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July 2014 Moms
abunai523
member
Finnegan's Birth Story! (futuremrsbrian)
abunai523
member
TLDR: Finnegan Daniel was born at 7:09am on Sunday, June 29th - 3 weeks early after only 10 hours of labor. He is 5 lbs 15.6 oz and is 18 inches long.
I had been having random contractions for much of the day Saturday, and a few days prior. Nothing organized or worrisome in any way, I'd been told that can happen for weeks before delivery. So we had cereal on the couch in front of the TV for dinner, just relaxing. Then, around 8:30 I stood up to go to the bathroom and GUSH. It was just like the movies. I stood there going 'oh my goodness' and Brian asked me if my water broke, when I responded 'I think so' he sprang into action!
I went upstairs, used the bathroom and put on a pad, all while continuing to gush fluid, at this point I was quite sure things were underway. Brian got dressed and grabbed the suitcase while I started... cleaning? I was irritated I hadn't got the house cleaned up and I didn't want to come home from the hospital to a mess. So I made the bed and picked up a few things while Brian laughed his head off at me and called triage.
When triage called us back and after describing the situation, they told us to come in. So after feeding the cats (and putting a towel down on the living room carpet) we hopped in the car. I was feeling quite calm, but at this point contractions were regulating and I was timing them on my phone. They weren't strong yet but were averaging only 3-4 minutes apart. We got stuck behind someone going half the speed limit for much of the drive and Brian wasn't a fan of that!
When we got to the hospital around 9:00pm we parked with the valet and were sent upstairs. Triage informed us that the night had just turned very busy so we had to wait in the hallway for a bit to get checked in. Once we were taken back to an exam room they asked us every question in the book and took samples (urine and testing for amniotic fluid) and hooked me up to a fetal monitor and a contraction monitor. We were in this room for nearly 2 hours before they said I was in early labor and they were going to admit us since my water had broken. I was checked and was at 2 cm, 70% effaced at -1 station. The whole time Brian and I were laughing about how it was pretty lucky that we didn't go up to Mackinac island with my family!
We were escorted to our room (#7) and got settled in around 11pm. My nurse had the same name as me too which I found amusing. I got an IV right away which sucked, it creeped me out. Contractions started to pick up pretty quickly after we got in the room, and I started thinking about getting the epidural. It felt early, and I felt a little weak at wanting it so soon, but between the time that I asked for it and getting it the contractions had gotten so much stronger that the guilt faded quickly. Everybody told me I was doing a great job with my breathing. I never screamed but did a lot of heavy breathing and little squeaks and grunts. Before giving me the epidural they checked me again and I was STILL at a 2! But they let me get it anyway, and I was so grateful, it was about 1:30 am by this point.
Getting the epidural was really easy, it didn't hurt. There was just one part where I felt an electric-like jolt. It didn't take quite all the way on the left side, so they propped me up to let gravity help that. It was great, I still had some control over my legs and was feeling quite comfortable.
About 3:30 am I was checked again and I was only at a 3, 80% effaced and -1 station. I was so bummed! The doctors were concerned because my water had been broken for 7 hours already, and the baby was experiencing some minor heart rate decelerations with each contraction. They told me we would try a few things to get that to stop, but if it continued and I still wasn't progressing we would have to start pitocin. Luckily, wearing an oxygen mask really helped the baby's heart rate, so I continued laboring without the pit and tried to rest while Brian napped on the couch.
At this point the epidural really wasn't working on the left side anymore and I was having trouble managing the pain. I asked if we could turn the epi up a bit since it still was at a pretty low dose, they said they would but were going to have to check me first. I was in such pain that this wait felt really long but was probably only about 10 minutes.
It was during this time that I started to feel some very slight urges to push. Wen they came to check me the entire room was shocked to hear that I was complete and ready to go! I went from a 3 to a 10 in about 2 hours! It was almost 6am at this point, and the doctor recommended that I try and labor down for a little while without pushing since this was my first, and he didn't want me to be pushing for hours and hours (I agreed). This only lasted a few minutes though, and before I knew it I was pushing.
Apparently I was efficient at it because there was suddenly a scramble to prepare and there were about 10 people in the room. I had to not push while they took the end off the bed and got things in place. That was hard and I was just thinking about how grumpy I was that they never did turn up my epidural.
Then the real pushing started. This was by far the hardest part! I was feeling really tired and out of breath, and very very sweaty. I eventually begged to take off the oxygen mask because it was hot and sliding around. Everyone was so encouraging, and Brian and my nurse were holding my feet. I pushed as hard as I could, and I completely left my body and mind at several points during the process. I was struggling with thinking I could actually complete this, and said so several times, but everybody pushed me just as hard as I was doing. After they said he was out down to his ears I put everything I had left into the next contraction and all of the sudden there he was! They put him on my chest and I got to hold him while everything else was done.
I'd pushed him out in just under an hour. Finnegan Daniel was born at 7:09 am. He weighed 5 lbs 15.6 oz, 18 inches long and he's got a bunch of curly brown hair. His initial apgar scores were 7 and then 8. Since he was born at 36 weeks 6 days gestation he is considered late preterm, so pediatrics and others were present as a precaution. Overall he's in fantastic shape, but there are a couple of very small concerns. First he was having trouble controlling his blood sugar, his first reading was a 24 (they want it above 40)! So he had to have a whole lot of heel pokes over the first 24 hours to make sure that regulated. The other issue is with feeding, he's very small, and being early he is having extra trouble feeding. We had to start supplementing with formula right away because of the blood sugar concerns, but we have also been trying to start breast feeding and I have been pumping and giving him what little colostrum I can get. I also have fairly flat nipples which isn't helping him try to learn how to latch. For the time being we are to do skin-to-skin, and then try latching at each feed for a while. After that he gets formula and I pump and we give him any colostrum as well. It's very stressful, but there's nothing we can do but keep trying.
I got a couple first degree tears but required no stitches! Recovery has been pretty smooth so far, but I'm not looking very good. I burst a ton of blood vessels in my eyes and face while pushing, so I look like I did 3 rounds in a boxing ring with lots of bloody spots and bruises and bloodshot eyes. Really though, I don't care at all, I got off very easily and I feel immensely blessed.
I had been having random contractions for much of the day Saturday, and a few days prior. Nothing organized or worrisome in any way, I'd been told that can happen for weeks before delivery. So we had cereal on the couch in front of the TV for dinner, just relaxing. Then, around 8:30 I stood up to go to the bathroom and GUSH. It was just like the movies. I stood there going 'oh my goodness' and Brian asked me if my water broke, when I responded 'I think so' he sprang into action!
I went upstairs, used the bathroom and put on a pad, all while continuing to gush fluid, at this point I was quite sure things were underway. Brian got dressed and grabbed the suitcase while I started... cleaning? I was irritated I hadn't got the house cleaned up and I didn't want to come home from the hospital to a mess. So I made the bed and picked up a few things while Brian laughed his head off at me and called triage.
When triage called us back and after describing the situation, they told us to come in. So after feeding the cats (and putting a towel down on the living room carpet) we hopped in the car. I was feeling quite calm, but at this point contractions were regulating and I was timing them on my phone. They weren't strong yet but were averaging only 3-4 minutes apart. We got stuck behind someone going half the speed limit for much of the drive and Brian wasn't a fan of that!
When we got to the hospital around 9:00pm we parked with the valet and were sent upstairs. Triage informed us that the night had just turned very busy so we had to wait in the hallway for a bit to get checked in. Once we were taken back to an exam room they asked us every question in the book and took samples (urine and testing for amniotic fluid) and hooked me up to a fetal monitor and a contraction monitor. We were in this room for nearly 2 hours before they said I was in early labor and they were going to admit us since my water had broken. I was checked and was at 2 cm, 70% effaced at -1 station. The whole time Brian and I were laughing about how it was pretty lucky that we didn't go up to Mackinac island with my family!
We were escorted to our room (#7) and got settled in around 11pm. My nurse had the same name as me too which I found amusing. I got an IV right away which sucked, it creeped me out. Contractions started to pick up pretty quickly after we got in the room, and I started thinking about getting the epidural. It felt early, and I felt a little weak at wanting it so soon, but between the time that I asked for it and getting it the contractions had gotten so much stronger that the guilt faded quickly. Everybody told me I was doing a great job with my breathing. I never screamed but did a lot of heavy breathing and little squeaks and grunts. Before giving me the epidural they checked me again and I was STILL at a 2! But they let me get it anyway, and I was so grateful, it was about 1:30 am by this point.
Getting the epidural was really easy, it didn't hurt. There was just one part where I felt an electric-like jolt. It didn't take quite all the way on the left side, so they propped me up to let gravity help that. It was great, I still had some control over my legs and was feeling quite comfortable.
About 3:30 am I was checked again and I was only at a 3, 80% effaced and -1 station. I was so bummed! The doctors were concerned because my water had been broken for 7 hours already, and the baby was experiencing some minor heart rate decelerations with each contraction. They told me we would try a few things to get that to stop, but if it continued and I still wasn't progressing we would have to start pitocin. Luckily, wearing an oxygen mask really helped the baby's heart rate, so I continued laboring without the pit and tried to rest while Brian napped on the couch.
At this point the epidural really wasn't working on the left side anymore and I was having trouble managing the pain. I asked if we could turn the epi up a bit since it still was at a pretty low dose, they said they would but were going to have to check me first. I was in such pain that this wait felt really long but was probably only about 10 minutes.
It was during this time that I started to feel some very slight urges to push. Wen they came to check me the entire room was shocked to hear that I was complete and ready to go! I went from a 3 to a 10 in about 2 hours! It was almost 6am at this point, and the doctor recommended that I try and labor down for a little while without pushing since this was my first, and he didn't want me to be pushing for hours and hours (I agreed). This only lasted a few minutes though, and before I knew it I was pushing.
Apparently I was efficient at it because there was suddenly a scramble to prepare and there were about 10 people in the room. I had to not push while they took the end off the bed and got things in place. That was hard and I was just thinking about how grumpy I was that they never did turn up my epidural.
Then the real pushing started. This was by far the hardest part! I was feeling really tired and out of breath, and very very sweaty. I eventually begged to take off the oxygen mask because it was hot and sliding around. Everyone was so encouraging, and Brian and my nurse were holding my feet. I pushed as hard as I could, and I completely left my body and mind at several points during the process. I was struggling with thinking I could actually complete this, and said so several times, but everybody pushed me just as hard as I was doing. After they said he was out down to his ears I put everything I had left into the next contraction and all of the sudden there he was! They put him on my chest and I got to hold him while everything else was done.
I'd pushed him out in just under an hour. Finnegan Daniel was born at 7:09 am. He weighed 5 lbs 15.6 oz, 18 inches long and he's got a bunch of curly brown hair. His initial apgar scores were 7 and then 8. Since he was born at 36 weeks 6 days gestation he is considered late preterm, so pediatrics and others were present as a precaution. Overall he's in fantastic shape, but there are a couple of very small concerns. First he was having trouble controlling his blood sugar, his first reading was a 24 (they want it above 40)! So he had to have a whole lot of heel pokes over the first 24 hours to make sure that regulated. The other issue is with feeding, he's very small, and being early he is having extra trouble feeding. We had to start supplementing with formula right away because of the blood sugar concerns, but we have also been trying to start breast feeding and I have been pumping and giving him what little colostrum I can get. I also have fairly flat nipples which isn't helping him try to learn how to latch. For the time being we are to do skin-to-skin, and then try latching at each feed for a while. After that he gets formula and I pump and we give him any colostrum as well. It's very stressful, but there's nothing we can do but keep trying.
I got a couple first degree tears but required no stitches! Recovery has been pretty smooth so far, but I'm not looking very good. I burst a ton of blood vessels in my eyes and face while pushing, so I look like I did 3 rounds in a boxing ring with lots of bloody spots and bruises and bloodshot eyes. Really though, I don't care at all, I got off very easily and I feel immensely blessed.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Finnegan's Birth Story! (futuremrsbrian)
Married 07/2012
DD born 07/2014
DD2 born 10/2018
DS born 10/2022
IF history:
TTC #2 since January 2016
June-Aug 2017: 3 IUIs w/Clomid = BFN
Sept 2017: Dx w/Endometriosis
Oct 2017: IUI w/Letrozole = BFN
Nov 2017: IUI w/Letrozole = BFN
Dec 2017: pre-IVF testing
Jan-Feb 2018: IVF--17 eggs retrieved, 13 fertilized, 9 frozen and 1 transferred on 2/10 = BFP on 2/19!!! EDD 10/29/2018
FET Oct 2021: BFP on 10/31! MC at 5 weeks
FET Feb 2022: BFP on 2/15! EDD 10/29/22
BFP#1: 08/30/12 EDD 04/30/12 m/c 09/04/12 6wks
BFP#2: 01/27/13 EDD 10/06/13 missed m/c 02/25/13 9wks
BFP#3: 10/30/13 EDD 07/05/14 Our little dude was born on 07/10/14 @ 2:19p
DD born 7.27.2014
BFP 09.2015 - m/c 10.21.2015