45pm i had sensation to poop and pushing baby out but nurse said to breathe in and not push as i was only 9 dilated and i would tear really bad.
By 3pm i couldn't help but push a little at each contraction and 3.15 i told hubby i'd been pushing the last 15 mins and last push i felt something enter birth canal and get sucked back in.
Nurses rushed in and saw i was fully dilated and coached me how to push. They called dr hysterically and told him to rush as baby was coming out now. Dr came 2-3 mins later and throws some liquid all over my vaginal area and tells me how to push. After 1st push he saw my perineum was tight and not stretching so he made an episiotomy (didn't feel any pain and he never gave any anaesthetic) and next push babys head popped out. Dr told me not to stop pushing and her body came out.
Very healthy baby and a strong crier... I am glad i got my experience at a natural vaginal birth but there was a point i thought geez an epidural n csection doesn't sound too bad.
The pains from contractions from 8cm-10cm are the worst as thats the worsest back pain u ever felt and what people claim to feel like every bone in ur body is breaking.
Hubby never left my side and held my hand and massages my back. If he weren't there i don't think i could have done it.
Moment baby popped out, it was like i had never been pregnant. I was full of energy and felt fine and could walk and nurses were saying how they've never seen a patient like me have all this energy and say i have no pain etc... Even hubby and his family said i looked great
Brynlee Harper
7 lbs 2 oz, 20 in (so much smaller than expected)
She looks just like her big brother! We are all absolutely smitten with her!
It's a bit long!
The day I became a mother
It all started on January 3rd, 2016. Dave and I started our Sunday like all other Sunday’s before. At Denny’s for breakfast, it was our last trip in a while; as I was going to be induced that evening at 8 PM. When we got home from Denny’s, I took a long hot shower and spend the rest of the afternoon in bed, Dave wanted me to rest plenty before going in.
That afternoon I started having a pretty nasty headache, since I knew I was already going in, I held out. By 5 o'clock I was in pretty bad shape with the headache. Tylenol didn’t help, as it never did before. See I was diagnosed 3 weeks prior for Preeclampsia and was already on medical leave for it, and a headache could be a sign for serve Preeclampsia.
I called OSHU about coming in sooner with the symptoms I had and was advised to come in as soon as we could. What made this challenging was, it was lightly snowing all weekend, that day the the roads were melting and refreezing leaving a lot of snow and ice to navigate though. Lucky for us, 4 days before we put snow tires back on my car which as all wheel drive.
When we left at 6:15 there were not many cars on the road as we headed to OHSU. When we got at the bottom of the hill to go up there was a bit of traffic, apparently there was a crash on the road to the main hospital so we had to drive thru the VA hospital which was busy with everyone else detouring through. Dave then drops me off with all our stuff and parks the car. Knowing I could be there for a long while depending type of birth we packed heavy. Once we got in the hospital, next stop the 12th floor; Labor & Delivery. We check in and is shown to room 9.
Once we are settled in, a nurse takes some initial vital signs. (It’s been very much a waiting game thus far; more of it in room 9). Soon enough, one of the family doctors stop in for chat. I then change into a hospital gown and climb into bed. Next they said I have an IV placed and man that was seriously hurt!. Now that the IV is placed the first blood drawn for the week followed. Then they needed to see where my cervix was at, this was my first cervix check, not the most comfortable thing! My cervix is high and we are at ground zero for labor. The choice we all agree on is the Cervidil (a vaginal insert to ripen the cervix), it feels like a Brillo sponge going in, no joke. Very uncomfortable! After easing back to some comfort.
Dave heads at about 11:30PM to go home to get a good nights rest since I won’t be going into labor soon. This form of induction takes about twelve hours to work. At about 12:30 my blood work comes back and elevate me to severe Preeclampsia, which means its very serious now. And they must begin the magnesium sulfate drip. The first dose of 40 grams goes in like fire, and takes up to 30 minutes. While it continues to drip in, I got very emotional, and about 6 Am the following morning I called Dave and asked him to come out sooner, this process hit me hard.
Hours pass by, and it’s time to see how well the Cervidil worked. It went out easier then it went in but still blah. The next cervical check felt worse than the first, and the results were not good, the Ceridil did nothing. As we begin to talk about other options, more blood is drawn. With all the blood drawn recently and my IV in my right arm my veins are difficult for blood being drawn. So it’s up to my left which left us with many options, so the top of my hand becomes a pin cushion. The doctors suggest us to use Misoprostol, a pill that sits in the inside of your cheek. Which I flavored! But, just before I was given that, my blood work comes back my blood platelets are not in a range for the Miso. Due to the fact that once in they cant stop the Miso and if my platelets dropped too low it could be really bad. So that leaves us the balloon option. A catheter with a balloon on the other end filled with fluid to add pressure to my cervix causing dilation to begin.
Now the the thought of another insert didn’t sound great, but my options were limited due to my severe Preeclampsia. My platelets were at a point that we began to talk about getting the epidural early, the anesthesiologist gave us the option now even tho I have yet gone into labor because it could be my only time since my blood work came back each time not good. There is a small window so it was now, or never. Given my new method of induction plus more cervical checks which I did not handle well, I agreed. And I don’t regret it one bit. Sure it wasn’t in my birth plan, but neither was getting Preeclampsia.
Just before the epidural was placed, I received a shot of Fentanyl which calmed me and put me on cloud nine. The epidural experience was interesting as it was uncomfortable. Once it was placed, and drugs were in, I felt nothing after the first dose. They then placed the balloon in, with a high cervix it wasn’t placed in fast. Lucky for me, I felt nothing, I seriously could have slept thru it. They said up to twelve hours, but just four hours later after walking slowly to the toilet it fell out. Bam! Three centimeters! Yay! We are getting somewhere! 2 hours later I went from 3 cm to 5 cm dilated! Crazy! Dave and are very happy we now decide its time to call our Doula (The Birthing Stone, Beaverton, OR) to update her on the progress. At about 8PM the next line of induction is Pitocin. Finally something easy as it goes in the IV.
As they slowly increase the dose over the next twelve hours. We relax for the evening. I now have saline, magnesium and Pitocin flowing in plus my epidural, I was in a very funky state. My nurses were great, they were my saving grace thru this whole ordeal. The morning comes and more blood work is done. I lost count on the times it was drawn. Getting blood drawn thru your IV was easy and luckily for me, I had two great drawls before they had to stop using it.
About Noon on Tuesday we have the next cervical check, and 8cm now.. its time to make the call to have our Douala join us. About an hour later break my water as it hasn’t done so on its own yet. Now seriously about twenty minutes after our Douala arrives they do another cervical check and I’m 10cm!
Given I haven’t felt no contractions it was pretty amazing. We waited a couple of hours to let her fall into place before pushing. We are excited as the time of meeting our daughter draws closer. The doctors come in and suggest me to give pushing a try. They adjust the monitors around my belly, I find a good position to start. About 4 positions and two hours later, she only makes +1 from the cervix. Not enough! I even had my epi lowered so I can feel the contractions so I would know when to push.
With all that work, Our baby wasn’t moving down and my pushing was unsuccessful. I was exhausted as I tried with all the energy I had to push. She even had a fetal scalp electrode placed on her head as the normal monitor kept losing the heart rate signal. Her heartbeat was dripping low at times which was a concern for everyone. After pushing for all this time, they tell me her head was swollen. my mom instincts kicked in and, I stopped pushing not wanting to squeeze her tiny little head anymore (in my mind it felt right). Even though painful I endured the contractions.
My husband and the docs start talking. Cesarean was suggested by the doctors, and with my agreement they move my epidural dose goes back up. My mind is all over the place, I knew I wanted her to be safe even with all the effects to delivery vaginally. All the induction only to have a cesarean. I don’t see it that way, I had an experience I wouldn’t replace.
About 30 minutes later, I am moved to the surgical room and I met the surgical team. Dave is put into scrubs so he could be at my side near my head. We waited as they preped, we start talking about our little girl, if she has a hair, how much, eye color things to keep us occupied. They start the incision and minutes later at 6:59 PM later she is out. Seems like times stops as we waited for the cry.. And finally we do, I cry with joy. Dave is invited by one of the doctors to go over to see her. He comes back I ask how she looks, he has tears and has no words. I ask him if she is beautiful he nods full of emotions and is unable to speak, trying to compose himself he finally he says, yes she is.
He goes back to her while I’m waiting to see her, I’m informed she is 4lbs 9oz. She is a small baby who came out with with her eyes open and ready to eat. We were allowed our GOPRO just for us to record me seeing her for the first time. One of the doctors is holds the camera for us. Looking back we are so grateful to have that.
Now for the big moment, they bring her to me and I’m in awe. I have tears rolling down and I full of raw emotions. our baby girl Octavia is calm, eyes open and looking all around. The most gorgeous little face I have ever seen! I’m in love. After a few minutes they take her to the NICU to monitor her due to her low birth weight.
After a few tests in the NICU its found she has low blood sugar. Dave went up to visit with her while she was there and I was able to pump 1cc of colostrum for her and she took it all plus donor milk.
I don’t get to see her and hold her till the next afternoon about noon in the NICU, I had to be well enough to get into a wheelchair to be moved up there. She is a strong one, and was released that evening. My postpartum nurses were amazing and took great care of all three of us. With only one round of Clomid, I feel grateful for my entire experience, from being pregnant to now. This is my birth story and the day I became a mother.
Wednesday December 23rd I had my weekly routine OB appointment I was 38wks and 2days pregnant. My mom decided to accompany me because she didn't want me driving as i had been feeling light headed frequently.
My doctor was late, I gave my urine sample, was weighed and we waited for the doctor to arrive.
My mom and I started discussing lunch and if we wanted to do anything else that day.
It was rainy, gloomy and the night before I had about 2hrs of sleep so I told my mom I just wanted to go home and nap.
*insert doctor*
She checks my blood pressure- it was elevated (170's/ 90's), which wasn't new- my blood pressure was always high sitting... I laid down and again it was high... She hurried and checked my urine and LO and behold proteins in the urine.
I was sent to the hospital for observation... Great.
I was pretty calm , my mom and I drove all over Timbuktu because me being a smarty pants left my insurance card at home... Finally we arrive at the hospital and I was admitted to OB triage. They took blood, hooked me up to a monitor, I peed in a cup again and started watching "bones" on tv.. About an hour later my labs were in. Protein in the urine and low platelets.. My OB decided we needed to induce..
My heart stopped beating (not literally) I was NOT prepared for this, I'm not ready to be a mom, he was supposed to stay inside until January 4th he's not supposed to come now- I start crying- I was scared and even though my mom was with me, I felt alone (SO was at work and he couldn't leave to be with me)
I was moved to a room in the high risk part of L&D and I finally got to eat ( it was 6:45pm and I hadn't eaten all day) they took blood, gave me an iv and started cervadil about 8:30pm-- can I just say that was the most uncomfortable thing in the entire world!--
Fast forward to 8:30am Christmas Eve- cervadil came out, i was able to shower and my OB comes in for a cervix check... Cervadil didn't take, I was thinned out a little but not nearly enough.
Round two was ordered- great! *rolls eyes* my nurse was awesome and let me eat lunch and rest awhile before giving me round two and about 3:30pm we started round two.
The cervadil was removed after a long night of a rude nurse who all but cut me open to get the fetal heart rate on the minister ( he was fine, I was uncomfortable and kept moving and baby HATED the monitor and kept moving off of it) I took a shower and as planned I moved to L&D at 5am Christmas morning..
At this point: I barely felt any contractions even though I was contracting regurally since the beginning of round one of cervadil- I was still only dilated to 1cm (Id been this way for about 2 weeks) and I was tired and nervous but I was okay.
SO had been a champ the entire time helping me to the bathroom and holding all of my iv lines and such:)
Pitocin was started about 6am 12/25 (merry Christmas right?!) SO and I settled in for a nap the nurses told us they wouldn't bother us unless they had to.
Oh the sleep was wonderful, hours of uninterrupted sleep was amazing!
We slept until about 2:15 I woke up to go pee...again and i was in pain.... So much pain my stomach was hurting and I felt like I had to have a BM I tried (and failed) but my stomach pains were so bad i was almost in tears..
I wanted to hold out on the epi as long as I possibly could...at 2:45pm i was hurting so bad i was crying and I decide I couldn't do it any more and by 3pm the anesteologist was in my room and giving me the goods.
No more pain, it was amazing
By 3:30 my cath was in
At about 8pm my doctor came in with intent to stop pitocin and let me shower,eat etc but I was completely thinned out, dilated to a 3/4cm and hooked up to the epi... So we continued.
Fast forward to 5am:
Lab came in to draw blood, again, like every morning.
Nina was her name, little Russian lady - she stuck me, turned to her cart and I heard a pop (on the monitor) and felt warm liquid between my legs..
I look to my SO who was snoozing "babe, my water broke" ( never seen a man jump up so quick from sleep) my nurse came in, cleaned me up, and checked my cervix 8cm fully effaced and she decided it was time to call my doctor.
Ten minutes later my doctor comes in running (poor lady - rushed from home) and got everything started to be set up. She checked me and after a long debate decided I still had 2hrs left until it was time to push.
They put my legs up on a "peanut" because baby was still VERY high up in my cervix..
This is when the contractions started getting so bad the epidural wasn't doing ANYTHING
I was in serious tears and by 6:45am I had one sitting dose of the epidural ... I was able to get some sleep by about 8:45/9am I was taken off the peanut
By 9:30/9:45am it was time to start pushing with the nurse...
Let me tell you I was uncomfortable, the I have to poop feeling was real I was hot and sweaty I was nauseous and this baby HAS to come out NOW..
I had another sitting dose of the EPI and was told NOT to push my button any more (jerk)
About 10am baby was in position time to call the doctor, she came in- tried to calm me down (I wasn't having that nonsense at that point lol) and at 10:21am my beautiful boy was born.
Denver Wayne
Due date: 1/4
Birth Date: 12/26
Time: 10:21am
Weight: 8lb 9oz
@uptownPearl - Love your birth story. I was laughing out loud reading about your reactions to the gas they gave you. They offer that at my birthing center now and i might just have to give it a whirl!
The Sunday before he arrived was just like any other day. I was at home, planning out some things for school, working on our house and just taking it easy for the most part. That morning when I woke up, I got out of bed and felt a tiny little gush of fluid. I thought I had peed myself and didn't think anything of it, hence going about my day. Looking back I had minor lower back pains that I just chalked up to end of pregnancy aches and pains. I had 2 more small gushes of fluid before I said to DH that I should probably call the on-call Dr. and ask what they may be. I was advised to go straight to L&D and have it checked. Not thinking this could be the real thing, DH and I left the house with nothing in hand thinking we'd be sent home shortly after arriving. WRONG! Fluid ended up being my amniotic fluid and I was admitted. Went to bed that night with the plan to start Pitocin in the morning, as it was now 10pm once I got my room and got myself settled in.
To some up Monday in 2-3 sentences, we started Pitocin around 9 am after I ate some breakfast. Was on it all damn day and nothing more than mild menstrual cramps came of it. Dr. gave me a dose of the Cytotec and I went to bed.
Tuesday rolls around, again in a few sentences because I had just about lost my ever loving mind by the end of the day; Cytotec did nothing, Pitocin started again around 9 am. This time by mid afternoon I was having some intense contractions and was certain my cervix was at least 3-5 cm dilated. NOPE, barley even 1 cm by the end of the day when they stopped the Pitocin. I was so ready for a C-section. Decision was to put Foley Bulb in, in the morning and try again tomorrow. Morphine shot was given to me to sleep that night and boy did I sleep good that night.
6 am Wednesday, the Dr. comes in, inserts Foley Bulb and by 10:30 I requested my Epi. Epi was done around 11:15, Foley bulb fell out on its own and got me to about 5 cm. At 1 p.m. nurse noticed the contractions were increasing and had Dr. check my cervix. His words were; "Well are you ready to start pushing, because I can feel the head." I never saw my mother jump up from a seat so fast. Within 20-30 minutes 14 people, yes you read that right. 14 people were crowding in my room to watch me birth my son. We were told he'd go straight to NICU after birth as I was delivering 6w early. 5 good pushes and Griffin was born. I pushed for maybe a total of 20-25 minutes.
Griffin spent 9 days in the NICU and was discharged on Christmas Day. It will forever be the best Christmas of my life. He's now 6 weeks old and doing great. This photo was taken on the day we brought him home.
Here he is now. Taken yesterday at 6w old exactly.
Due: Jan 10
Arrived: Jan 5 via induction
My bp had been elevated since my 32 week appointment. Dr's weren't too concerned about it but wanted me to keep an eye on it. So I made 3 weekly trips to CVS to check it. As long as one or both numbers stayed below 140/90, it was okay.
Fast forward to Jan 4, my 39 week appointment. All day at work I was anxious about this appointment, knowing we were getting close to baby time. Co-workers kept telling me I wouldn't be back....lol.
I met DH at the Drs office. I had an ultrasound first to check baby's size as he had been measuring 90%+. We got a great 3D shot of his little face and the tech estimated he was 9lbs. In the exam room, the nurse took my bp and both numbers were high. She said she would be back to check it in about 10 minutes. The Dr came in and took it as well and it was even higher then. He checked me, no dilation and about 50%, which had been the norm for the past few weeks. Nurse came back saying my urine was perfect. Dr said he wanted me to head over to OB triage for an hour or so to be monitored.
Across the street we went. I was admitted to triage and hooked up. Come to find out I was having contractions, but couldn't really feel them. They took blood for labs and check my bp every 10 minutes. Dr came over and said that my labs were good, but my bp was still high so he was admitting me and it was baby time.
We were in L&D by about 6pm. DH ran home to take care of a few things while I got settled in. They started cervidil at 7pm and I was given an ambien to help me sleep. Didn't really work. Every time I would move the monitors would slip. I cat napped that night.
Nurse came in at 5:45am to remove the cervidil. I dilated 1cm. I took a shower and got settled in the bed. Pitocin was started at 7am. My bp was still high. By about 8:30, the on call Dr came in and checked me. I was at 2cm. She started magnesium sulfate at 10am, which immediately made me thrown up. Also had to start a catheter, which sucked! I was stuck in bed for the duration. She also broke my water at this time, still at 2cm.
She checked me periodically. Contractions started getting stronger after having my water broken. Not too bad, though.
2pm I was at 4cm. The catheter was starting to hurt worse as contractions got worse. By 3:00, I was at 6cm and the cath pain was nearly unbearable. I asked for an epi with the hopes it would take the cath pain away, which felt like the absolute worst UTI pain ever. Anesthesiologist arrived at about 4:00 with a student in tow. Took about 45 minutes to put it in, then another 30 minutes to get the dose right. I never lost feeling in my legs and I still felt the contractions but it took the cath pain away, thankfully!
Right after the epi was in, Dr checked me and I was at 9! By 6pm I was at 10. Cath came out and I gave a test push, but baby was still pretty high at -2. I was elevated in bed to help baby descend a bit. 6:45, Dr came back to do another test push. Baby had dropped a bit, but Dr wanted to wait a little more. 7:15, she came back it was go time. I pushed through about 6 contractions and DS arrived! I remember asking to feel his head and all his hair when he crowned...amazing! The Dr put him on my chest and it was magical.
I tore near my urethra and dr did an episiotomy to prevent further tearing.
He arrived at 8:09pm, 8lbs, 9oz and 18.75 inches. He had a lot of water behind him and as a result, still had quite a bit in his lungs. The nurse suctioned him and got him back to me as soon as she could. He latched pretty much right away.
It turns out that I was very dehydrated as a result of the magnesium sulfate, despite them pumping several liters of fluids in my via IV. The baby was preventing the cath from working effectively, probably causing all the pain. I found out afterwards that after they removed the catheter, they straight cathed me to see if they could get any more output, but no luck. My bladder was pretty much full through the delivery, but I didn't feel it. After baby was out and before delivering the placenta, the Dr was able to push all the urine out, which she said was "a hell of a lot". I was up on my feet about an hour after delivery and we were on our way to the postpartum room. I wasn't tired, despite the exciting day and got hardly any sleep that night. I just kept staring at our little guy in the bassinet. I would do it all again!
And here he is this morning:
Hannah was born on January 8th at 1:18am