A copy of the book can be found here: Dealing with Child Behavior Issues

Tuesday- November 25th about 9pm- I start having my normal nightly contractions that usually aren't timable.

Wednesday- November 26th about 3am- I notice the contractions are waking me up and are pretty annoying and painful. Me, being 3cm already I wake up DH and we decide to go to the hospital.

Wed, Nov 26th about 4am- triage nurse checks to see how many cm dialated I am and she says I'm 4 and accidently rips my water while checking me. So, I start trickling a bit but she didn't break it fully so I'm not gushing water. She of course... decided to admit me.

The pain isn't to intense YET. So, I send DH to go get some food and I call my mom and he calls his to let them know I'm in labor. I pretty much just labor naturally by myself for the next 6 hours. They gave my some antibiotics because I was group B strep posotive and then they let me walk around and use the bathroom and do whatever made me comfortable. Standing helped w/ the pain a lot. Well, around 9:30 I was in a lot of pain and wanted to be checked to see how dialated I was. When she checked me I was 6-7 cm dialated. I was progressing pretty well but the pain was just getting worse. I told myself I was going to hold out and NOT get the epideral since I did it naturally w/ DD and I was on pitocin! I knew I could do it but the pain was starting to make me doubt myself. I started to debate and ask my mother and mother in law what I should do. MIL said to just relax and take the pain. MOM wanted me to be free of pain and just get the epideral. I decided to hold out for another hour or so. So, I walked and walked and walked. I then decided to get on the ball and labor a bit. Well, around 11:20 I was in so much pain that I asked for the epideral. Well, apparently it was just too late because as I was waiting for the epideral my water ended up breaking not once but twice (doesn't make much sense but apparently there are three layers to the water bag and the first one broke when the triage nurse was checking me and the second and third layers broke when I was bouncing on the ball) Well, after the third burst of water I felt a lot of pressure and had to push! So, DH went and called the nurse to come check me. I was 8-9 cm and she told me NOT to push.... Well I couldn't stop pushing. My body just did it by itself. The pain was so bad I literally sounded like someone was killing me. That's how loud I was screaming. They wanted me to lay down on the bed which was so uncomforable. My midwife asked me in which position I was comfortable in and I told her standing up. Well...ON NOVEMBER 26th AT 11:43AM ISAIAH CAME INTO THIS WORLD! STANDING UP! It was so amazing and I felt like I was on one of those discovery channel shows! lol I didn't need an epitosomy (SP?) and he was 6lbs 12oz and 20in long. I don't remember his apgars because I was still in so much pain afterwards that I don't remember what they told me. After they cleaned him up they gave him to me so I could feed him. He latched on great and he has already gained 3 pounds in 3 weeks. Oh and we got to leave on Thanksgiving and enjoy dinner w/ our new baby boy! ; ) I never thought that I could love another baby like I love DD but when Isaiah came into this world I experienced how it felt to love both of my childeren just as equally. DD is just great with him. She loves her baby brother like if he was hers!

At my 38 week appointment, my doctor asked me to come to the hospital on Sunday, 11/30 for possible induction of our little girl. Because I am a type 2 diabetic, there was concern for her size as well as the fact I had been contracting off and on since about 35 weeks. 

So, DH and I arrived at the hospital at 9 AM for cervical assesment and ultrasound. The ultrasound determined that she was close to 9 lbs and I was about 1cm dilated so the doctor decided to go ahead with the induction. He stripped my membranes and admitted me into a L&D suite. I started contracting immediately after getting stripped so DH and I settled in for what we thought we be a very long day.

Around 11:30, they started me on pitocin drip. My contractions were coming every 2 to 4 minutes so I thought it would help things along. Boy, within an hour of being on the pitocin, I was in agony. My contractions were coming on strong and very close together. I wanted to try to wait for the epidural until after they did a dilation check but I couldn't wait and I got the epidural. Epidural went smoothly and worked wonderful. I took a nice nap while DH watched some football and got a bite to eat.

Around 5, my doctor came into check my dilation and I was only 1.5 cm dilated. I was so disappointed. The doctor decided to stop the pitocin because my body was too sensitive to it and the baby was starting to not respond well to the frequency of the contractions. 

At 7:30, my doctor came in a hurry and said that we needed to go ahead with a c-section because the baby's heart rate was dipping after each contraction and he didn't think that we should wait. Everything was going very fast but knowing that I would see our baby in a half hour made everything better. DH was so amazing and knew exactly what to do to keep me calm. They prepped me for surgery and took me into the OR. My doctor started at 8:20 pm and at 8:42 pm, Jolie Simone was born. She screamed and cried her head off. DH and I were so relieved to hear her cry and sound healthy. She weighed a healthy 8lbs 10oz and was 20 1/2 inches long.

After the c-section, Jolie was checked out and got the green light to go straight to the normal nursery instead of the NICU, which was a concern because of the possiblity of her having low blood sugar. I was taken to recovery which was rough because I just wanted to hold her so bad and I was dealing with the shakes for quite a while. Around midnight, I was taken to our room and Jolie was brought to me. I never felt more in love.

Since the birth, everything has been great. She eats like a champ and is already a good sleeper. On our last day at the hospital, her doctor said she had a slight touch of jaundice but a few hours of sunshine would cure it. I'm recovering pretty well after the c-section. I just wanted to share our birth story because I know how much I enjoyed hearing yours. 

 Thanks!

Anybody had one? Any experience/tips?

I was put on bedrest for preterm labor (dilated to 2 cm) at 32 weeks.  I slowly progressed to 3 cm by 36 weeks when I was taken off bedrest.  We expected our daughter to arrive right after I was taken off bedrest but she had other ideas.

At my 38 week appointment we scheduled an induction for 39weeks1day (Monday, December 1)because although I had progressed nicely, she didn't seem in any hurry to come. 

On Friday, November 28 DH and I decided to go on a date night to enjoy our last days just the two of us.  We saw 4 Christmases and went to a local seafood place.  During dessert, I started having very strong cramps.  Felt like menstrual cramps so I wasn't worried but we watched the clock anyways.  They were about 15 minutes apart so we decided to continue our evening.  I laid down when we got home and they lessened in intensity so we headed to sleep.

Around midnight, I woke up with the pains again.  I laid there about an hour just watching the clock and trying to relax and rest.  I still didn't think it was labor.  After an hour, I woke up DH and we started timing.  The pains were about 8 minutes apart.  We walked around the house, did some light picking up in the kitchen.  Just trying to get my mind off the pains.  Around 2:30, I was starting to be really uncomfortable so we called the doctor.  She said to come in that it sounded like I was in labor.  The ride to the hospital was awful.  The pains started coming a lot faster and stronger.  I told DH that if this wasn't labor, I was in big trouble cause this HURT.

Got to the hospital and I was already 6 cm.  I begged for my epidural.  The nurses hurried to get my IV and fluids.  Luckily, it was the eve of a big rivalary football game, so no one was in labor and delivery.  It was just me and one other patient who was sleeping.  Got my epidural and felt better - the IV actually hurt a lot worse than the epidural.  I was 8 cm at this point but my water hadn't broken. 

I rested for an hour or 2 then started feeling pains again.  Nurse said that pressure was normal but I insisited this was more than pressure.  Sure enough, my epidural was wearing off and I was starting to feel everything again (my worst fear).  They ended up having to take out my first epidural and give me another one altogether.  As soon as it took effect, I was told it was time to start pushing.

I tried really hard to push, but I couldn't feel anything and was completely exhausted from no sleep and all the pains.  The doctor came in and said we might have to use the vacuum.  That was all the encouragement I needed.  I would do anything to avoid that.  So I pushed with all my strength for an hour. 

Allison Kathryn was born at 11:50 am.  She was 8lb4oz.  We have been home a week now and are adjusting okay.  She seems to be most awake at nights and sleep all day.  We're working on how to flip flop those two. 

Hope you enjoyed my story. 

I've been reading every possible website out there and each one seems to give different information, very confusing.  I'm hoping there is someone who had this done and everything is okay.  Is anyone going through this?  It's a scary thing, a baby with trisomy 18 rarley lives past 1 year old.

The night of the 4th into the 5th I was awoken numerous times throughout the night with heavy cramps, this is something that rarely occurred during my pg.  When I went to the bathroom at 6am and wiped I discovered blood and mucus on the toilet paper.  At the time I didn't let my mind go crazy because the day before we had sex in the afternoon and I had some pink spotting, so I just assumed it was my cervix softening. 

My plans for the day were to wait along with my mother in the hospital waiting room because my father was have surgery that day.  So I jump in the shower to get ready and by the time I get out we started to realize that this could be the big day.  I continue to get ready and my husband gets ready for work as well as finish packing the bags for the hospital.  So I meet my parents at the hospital and inform them that I've started cramping and now it's progressed to intermittent pains.  My dad is admitted and checked into a room while I wait in the waiting room.  I try to time the pains but given the fact that I was in a waiting room with a small clock on the opposite side of the room it made it very difficult.  I finally decide that I don't want to chance not being able to drive back home to meet up with my husband and then drive to our hospital an hour away, so I had better leave my parents sooner than later.  Through tears I go to my dads room when he's still being examined and explain that I think that I had to go.  (Not how I imagined my day.  I wanted my parents to be there for their first grandchild being born and I wanted to be there to support my parents through a scary time.)

We arrived at the hospital at noon.  At 1pm the mw checked me and I was 2-3 cm.  Deciding that I was definitely in labor they start the antibiotics for me being GBS+.  Within 10 minutes I start to feel like something was wrong.  My hand and up to my wrist was burning and felt like it was going to explode.  Turned out I was having a reaction to the Penicillin.  The nurse stopped the IV, flushed it then started Ancef, which was better.

For the next couple of hours I labored in the jacuzzi, bed, on the birthing ball and while swaying back and forth with my husband.  I followed my Bradley training with my breathing and not tensing with the contractions.  My husband was an amazing coach and partner.  I threw up numerous times, and all together was a complete mess at times yet he was very supportive and did everything that he could to help me deal.  At 7pm my progression was checked and I was 7cm.  At this point the back labor was horrific.  I felt like I was on some crazy drugs.  I'd say something and not even a second later not even remember saying it.  I'd be wide awake saying my oms through contractions and the next second I'd be asleep.  We moved onto the birthing tub to prepare since I was progressing.  When I was checked again I was at 10cm.  At that point I was beginning to become hysterical.  The contractions were so rough.  I was begging to God (not something I normally do - I'm not a religious person), I was begging to my husband and the midwife to please give me a c/s.  My husband was starting to get scared for me.  He asked the mw about breaking my water.  She said at this point any other mw would have done it but she wasn't prepared to. 

There came a point where my mw yelled at me.  With each contraction I would end up crying that "I can't do this" or "Why, please why".  She told me that I need to stop being so negative, that I've come this far and I'm doing a great job.  With my stern yelling I calmed myself and realized that I had come this far and there was not much further to reach my goal.  Two hours after my husband brought up breaking the waters the mw said she was prepared to do it then.  I got out of the birthing tub and she broke the waters and mentioned that there was meconium in the fluid.  At the mention of the meconium and knowing how long I was already in labor I was freaking out and ready to get my baby out.  If it wasn't for the fact that I had a little bit of a cervical lip I would have started pushing right away.  I tried to see if a couple more contractions would do the job and it didn't.  So instead the mw held the cervical lip back while I tried pushing, and it worked.  Within the hour of my waters breaking my little boy was born. 

All together it was the most amazing, powerful, scary and breath taking experience ever. 

Some things I learned through my labor

-Don't hype yourself over the perfect labor or birth plan.  Besides going pain med free (at one point I almost gave into this), my birth plan was not even a thought to me.  My mw and husband were the ones who made me stick with it.  Perfect labor...Ha!  Everything I thought my labor would be was not the case at all.

-Don't be scared about having a bowel movement while in labor.  I was so scared to fart or poop and yet I had absolutely no control over it.  I pooped three times while pushing and I would have been non the wiser if I didn't make my husband tell me the truth.  It didn't even phase him.

Also, during the hospital stay my baby had problems breastfeeding.  Each time a nurse or lactation consultant helped he eventually latched on, but when it was just him and me nothing worked.  I asked for help every feeding and was told to not be so hard on myself he's only so many hours old and he'll eventually get it.  After 2 days of being home and him still not eating properly we eventually looked into nipple shields.  What a godsend!  He latches on with the first attempt.  There is no more hysterical crying fits from me or him!  I would definitely suggest this to anyone who is flat nippled which apparently I am.

Good luck to everyone!

TIA,

Hi ladies, we're putting together a list of the most popular baby names this year and we wanted to see what names were most popular in The Bump community. So tell us, what did you name your newborn in 2008? 

TIA for sharing! ~Dara

I think most every "mom to be" is not only excited to be pregnant but is scared sh!tless. There is so much to learn and so much to do, 9 months is no where near enough time to get prepared, and honestly?. you are never prepared. From running out and buying books about pregnancy to taking classes about the decisions you get to make when delivering, geesh and let?s not forget to mention all the toys/gear you need once baby is here. I was just like that, I read, I took classes and I listened to anyone who was willing to give me advice (and every mother wants to give you advice when you are pregnant). Being pregnant is stressful enough without the fear of others judging the decisions you have made. In the end the choices made should be those that you, your DH (or SI), and your doc (or mid-wife)  have discussed thoroughly and made together.
And I guess that is the moral of my post always keep an open mind and know now that more than likely not everything will go the way you plan. Here is my story?.

After getting through the 1st tri without one single side effect from pregnancy (except of course the positive stick) I thought I was set up for a pretty laid back, uneventful experience, it was anything but this. At 22 weeks my DH, I, and his family took a last minute trip to Hawaii. FIL had just passed away from cancer and the stress was unbearable for all, we needed to get away. While there I took a slip and fall (this is not what his Mother needed to see after just watching FIL go through what he did). I hit the ground pretty hard, hard enough to shove my tooth through my lip. Here's what I looked like that week:

Fortunately my "motherly instinct" must have kicked in and as I fell I twisted and landed on my right side. After trying to get in contact with my "on call" doc back home (6 hour time difference made it difficult) we went ahead and headed to a hospital, yes on the island of Kauai! Here DH wanted to document:

Well everything turned out fine and we even got to have another Ultrasound which was pretty cool.

Fast forward to Week 29:

I was awakened at 1:30am one morning with horrendous side pain. I couldn't sleep and tried to just get through it. I thought it was gas but my doc wouldn't allow me to take Gas X and asked me to come on in (this was at 10am that morning and I was still slouched over in pain). Well they felt it was just "round ligament pain" and told me to wait it out. After reconsideration my doc sent me to the hospital to have me monitored. Once there they "tried" to do an ultrasound but I couldn?t lay there sill enough to do anything in depth. They ruled out kidney stones and kept me there all day for monitoring. At 11pm that night the pain miraculously disappeared (and to today I have no idea what it was). Docs were happy but perplexed and wanted to keep me monitored. So I was to stay the night there and hopefully leave that next morning. Finally after nearly 40 hours of being awake I got to rest. Or so I thought....

2am, I had just fallen asleep for maybe 20 minutes, when I was awoken to a swarm of nurses screaming and shouting (I couldn't really tell what was going on as I was so out of it), finally one got down and told me, "your baby's heart-rate dropped, it was in the 40's". Okay I am thinking to myself what does that mean she should be at least 120 right? Trying to listen to what was being said in the background, I hear ?C-Section?, ?Surgery?, ?she's only 29 weeks?! At this point I am scared, I am crying, DH is crying, holding my hand, saying "It's going to be ok" while I kept thinking "how do you know?". So now a nurse walks in with her cell phone and says, "Lauren Dr. "Q" is on the phone and wants to talk to  you". Honestly I don't remember what she said, all I knew was I was now headed to the NICU at the hospital down the street... in an ambulance.

I have now arrived at the NICU and am encountered by a doc who rather rudely asks me why I m there. I explain to him the situation as I knew it, to which he rolled his eyes and says "that hospital always freaks out about the smallest things". Well that wasn't what I was expecting. So they hook me up and continue to monitor me. They give me a steroid shot ?Just in Case.?  Now her heart-rate is doing fine but I am having lots of contractions. For three days I was steady, heart-rate normal with lots of contractions. Docs there finally felt I was able to go ahead and head home.

Over the next few weeks I prayed and did limited activity. I felt if baby could hold on until 34 weeks at least I would be proud and happy. So at 32 week I had my baby shower & at 34 weeks I was the MOH in a wedding: (In pink dress)

The whole time my BFF joked that I could go into labor on her wedding day! Then she made me promise not to have her until she was back from Honeymoon! Thank fully I did but only by 5 days! And here comes my L&D story?

So on Thursday September 25^th I went into the doc?s office to have my 36 week checkup, normal process just to check my BP and to measure my belly. Well I get into the room, DH sits down in the chair and I of course prop up on the bed. In comes nurse tech. She Doppler?s me for a couple of minutes trying to find HB. Finally she looks at me and says ?I am new and I am having troubles, I think I keep getting yours, I am going to go and get some help.? Well next thing I know in runs my doc (kind of freaking out) she starts trying to find it, she does, and the low beat wasn?t mine, it was in fact my DD?s. She moves me around and gets it to come up. She says that even though she got it up, she was sending me to the hospital, it was in the 60?s this time. Out she runs and screams ?Call 9-1-1!? DH and I are kind of stunned, we had been through this whole hospital routine before so I don?t think I knew to be scared. Next couple minutes in come police officers, EMT, fire people, ummmm yes right into my GYNO?s office! How weird! They load me up on the gurney and off I go to the ambulance. I look up and all these construction workers are standing there (working on building next door), I hear the EMT?s tell DH they were running hot down to the hospital, yup hot = lights and sirens.

So we get downtown to the hospital and as they push me in, there stands a trauma team ready to perform a c-section. They talk and decide instead to go ahead and get me upstairs and monitor the situation. As I am in the triage room again, there are at least 5 nurses around, docs getting DH to sign paperwork for a c-section, both my doc and the anesthesiologist are both there ready to go. Eventually they decide her HB is back up and we now have time to run some tests and see what the issue is. I have 2 ultrasounds (one internal and one external) nothing. They wheel me back to a waiting room and a doctor comes in and tells what his plan of action is now. An amniocentesis will be able to tell just exactly how developed her lungs are, we need a 30 to pass. She scores a 74, thank goodness for that steroid shot at 29 weeks! I never even asked what we were going to do if it was too low, I honestly didn?t want to know. Things are set we will start an induction that evening.  

10 pm they come in and insert ?cervidil?, it?s this stringy thing that goes up in you that is supposed to ripen your cervix. I was not even a fingertip dilated and 0%effaced so this was supposed to help in getting my ?real? contractions started. With this you have to lie down & still for the first 2 hours. I did this and drifted off to sleep. Well Friday September 26^th at 2.30am I was awakened by the pain, the nurse suggested ?Tylenol? to which I responded, ?B!tch I am way passed Tylenol?. She finally went and got permission to get me Nubaine. This knocked me out until 5am. Again I woke up from the pain and was told at this point I had to deal with it. And I did, for 4 more hours I laid there and dealt with it. Finally 10am, the docs took it out, yeah. Not for long though as they now were hooking me up with some pitocin. This wasn?t that bad actually, I was able to walk around and also do the birthing ball. One nurse said ?wow you look so much better? really do you think I was lying about the pain I was in? A couple of laps around the hospital floor and back to my ?Fung Shui? decored room but only after DH runs into a buddy from his high school. They chat while I am half naked in my hospital gown, nice first impression! Anyway all afternoon it was like this. I found it soothing in the shower, naked and letting that warm water hit my back. Oh! What?s that in the drain? Just my Mucous Plug! The nurse seems so ecstatic, I am progressing. An hour later I use the potty and ?goosh? my water breaks. This wasn?t anything I was expecting, it kept gushing hours later. Having to keep changing that pad was so gross. Ok it?s now 8pm. Doc comes and wants to go back to the cervidil, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I begged for anything else but she says she needs me to have the contractions that I was having earlier in order to get things moving. I was now only a fingertip dilated, geeez! So 10pm they come in to give me another dose of the cervidil, they also check, I am now 1cm dialated. After 10 minutes with the cervidil in me I am climbing the walls, crying, begging for them to take it out. Nurse argues with me that it?s a $500 dose of medicine, to which my DH replies ?I don?t care take it out!? An hour later they finally relent, they check me and I am now 3+cm dilated. They are going to give me the epi. My worry at this point was that it was too early but I had now officially been in labor for over 26+ hours and I was ready for some rest. Now it?s September 27^th and by the time the anesthesiologist gets there, I am convulsing from the pain. It takes 2 nurses to hold me down so he can get the needle in. (I later learn the anesthesiologist was a hot young guy! Great, at least I don?t remember him). I ask how long it will take to take affect, he says no longer than 30 seconds. 10 seconds later I whack my leg and say ?look I can?t feel thing? proceeded with my head leaning back and snoring!  It was 3am when I officially got some rest. 2 hours later I was awakened to a familiar feeling. I wake up and there is a nurse there. I say ?ummm, I think I have to poo?. She looked at me strange and said let?s check you out. Nope no poo, DD head was right there and ready to go. They hurry up, get my doc in the room and within the next 15 minutes DD was born:

5lbs 5ounces, 18.25? long, at 5:12am

She is happy and healthy and absolutely perfect. Did it go the way I thought or wanted, no. But I think we made the best decision with the information we had. We were flustered, we were scared, we had her best intentions and did what we thought was best. I don?t think I know how you may react to this but it is just one of billions and billions of birth stories that don?t go the way you think it would.

Thanks you for reading! Sorry it was so long!

Lauren

 Thanks!

 Some people in my life say I did have a natural birth, but I'm not sure. I feel like when I got the Pitocin it was no longer natural (drug free). What would you say? I'm not about to post the "I went natural" badge in my siggy, that's for sure.

We're excited to launch some new Community tools next week and wanted to give you a head's up before we make changes.

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Liz

I like the idea of a light narcotic that would take the edge off, but would wear off in time to let me push at the end.  I was just talking to my friend who's a doula though and she said when she's seen people on nubain, they are pretty high and loopy - which is NOT how I want to be.

I was wondering if having pitocin was your choice or if it was given to you without verbal consent.

Why was this procedure indicated? Was it definite that you had IC or speculated?

What was your experience esp. regarding pain, discomfort and the growing uterus/ pressure of baby throughout gestation?

Also, what activities were you no longer able to do? Could you go swimming with a stitch in, etc.?

Thanks!

At my 41 week appt. i was still at 0 cm and her head had not engaged and was still floating. I was scheduled for an induction on Nov.19th at 6pm.I was told that i would most likely need a C-section....and I did NOT want that! I was so scared! On the night before my induction i was watching tv and my back started hurting SO bad...i didnt think much of it because i had been pretty miserable for awhile. I went to bed, and woke up around 6 am and my back pains had gotten worse...alot worse! My cat was going crazy and wouldnt leave me alone, so i went to check and see if he had food, so that he would leave me alone. I went to the bathroom, and then when i laid back down in bed...i felt a gush of fluid. I waited to see if it happened again, because i would have been really embarassed if i had woke up my fiance and I only pee'd myself...haha. I stood up and it happened again. I woke him up and told him my water broke...he was freaking out more than me...haha. He went out and told his mom and brother who were visiting that my water had broke. I waddled around with a towel between my legs and finished packing up my bag. On the way to the hospital i started to feel my contractions in my abdomen, instead of just my back. They were 5 minutes apart. After getting stuck behind the worlds longest train, we got to the hospital around 7:30 am and i was admitted. The nurse didnt know if it was my water or not...which was interesting see as how there was a constant flow of liquid running down my leg.   I was SO happy that i was not going to have to be induced, but at the same time i was upset because my doctor was not on call that morning. It was the doctor i hated! He came in and checked my progress. I told him that he was hurting me and his response was if you think that hurts, wait till the kid comes out. I started to cry, because i hated him so much and i didnt have the energy to yell at him. I was at 3 cm around 8 am. He told the nurse to put me on pitocin and i said no. I didnt understand why he was trying to speed everything up so much! I was progressing well...and didnt want to rush things. Well needless to say i did not get my way. I was put on pitocin.The contractions were so intense, that i didnt care to fight them on it...i jsut wanted to curl up in a ball!!! Around 10 am, the contractions were 2 minutes apart and i couldnt take it anymore. I just wanted to crawl out of my skin. I asked for the epidural. Around 10:30 am i got my epidural. I was so scared it was going to hurt like hell...but at the same time didnt care, because of the stupid contractions. My fiance had to hold me still because i would shake everytime i got a contraction. The epidural was no big deal, i only felt some pressure and a shooting senstion down one of my legs. For those of you who arent sure if you want to do the epidual...DO IT, its amazing...haha. I couldnt feel a single contraction! After the epidual had taken full effect, i thought it would be a good idea to take  a nap. First they checked my progress and i was already at 4 cm around 11am. Then at 11:45 am i was at 5. I was progressing FAST.  My fiance and I turned down the lights and took a nap. Except that mine only lasted about 15 minutes. I woke up my fiance and told him it felt like the baby was about to come out...I called for the nurse but she didnt come. I told my fiance to RUN and go get her. She came in and i told her....she didnt believe me. Then she checked me and I was at 10!!!! She told me not to push, and that she was calling the dr. Easier said than done....this kid wanted OUT and NOW! She ran back in and informed me that my dr, had gone on a break and had left the hospital to get a HAIR CUT!!! I was SOOOO pissed, what kind of dr, leaves and gets an f-ing haircut, when i was in labor?!?! They called my normal dr. and she rushed up to L&D to deliver my baby. I was so relived when i saw her and not the other a**hole dr!!! It was about 12:30 and didnt even have time to do practice pushes...my fiance held one leg with one arm and a cool wash cloth on my forehead with the other and a nurse held the other leg. After about 8-10 pushes and 30 minutes Ava Monroe was born at 1:03 pm.My fiance cut the cord and they laid her on my chest! With one had she grabbed my finger and then with the other she grabbed her daddy's.....My heart felt liek it literally melted!!!! She was 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 20 inches. She had a fourteen inch head. I had a second degree tear and ended up needing stitches. I think the worst part of the entire thing was contractions and how exhausting the pushing is!!!!! Towards the end, i didnt think i could do ANYMORE, but i didnt have a choice! haha. It really is amazing how much of the work your body does on its own though!!! The recovery is a little rough....but after the first few days it gets better. But i will worn you ladies, the first crap after the baby....if TERRIBLE! Take a stool softener for sure!!! I cried...but now im almost 3 weeks PP and I feel alot better already!!!! I am only sore where i had stitches. I am breastfeeding Ava and that has been quite a challenge, thats for sure. Good luck to all of you ladies who are due soon!!! Take in this last bit of pregnancy...because as much as you think you won't miss it, you will!!! It was truly an amazing experience and there is NOTHING like when you first lock eyes with your little baby!!!! I cant explain the feeling of when you get to wake up in the morning and your two favorite people in the world and laying next to you...I just doesnt get any better!!!!

Oh and one more piece of advice...dont stress about the hospital bag!! I only ended up using our camera, chapstick, my clothes and my tolietries. I WAY overpacked...haha.

Thanks soo much!

I started having contractions on my due date, Nov 17th. They started out like little twinges of pain, but were coming pretty consistently. They gradually increased in intensity through the night, and by 4am, I knew we needed to call the hospital. They said to come on in but don't rush, so I took a shower, then DH took one too and of course, took what seemed like the longest one he's ever taken! Finally, we were ready to go. We deopped off our son at my parents, and got to the hospital at 6:30am. I was at a 2-3, and asked for an epidural, which I got at around 8:30am. That was "magical" and I was able to rest and talk with DH. I dilated to a 6 and got stuck there for what seemed like an eternity. (That was exactly what happened last time and what caused me to end up with a c section- That and an incompitent midwife who just wanted to get the show on the road for her own benefit... So much for the natural midwife route!!! This time I went for a doc who was know to be in favor of VBAC's)...

Long story short, the epi started to wear off at around 7pm, so they rebolused it. The nurse had said that she thought the contractions weren't strong enough to make any changes. I kept thinking the doc would order pitocin, but he didn't- I'm so thankful for that now due to the increase of uterine rupture with the use of pitocin with a VBAC, but at the time, I didn't care because I wanted to avoid another section at all cost...

 My mom had been waiting to come all day, but hadn't been able to because there was no progress so we asked her to bring out 2 year old in because we thought we were in for a long night and hadn't seen him all day. About 10 minutes after they rebolused the epidural, the doc and my mom got there. The doc checked and said "you're complete. Let's try pushing"!!! We couldn't believe it because we had been waiting all day!!!

 So after 30 minutes of pushing, we welcomed our baby girl into the world, at 8:22pm. I had to have an episiotomy, but that's worth it compared to the c-section option!!!

I encourage any of you who are considering a VBAC to go for it. The doc said (while he was stitching me up) that 90% of those who attempt a VBAC are successful!

Wednesday, I was admitted at 12:00 noon to start medication to help ripen my cervix.  I was not dilated or effaced, but my cervix was soft before the medication.  They administered a second dose around 9:00 PM that night and my cervix had gotten very soft, but not yet dilated.  The medication gave me some mild contractions, but nothing regular, so I got to sit in the Jacuzzi tub for a while so I would be able to sleep. 

Around 7:00 AM on Thursday morning, the pitocin was started by IV.  That did give me some mild contractions as well.  Around 9:30 AM, the doctor checked my cervix.  I was dilated around 1 cm and about 50% effaced.  At that point, she stripped my membranes, which hurt like hell.  We continued the pitocin until about 2:30 PM, and there was not much progress.  I was only dilated 1 to 1 ? cm?s, so she broke my water and inserted a scalp electrode to monitor the baby.  This hurt like a ***!!  Not only that, but the electrode came off right away so they had to do it again. 

At 5:00 PM, when the doctor came to re-insert the scalp electrode, I was about 3 cm's. I asked for something for the pain.  I had wanted to have a natural labor, but the contractions were very painful after my water broke.  They gave me Nubian, which didn?t help very much with the pain.  It did make me very hot and very dizzy feeling.  I was able to sleep for about 10 minutes before the contractions started bothering me again and I had to try and breathe through them. 

At 6:30 PM, I asked the nurse how much worse the contractions were going to get, and she said a lot worse, so I requested an epidural and received it at about 7:00 PM.  It was fantastic!  The worst part was sitting hunched over while trying not to move and breathing through a contraction.  After it kicked in it felt wonderful.  I could still feel everything to the point where I had control of my movement, but I felt no pain.  I could feel the pressure of the contractions, but it was a very dull feeling. 

We rested until around 11:30 PM when the doctor came to check my progress.  I was still only about 3-4 cm?s, and at that point the baby?s heartbeat was dropping with the contractions.  The doctor tried to stimulate her, but she didn?t respond with her heart rate going up, so we decided to have a c-section as it didn?t look like she would be coming out on her own without endangering her.  Instead of getting a spinal, they increased the medication through my epidural.  The anesthesiologist also gave me something to drink which was supposed to neutralize any acid in my stomach in case I would vomit and it would get into my lungs.  Well, it did succeed in making me vomit.  I was taken down to surgery and at that point I think my body went into shock because I couldn?t stop shaking.  As the doctor was performing the surgery, she had to ask me why I was still deep breathing, and I told her I was just extremely nervous and trying to calm myself down.  When they pulled the baby out, they put so much pressure on my upper stomach that I started to get nauseous again.  After not eating all day and already throwing up, I didn?t think there would be anything else left, but I was wrong. 

Kate Aubrey was born at 1:02 AM on 12/05/08.  She was 7 lb 7 oz and 20 ? inches long.  She is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen and I feel like I found the thing I never knew was missing in my life. 

After the surgery was done and Kate was looked over, the doctor told me that the cord was wrapped around her chest, which is why her heart rate had decelerated with contractions, so it was a good choice to have the c-section instead of waiting any longer.  I also had pre-eclampsia, and the placenta had started to age and had a lot of calcium on it, so I am glad we decided to be induced instead of wait for her entrance on her own.  We did have to stay an extra day in the hospital because Kate had jaundice, and it was so hard for me to watch her laying under the lights all alone for hours on end when I wanted her in my arms, but I knew it was best for her.  She is doing well now and we hope it continues that way. 

On her due date it was 7 pm when I started to feel what I would describe as uncomfortable Braxton hick contractions. It wasn?t too long where I realized they were getting consistent and timeable, so my husband and I started timing and they were about 7 minutes apart and about 45-50 seconds long.  I finished getting things organized and our plan was to try and labor at home as long as possible since we wanted to have a natural child birth. I bounced/rolled on the birth ball a lot and changed positions during each contraction as they grew and it was around 1 pm when it was time to drive to the hospital. I probably could have labored at home longer as the contractions were really uncomfortable but not incredibly painful yet. We had a 30 minute drive though so I was kind of nervous. The break in between was still enjoyable and long enough for me to get my composure back.

Believe it or not we got pulled over by a cop on the way to the hospital! So funny! Immediately my husband mentioned I was in labor and having contractions and the cop graciously told us to get on our way. J

We arrived at the hospital and I was only 3.5 cm dilated.  I was completely thinned out however and they also mentioned the baby was incredibly low for where I was dilated at. They admitted me and just encouraged me to walk and keep things going. The plan was to see how things go and possibly break my water at 6am to get progressing more. I kept changing positions from the birth ball, to leaning on my husband, and the bathtub felt fabulous during the contractions and I could have stayed there for hours!

By 6am I was 5 cm dilated. The Dr. broke my waters and immediately I started having stronger, more intense contractions. The plan was to continue to let me move around, but because the baby was so low they wanted to keep monitoring baby for awhile. Alsobecause the baby was so low, I was feeling an incredible pressure and by 7:00 am there were times I felt like I wanted to push but they kept telling me it was so important not to push or I?ll rip the cervix. My husband had to really keep me focused on breathing with him. By this time, natural child birth was looking more difficult as I couldn?t relax and I was getting contractions back to back that again, had so much pressure to where I felt the urge to push. They checked me again and I was 8 cm dilated. It was about 7:30 where I thought the epidural was something I should go for. I was so tired and needed to not push and I just felt like I couldn?t not push! So, after telling my husband what I felt I needed, the anastegiolist came in. It wasn?t that long where he asked me to sit up on the bed so he could inject me, he was back there and mentioned he was only hitting bone. I had about 2 contractions while he was trying, the second contraction was almost immediately after I changed positions and sat up, I absolutely HAD TO PUSH! So, the nurse sent the epi man away and checked me again and I was complete!

Wow, what a change, the nurse mentioned calling the Dr. as there is going to be a baby being delivered! Dr. walked in and I had like a 10 minute break where I didn?t have a contraction and we just all waited. It was 4-5 contractions later and some hard pushes that our little girl came out! I ended up with a 2^nd degree tear but I honestly could not feel the tearing.

The feelings I had with the pushing were such a relief compared to the contractions. Her crowning  and her coming out felt so intense and amazing and I am so happy I didn?t end up with the Epidural. I can?t tell you how much I have reflected on this birth and the amazing emotions and intense feelings I felt. And now having a beautiful daughter that we are just both so in love with,makes this a mind blowing, unforgettable experience.

It was 2:45am when I woke DH up and told him my water broke. I called the dr (thinking they would tell me to rest or come in when contractions got close, etc) but they told me to head in. I had had one contraction when my water broke, one 35 min later, and then a couple within 15 min of each other. We finished packing our hospital bag and headed out, arriving to the Labor & Delivery ward at 3:30am. By then my contractions were already 5 min apart and pretty painful. I was getting scared too. I was happy to hear that I was 3cm dilated and 90% effaced with baby at 0 station. I felt like that was good news since I had just started laboring. They gave me an IV w/something minor for pain management and admitted me to a room. About an hour later I was at 4 cm and 100% effaced. I got the epidural and loved it, although it never completely blocked the pain for me? I can not imagine what labor would have been like without it. (Side note: the IV was totally more painful than the epi.. so don't fear that part) I actually signed onto the nest at this point thinking I could keep people posted on the labor, but we couldn't get the connection back after.

At 645 they checked me again and I was bummed when they told me I was still a 4. They talked about giving me pitocin if it took too long for me to dilate more on my own well. They let me go until about 930am, when they decided to check me and shocked the hell out of me and DH when they said I was already a 9cm and almost ready to push!!!

WHOA! By 1045am I was 10cm and ready to go. I was having some pain and bad pressure (obviously) but was seriously dumb enough to be thinking ?wow, I am getting so lucky here.. this isn?t that bad at all!? I started pushing at 10:55am and soon realized that baby was stuck and I couldn?t get her to come out. She was ?right there? for 3 HOURS OF PUSHING. I couldn?t believe the DR let me do it for that long, but I am so glad they did because she did finally come out (with the help of an episiotomy) at 1:49pm. She weighed 8lbs 1 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. She has lots of gorgeous dark brown hair and looks just like her daddy.

Lesson: use whatever tools they offer you.

When Elayna Grace finally came out, her daddy and I both burst into tears. They wiped her off a little and immediately placed her on my chest. She whimpered a bit, but mostly just snuggled up to me and looked at me. It was the most amazing moment of my life. She is beautiful and perfect and I have never imagined love like this. Although I still remember the pain and work of pregnancy and birth, and am currently in a lot of pain from the long pushing stage of labor?s side effects (I can barely stand to sit up with pain meds), I can already see how people decide to do this again. I would do anything for her.

Sleep was a thing from of the past for the first three days. I had slept a total of about 6 hours (all in 15min-40min bits) in a 72 hour period. Luckily, its getting better. For now my husband and I are taking shifts so that the other one can sleep better for a few hours of the day.

I feel like the luckiest person in the world? and wouldn?t change a thing.

We had a scheduled C/S for 11:00. We arrived at the hospitalat 9:00 to check in. We got taken into our triage room where they hooked me upto the IV and fetal monitor. My blood pressure was pretty high but they assumedit was due to anxiety. They went ahead and took my blood just to rule anythingout. My Dr. came in about 10:30 and I asked about my blood pressure. He said?Does it matter? We?re going in to get her anyway so if your bloodwork comesback with Pre-E we would just go in and get her? Made sense to me. After that,I felt more relaxed. I love my Dr.

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At about 10:50 we started walking towards the OR. We wereliterally walking into the OR room when the nurse in there said ?STOP! We havean emergency and you?ve been bumped? Great. I had just gotten myself calmeddown and now I have to sit here and wait even longer. Well, that wait turnedout to be about 4 minutes before they moved us next door to another OR room.The emergency c/s was a woman that had been in labor for a very long time. Ididn?t see her but my H spoke to her H and the poor woman was just exhausted.She was passed out next to me in the recovery room and I never heard a peepfrom her.

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Anyway, I walked into the OR while my H had to stay behindwhile I got the spinal block. I laid down on the table on my left side. Iwasn?t freaking out but I was really nervous. I just kept telling myself thatit would all be fine and soon I would see my little girl. As soon as the Dr.put the needle in, my feet went very warm and then they fipped me to my backand by the time I was settled, I was numb from the chest down. It was thestrangest feeling I had ever had. I could feel them pushing on my legs buteverything was so heavy that I didn?t care. I did get nauseous very quicklywhich they warned me might happen. I told the Dr. that I was nauseous and hegave me something in my IV that took care of it immediately. My husband was rightnext to me and was taking to me the whole time. I didn?t have to be strappeddown. The Dr. just told me not to move my hands up and I was terrified to movethem that that was enough explanation for me.

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I was looking at my H and had no clue when/if they hadstarted until I heard my Dr tell a student ?Oh, there is her bladder? and hedid make a comment that I had very nice muscles. Um, thanks Doc! Now if youcould get me that 6 pack back we would be in business! But, anyway, the surgerywent well. I could feel them pulling and pushing but obviously there was nopain. They had to push down on my chest to get her out which was reallystrange. I seriously thought they were standing on my chest when that washappening. But soon after that feeling she was here! The surgery started at11:34 and she was born at 11:39. As soon as they brought her out she wascrying. The nurse took her over to the warming light and my husband followed.He took pics of her and got to hold her for about 20 minutes while I was beingsewn up. He did bring her right over to me so I could at least see her. Thatwas the best moment of my life right there. She was perfect.

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After I was sewn and cleaned up, they took me to recoverywhere I got to do some skin to skin with Charlotte and just bond. We did notattempt to breastfeed at that moment. I?m not certain why, no one ever told mebut I was kind of out of it that I never thought to ask anyone, We were inrecovery for a little under 2 hours. I had to be able to move my toes, bend my kneesand lift my bum off the bed. As soon as I sat down I started trying to move allof the above because I just wanted to be in my room with her. We got back to myroom at about 2:30 but Charlotte had to stay in the nursery for an hour minimumwhich sucked because by now our family was there ready to see her.

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Anyway, this is really long and I probably missed importantinformation and told you all too much fluff but basically, we are happy andstill trying to figure it all out, We?ll get there. Breastfeeding has been areal struggle. My nipples aren?t long eough, my milk hasn?t came in andCharlotte doesn?t open her mouth wide enough and likes to suck on her tounge.So basically, we have some challenges but we?ll get there. I have been pumpingand supplementing formula but I would rather my daughter not starve!

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I would love to offer any questions from a new mom butthat?s impossible when I still have a trillion of my own questions!?

3 weeks before DD was born, I started having trouble breathing.  Called the ob who said to go to L&D and get checked.  They basically said "bummer, you have a big baby and nothing we can do, suck it up"

Three days later, went for my weekly appointment and my blood pressure was high.  Doc decided to start induction, so I was admitted and they did the cervadil for two days, but I hadn't dilated even 1 cm.  After two days of that, they decided to start petocin (sp?).  That got me to 1 cm dilated and doc decided to break my water to speed things up.  Contractions started heavily almost immediately.  Soon it was agonizing, I couldn't ever imagine a worse pain.  I was checked and no progress, still at only 1 cm.  This went on for three hours, the contractions were 45 seconds apart, I kept feeling the need to push but I couldn't because my cervix was still closed, but the baby was pressing down really hard.  All the while, they are pumping me full of fluids.

Finally after almost four hours, my mom chewed out the doctor and demanded that he do an emergency C-Section because the pain was so horrible.  Just while being wheeled from the delivery room to the operating room, they had to stop three times while I had contractions, because the movement was making it worse.  Finally got to the operating room and got the glorious epidural! 

C-Section was unremarkable.  It went routine.  I went to recovery, DD went to the nursery and I really don't know where DH went!  I guess to get our stuff.  I was so drowsy and out of it!

Finally got to the room and they brought my precious baby girl to me and breastfeeding attempts began.  DD was jaundice, so between that and the section, we were in the hospital for about four days after DD was born (and I already had been there for two days previously).  On the second day after she was born, I started feeling a tickle in my throat and it's hard to describe - almost like carbonation feeling in my lungs when I'd breathe.  Nurses were summoned and they did some chest x-rays and decided I had Walking Pneumonia.  Got meds and finally went home a few days later.

The very night that we got released to go home, I was having trouble getting comfy to fall asleep.  Every time I'd lean back, I couldn't breathe.  At all.  I started coughing again, only this time I started coughing up blood.  Luckily my mom was staying with us and DH got her to stay with the baby while we went to the emergency room.  The nurses at the desk took one look at me and rushed me in before all the people waiting.  I was having congestive heart failure.  I had a lot of fluid settled around my heart and lungs and my blood pressure was extremely high.

The doctors inserted IV's and started getting rid of all of the excess fluid in my body (remember how they kept pumping me with fluids??  bad bad docs!).  At some point I was told that I was going through heart failure, which you cannot imagine how terrifying it is to hear that when you have a newborn at home.  I am getting teary just thinking about it.  I didn't let myself cry though, I felt I needed to be strong for Elise. 

Finally got moved to ICU, which was hard because the visiting hours were so strict and I was there for days and couldn't see my baby.  I can only imagine what my husband and parents went through during this time.  I still wouldn't cry though because I was scared to lose faith.  After a few days in ICU, they moved me to the cardio ward and the pedi and the cardiologist approved for DD to come visit me.  That was the best gift ever --oh yeah, it was my birthday. 

I was in the hospital for one week with that drama and then a few days after I got home, Hurricane Gustav hit our area.  After it hit, the water supply in our town went down and we had no way of washing bottles.  Obviously breastfeeding hopes had gone out the window with my problems.  We had to evacuate, with a two week old.  It all worked out though.

Now my princess girl is 3 months old and at my last cardiologist appointment, my heart is almost 100 % back to normal.  Not a day goes by that I don't feel terrified at the thought of not seeing her grow up, and not getting to see my husband and family.  My own mortality is something I think of often.  But it also makes me want to live life to it's fullest and enjoy every single moment with my newly formed family.

Sorry this was so long...but that's my birth story.  Moral of the story - if something feels wrong, persist even if the doctor gives you an explanation!  This could have all been avoided if I had persisted that day in L&D when they sent me home.  Because that's when it all started.

Monday- November 10^th 2008- 40 weeks, 3 days pregnant

I went to the dr on Monday. I was still barely a centimeter dialated and the baby was still floating and not engaged! The doctor told me anything was possible, but it didn?t look like she was going to come on her own. We scheduled an induction for the following Sunday, November 16.

Tuesday- November 11^th 2008- 40 weeks, 4 days pregnant

7:00pm- Started having bad period cramps. Pains were inconsistent ranging from 10 minutes to 20 minutes a part?The pains felt different from pains in the past, but I didn?t want to get excited since they were not getting closer together or increasing in pain. I didn?t even bother telling my husband since I didn?t want to get him excited for no reason. That night, I cried myself to sleep and prayed my body would go into labor on it?s own. I really wanted to avoid an induction and possible c-section.

November 12^th, 2008- 40 weeks, 5 days pregnant

Sometime after midnight- Pain was getting worse and actually waking me from my sleep. I went to the bathroom and had a bloody show. I put on a pad, changed my underwear and went back to bed. I debated waking my husband but decided to let him sleep. No sense in waking him up for nothing?

5:00am- The pain was growing in intensity and about 10-12 minutes apart. At this point, I knew something was different. I poked my husband and said, ?She is coming today.? He rolled over and mumbled- ?Who??? Who is coming?? I replied: ?The baby!? He said ?Okay,? and went back to sleep. I kept timing the contractions and wishing and hoping this was it.

6:00am- The alarm clock goes off. Hubby asked if I was having contractions and I said yes. He mentioned heading to the hospital and I replied I didn?t want to yet. I was really scared that this wasn?t the real thing and I would get there and they would send me home. I told him to go to work and I would call him if things got worse.

Between 7:00 am and 8:00am I was having contractions 6-7 minutes apart. I changed the sheets on our bed, picked up the house and finished packing the last minute things into our hospital bag. I put everything we needed by the door. I called my mom and then my doctor?s office. They told me to go to the hospital for a labor check. I filled up the bathtub and shaved my legs. By this point it?s about 9:00am. I called my husband and told him to come home and take me to the hospital. He was tied up at work and didn?t arrive until almost 10:00am. The pain was getting more intense. He took a shower and we were on our way.

11:00 am- Arrived at the hospital and headed to triage for my labor check. By this point I was convinced I was really in labor. When we arrive in triage, the nurse tells me that she is full and doesn?t have any beds right now. She sent me out to wait in the waiting room! The waiting room is full and I ended up sitting next to the security guard. I had two bad contractions while I was sitting next to him. He called the nurse in triage and said she NEEDED to see me. I was still calm and relaxed. The pain was getting worse, but nothing I couldn?t handle.

The nurse came to get me. They tell me to change into a gown and hook me up the machines to track my contractions and the baby?s heartbeat. She checked me and said I was 3 cm dialated! YAY for progress! She said she would be back in 20 minutes to check on the contractions. When she returned my contractions were 2-4 minutes a part and she said I was a KEEPER! She said she would call my doctor and get me set up in a labor and delivery room!

Finally, I am in the labor and delivery room. After a while the nurse comes back to ask me some questions. One of the questions is: ?Are you going to want an epidural?? My response: ?Do I have to make a decision right now? I?d rather see how it goes!? My husband comments that I should just take the epidural, the nurse comments I should just take the epidural. I stick to my decision about waiting it out. At this point, the pain is tolerable. I consider myself to be a tough girl?

By 2:30pm I am about 5 centimeters dialated. My doctor comes in to see me. He asks how it?s going. I told him the contractions were coming strong and good. He then says he is going to break my water so we can really get the show on the road, pulls out the hook stick thing and just does it! I didn?t have a chance to protest or get ready. The feeling of my water breaking is the ickiest most disgusting feeling I have ever felt in my life. The doctor walks out.

Fast forward a few minutes- The contractions are getting REALLY painful. I look at my husband and say: ?What am I trying to prove? Go get that nurse and tell her I will take that epidural!? My husband disappears and returns with the nurse who comes in with an IV bag. As she is putting the IV bag in, the epidural lady walks in ready to give me the epidural. She looks at the IV bag and says- ?Oh, they just put that in? We have to wait until you have had one full bag before I give you the epidural.? She turns around and walks out. The nurse leaves and I am left with the full IV bag and my husband. The pain is increasing and I am starting to feel REALLY uncomfortable. The bag was dripping REALLY slow.

FINALLY, the IV bag is finished. I tell my husband to ?GO GET ME THE EPI LADY!? The lady is now no where to be found.

3:30pm- No epi lady

4:00pm- No epi lady

4:30pm- No epi lady and I am in the worst pain I have EVER felt in my ENTIRE life.

5:00pm- I am SCREAMING for someone to HELP ME! (I know, a little dramatic). My poor husband doesn?t know what to do.

5:30pm- The nurse is apologizing. The epi lady had to go into an emergency surgery. They are trying to get someone else. They offer me NUBAIN. I say ?NO- I WANT MY EPIDURAL!? My husband says, ?YES- GIVE HER SOMETHING PLEASE!? I stick to not taking the nubain and insist on waiting for my epi.

10 minutes later, my epidural arrives (good thing I didn?t take the nubain). By 6:00pm I was back to my smiley happy self. My ENTIRE family arrives at this point and we visit, laugh and talk until about 8 or 9pm.

9:00pm- I am about 8 centimeters dialated and the baby is still really high. Everyone leaves the room except for my mom, husband and sisters.

For the next few hours, I am stuck at 8 centimeters. The nurse comes in and says that they will be administering pitocin to speed things along. She tells me to try laying on my left for a while in hopes changing positions will help me continue to dialate and the baby to get into position. (I forgot to mention that the baby was posterior!)

Sometime after, the nurse comes in with the pitocin bag. She hooks me up and leaves. I am back on my left side. After a while, I started feeling the contractions again. I start to panic that the pain is coming back. My entire left side was numb and my entire right side was feeling every contraction. I had to breathe through them because the nurse told me to stay in that position.

Finally- after what felt like forever, she let me flip onto my right side. The anesthesia started dripping into my right side and felt some relief.

Thursday, November 13^th, 2008- 12:00am- I am FINALLY 10 centimeters dialated and the baby has FLIPPED! YES! The nurse tells me we are going to wait for the contractions to push the baby down before we push.

I start to feel pressure and the ?urge? to push. She says we have to wait!

2:30ish am.- Nurse says we are going to do some ?practice? pushes and she is going to call the doctor. The baby has finally descended and is in position. She ?teaches? me to push. My mom is at my head- husband is holding one leg. My sisters are standing back watching from afar.

Dr is on his way?

I start pushing with the nurse. Around 2:50 am the doctor walks in and checks on progress. He walks out and I wonder: WHERE IS HE GOING???

He comes back shortly after and starts getting ready. The nurse tells me to hold it? I scream- I HAVE TO PUSH!!! (By the way, I am starving and haven?t eaten anything ALL DAY! I tell the doctor, get her out of me so I can EAT!?)

The doctor is setting up- he looks over his shoulder and calmly says: ?You have to push- then push!? So I do.

He sits in front of me and says with the next contraction, we are having a baby. I PUSHED and out she came! The first thing I looked at was that she was actually a girl! (Everyone told me I had a ?boy? belly and I was actually starting to wonder!) They laid her on me and I just stared at her in amazement. She was (and is) soooo beautiful and perfect! The nurse was wiping her down. At this point my sisters are standing at my side with my mom, everyone is crying! After a few minutes the nurse came to take her from my arms. I said ?NOT YET!?

Everyone was commenting on how BIG she was! She weighed in at 9lbs 1 ounce and 20 ? inches long. My doctor was even surprised! (I always measured on target and never had a growth untrasound at the end.) He says I really hid it well and commented that if he had known- we would have been hesitant to let me attempt a vaginal delivery.

Labor and delivery was the most amazing experience of my entire life and I would do it again today. I still can?t believe she is really mine and I get to keep her forever! I am absolutely in love and it is a love like no other I have ever felt.

On Friday April 11, Ryan and I went in to the Hospital for another gall bladder attack. I was hospitalized 13 nights in two months due to the pain, and complications from this issue, such as excess bile in the blood, and cholestais. I was sent home that night, ate nothing all day Sat, and had another attack that evening. We went back to the hospital that night, and my OB was on call. He admitted me, and gave me pain medicine for the night. The next morning, (4-13-08) I was given an amnio to check for lung development as Nolan was not due for another 5.5 weeks, and I was so sick. By 8 pm on Sunday, the results were in, and I would be induced the next morning. I was given cervadil that night, and told to rest. At 7:00 am Monday, my OB came in and took the cervidil out, and I was at ? cm only! My OB broke my water, and we waited to see if I would begin cx on my own. By 9:30 am I had no contractions and was still at ? cm. I began the dreaded pitocin. Within 20 min, I was miserable, and wanted an epidural. My nurse told me I was maybe 1cm, but if I ?thought I needed an epidural then? they would give me one. I tried the birthing ball for a little while, but honestly could not balance. I was not able to stand, or walk, and that was before the epidural. I kept telling them that I felt like my hips were breaking. I know that they thought I was being dramatic, but who cares. Finally, I was granted an epidural, and the Dr. came in to give me one. He got the catheter in and realized that he needed to go get the actual numbing medication. . .. GRRRR I was not a happy camper having to wait in all of that pain. While we were waiting for Dr. feelgood to get back, my nurse decided to check me. It was 10:50 am, and I was 10 cm. That?s right, in 1 hour and 20 min, I went from a ? to a 10. . .. talk about a drive through delivery. The epidural was cancelled, and we got right to finding my OB and pushing. I was asked to wait for my OB to push, so at 11:20 am we got to work! 3 pushes and Nolan Martin Minard came in to this world at 6lbs 10 oz 21 inches long. He was beautiful and breathing well! I was thrilled that despite my whining, I did not have an epidural.. . not for lack of trying though. We were in the hospital for 2 more days to monitor my liver enzymes, and I was sent home I had my gall bladder removed at 5 weeks PP and now we can?t wait to be blessed with baby number two!

The contractions slowed down a little which I know is common from the Bradley class.  Being in a strange environment will often do that in early labor. 

My nurse checked me and I was 4 cm already!  Those contractions had been doing something!  Since that drastically improved my Bishop's Score, cervidil was no longer needed to ripen my cervix. 

The nurse said they would start the pitocin at 5 am.  My doula left for a few hours to get some sleep at home.  My husband managed to nap a little on the fold out couch while I watched the clock.

At 4:50 am, I was dilated to 5 cm and they started the pitocin. 

Because of the pitocin, they had to keep me on constant monitoring except for trips to the bathroom.  My doula and husband were a big help though.  The nurse let me walk around the bed, sit on the birthing ball, and sway standing with my husband as long as the cords reached. 

At 9 am, my OB checked on me.  I was 7 cm so he broke my water.  There was light meconium staining.  My OB said that was common when the baby is over due.  My doula asked if I would still be able to have the baby skin to skin immediately after delivery. My doctor said it would depend on the baby, but thankfully he didn't rule it out completely.

Labor wasn't that difficult for the next couple of hours.  I spent a lot of time out of the hospital bed, swaying with my husband.  The doula would whisper into my ear just what I needed to hear and would massage my back.  She kept reminding me to stay on top of the contractions by relaxing as soon I started to feel the pain.

The bed was pure evil.  The contractions hurt so much worse when I was flat on my back.  I didn't want to go there unless the nurse was going to check me. 

At 11:00 am, I was 8 cm.  Transition had officially started.  The next two hours were rough.  This is when time stopped for me.  I would look at the clock and only five minutes had passed.   

The contractions wouldn't go away completely during transition because of the pitocin.  My doula said they would peak or even double peak but never disappear like normal contractions during transition.  At one point, I broke a little and said, "This really hurts." No kidding!  My doula was so helpful in getting through that rough spot.  That was the only time I ever said anything out loud about the pain.  I so didn't want to be a screamer. 
 
At 12:00 pm, I was dilated to 9 cm during a contraction.  I was feeling more and more pressure.  During this period, I kept wanting to go into the bathroom. Most of the time I didn't have to go, but I felt like it was good to keep my bladder empty as possible because of my Bradley training.  This would allow the baby to descend easier.

My husband was in charge of my IV pole and cords.  It was a clumsy dance as we maneuvered around into the bathroom.  My doula kept telling me not to push while I was in there.  I knew she wanted to make sure that I didn't make my cervix swell by pushing before it was time.  Whenever we would come out, they would ask if I had any contractions while in there.  I would tell them how many that I'd had.  Sitting on the toilet actually helped them not to be so painful.

Afterwards, my doula said she and the nurse talked about me going into the bathroom.  The nurse was okay with it as long as I continued to have contractions and wasn't off monitor for too long.  They knew that sometimes women need to go away where it's quiet and private to labor. 

Around 1:00 pm, I was dilated to 10 cm with a small lip of cervix left.

Things get hazy at this point.  I started to push and the baby's heart rate dropped down in the 90's for 3 minutes.  They put me on oxygen and kept moving me around in different positions to get the heart beat up.  The pitocin was stopped at this point and I labored with my own contractions.  I wasn't allowed to push for 45 minutes.  This was so difficult because with the contractions, my body wanted to push desperately.  I would feel my muscles contract and it would take everything in me to relax.  All I could do was try to breath deeply and listen to the doula's instructions.  I had to give my baby oxygen.

I would go away in between contractions, almost falling asleep.  I knew this was common so I just went with it. I just kept breathing deeply without panting. The oxygen mask made me feel like I was going to hyperventilate. 

The nurses actually started prepping me for a c-section but no operating rooms were available.  I remember my nurse kept making phone calls about the OR and telling them that I didn't have an epidural.  My OB was in surgery and couldn't get there for about 45 minutes. 

When my doctor got there, they let me start pushing again.  They told me to show the doctor what I could do, encouraging me to push with everything that I had.  My OB said I had mad pushing skills.  LOL  I just wanted the baby out and safe! 

With every contraction, I was pushing 2-3 times.  Down and out.  Please, baby be okay.  Down and out.  Breathe deeply, give the baby oxygen.  Come on, contraction, let's go, give me another so I can push.  Down and out.  Breathe deeply, give the baby oxygen.

My husband watched as his head came out and the doctor suctioned his mouth.  All was good with the meconium.  When the rest of his body came out, the cord was across his body with his hand on top of that.  So every contraction was putting extra pressure on the cord which was the cause of his heart rate dropping.
 
He was born 11/06 at 3:11 PM, weighing 7 lbs and 15.51 ounces and 20 inches long.  Not such a huge baby for 9 days over due, at least not the 9 pounder they were expecting.  He scored 9's on both APGAR.

They put him on my chest immediately.  That was what I had been waiting for!  I didn't even notice his little cone head.  I thought he was the most beautiful sight ever.  Christopher, the proud poppa, cut the cord.

The baby nurse tried to snatch him from us but my doula said, "No, she's going to breast feed him."  My doula rocks!

Pam is also a lactation consultant so she was right there with us for the first breast feeding.  She actually latched him on every time for me.  All I had to do was hold him.  

I breast fed him for a little over an hour while the OB finished repairing my tears.  At that point the nurse came back for Andrew and I let her give him his first bath and do his exam.  My husband watched over him like a hawk.

We had a beautiful and happy ending to a year and a half long journey to become a family.  We are completely and totally in love with our little boy.