Alexis Bailey's birth story

morrkim · February 2013

Alexis Bailey was born one day early on the 25th. She was 6lb. 11oz. and 19 inches long.

Tuesday I had been feeling weird all day. Any time I would get up and walk around I would feel some weird cramping, but only when I was up and moving and they were not timeable. My husband thought for sure I was having contractions, but I didn't think so and they went away in the evening.

The next morning I noticed it again, but I had a doctor's apt. in the afternoon so I thought I would bring it up with her then. As the day went on I started noticing period cramping on and off all day. Shortly after lunch I decided to start timing them and they were around 6-8 minutes apart. I wasn't sure, because I was still working so I would not always start timing at the right time. I was surprised that they were that close together. I got home and told my husband that they were a little over 6 minutes apart and he was upset that I hadn't told him sooner, but I didn't think they were contractions and we were about to go to my apt anyway. When I got there my contractions were around 3-4 minutes apart.

Once there I told her I thought I was having contractions and she checked me and I was just short of 3 cm and 80% effaced. She decided to send us to the women?s center to be monitored for a couple hours and if I wasn?t progressing they would send me home. When they hooked me up to the contraction monitor they didn?t get me hooked up right because only a few were actually showing up and the ones that were didn?t appear to be strong. I tried to tell the nurse, but I felt like she didn?t believe me. They were getting a lot closer together and a lot stronger. I was already thinking if this is early labor and the contractions are this bad what is it going to be like later.

My doctor came back and said I had made some progress. I was now between 3-4 cm. and 90% effaced. She said she could admit me or wait another couple hours to make the decision, but we decided since the contractions were so close and painful that I wanted to be admitted.

A little while later there was a shift change and I got a new nurse. She was entering some information into the computer and observed me have two big contractions that didn?t show up on the monitor. She then moved the monitor and they started showing up.

My doctor came back and I was fully effaced and 6 cm. I told her I thought I wanted an epidural and asked if I was far enough along. She said I could if I wanted to, so I decided to have one. They said it would be a little while because my labs had not gone through yet. I was given the option of a shot to kind of help with the pain. I didn?t want to because I had a friend that had gotten it and didn?t remember the birth after so I wasn?t sure, but I didn?t think I could wait. My husband said he didn?t think I should mix drugs in my system. I started to say no to the nurse then I said yes and then no and then yes again.

The medicine wasn?t bad at all. My labs finally went through and I was able to get the epidural. It was not bad at all.

With the epidural my husband and I tried to get to sleep. He tried the chair, but was too uncomfortable so moved to the floor. I tried to sleep, but every time I started to drift off my oxygen monitor would go off. After it kept going off they started giving me oxygen. That helped for a little while but then my blood pressure monitor started going off. During this the nurse checked me again and I had stalled at 6 cm, so she gave me some Pitocin.

A couple hours later, around 4:30, while I was still trying to sleep my doctor came to check me and I was complete. My husband at the time was asleep on the floor and was starting to wake-up we heard this. He freaked out a little. She then broke my water and had me attempt to push a couple times. She was still a little high so she decided to let me wait for a little bit. About 10 minutes later I felt like I needed to push. They went to get her from the break room and discovered she had gone home when usually she stays.

After calling her back the nurse had me start pushing. When she got back and was getting into her scrubs I was starting to crown. I pushed a couple of times and the baby?s heart rate started to drop so she did an episiotomy to help. The cord was around the neck a couple of times. After a couple of pushes they put her on my belly and my husband told me she was a girl. I was in so much shock I didn?t know what to do, but before I could figure it out they took her off. I think she was having a little difficulty because of the cord. She was fine and shortly after I got to hold her again and attempt breast feeding. A few minutes later my parents arrived, after sending them to the hotel because we were told it would probably be mid morning..

She was born at 4:55 am, October 25 at 6 lb. 11 oz., 19 in. (21 in at doctor?s office a couple days later.)