@calimom2524 I distinctly remember being bent over my hospital bed trying to dance around to ease the pain of my contractions and making DH take my flip flops into the bathroom and wash them because they were so slimy. That's love
DS1: Water broke at 9 PM on my due date. Midwife told me to get some sleep, it could be another day, but at 11 PM when we went to bed my contractions started. It was so intense right from the beginning - I knew I was supposed to wait till 4-1-1 (4 min apart, 1 min in duration, and I always forget the last one) but I was having so much trouble figuring out when one would end and the next would start because they were just on top of each other. By 1 AM we were at the hospital but I didn't get my epidural until around 3 AM. In the meantime being in the tub helped a lot. After my epidural things slowed down a lot. DH went to park the car and of course while he was gone DS1's heart rate dropped and they had to call an OB in. Luckily it picked back up. I also asked for a mirror, which really helped to see things since I couldn't feel much with the epidural. When we first saw the top of his bald little head (hours before he was born) DH teared up. They were going to start me on pitocin because the epidural had really slowed things down - as soon as they gave me a test amount to see how I would react, it all started back up and it was time to push. I barely had to push at all because he had been so low for so long - I pushed for 6 minutes and only a few pushes altogether. He was born at 6:18 AM or so I believe, 8 lbs 4 oz.
DS2 (from BMB written that day): 40w5d: woke up at 4:15 on Boxing Day and had contractions but wasn't sure if this was it. By 5:15 I woke up DH and from there we called midwife and my parents pretty quick, both were here by 6. Contractions were very different from with Adam because I could actually walk through them and had breaks in between. Midwife said because I was at 8 cm at home I didn't have option of epidural anyway. By 6:30 we were at the birth centre, maybe a bit earlier, and he was born at 7:19. It was a bit insane, there were some moments that were so surreal and scary because of the pain. I pushed for 11 minutes, active labour for 1 hour 20 minutes. The pushing part without the epidural was hard but I was in the tub with DH behind me and that helped so much, I do find once I got into pushing that part was less painful than the contraction part in a way. At one point I had pushed his head out but had to wait for the next contraction to push his body which was weird. I didn't tear He is 8 lbs 12 oz
Imo: cervical checks should simply be uncomfortable and not painful *when you aren’t in labor* but some providers are more gentle than others.
membrane sweeps: it all depends on your provider again and how aggressive they are being. I’ve had 2 different mw do swerpsvand one is more gentle. I also did sweeps in the weeks leading up that were not intended to put me in labor just to get things started - as a dystocia mom the goal was to not go 10 days past. And with my third I was sooooo done.
The sweep that sent me into labor with number 2 wasn’t bad, uncomfortable but ok. The one that sent me to labor with my 3rd omg. Soooooo painful. I basically started cramping right away though which lead straight to contractions and a fast birth. It hurt but it was short lived and it achieved what I wanted.
If you are trying to avoid induction it’s a great option!
I mean the last one I had I thought I was gonna climb the walls. It was rough! But they aren’t all, and it IS temporary - I see them as a nice option but get things moving but some don’t want to - totally your choice (though I’ve heard of obs doing sweeps without permission!!!)
Hooray!!! I love birth stories! I do have a question in general: For those who were induced, why were you induced? I know some were because you were overdue, but I don't know if that was all of them.
Okay, here's mine. It's pretty long, I started writing it down and so many details came rushing back.
DH and I took a childbirth class that lasted six weeks and ended when I was 37+5. The last class was about newborn care, so DH and I joked that the baby just had to wait until after that class, then he was welcome to come anytime. We made it to the class, then went to bed early.
I woke up a few hours later (at 2:53 am), and felt a gush of water. I ran to the bathroom to check it out, and brought a whole puddle with me. I woke up DH, and we carefully examined it as instructed to make sure it was amniotic fluid, and to make sure there was no sign of meconium in it. Then he called the number for OB triage and they asked a bunch of questions that freaked me out, like is the baby moving. He wasn't right then, so I couldn't say yes, but he'd been moving just fine when I'd gone to sleep. They also asked if contractions had started, which they hadn't. We were told exactly what we had been told to expect, which was to wait for labor to start, and to come in in 12 hours if it hadn't started yet.
I tried to go back to sleep, but as soon as I lay back down, I got another gush of water and had to change again. I had put in a pad, but it was nowhere near enough. And then I tried again to sleep, but I started getting tiny contractions. They didn't hurt much, but were enough to keep me up when I was so excited. Eventually we just got up for real. I took a shower and made sure my bag was packed.
I was supposed to be working from home that week, but we had a meeting I'd been planning on going in for. I sat down and wrote an email to my boss with my news and all the things I thought needed to be said at the meeting. Then DH made me pancakes. Then we put together the side table in the nursery.
We kept trying to time the contractions, but they were so small that it didn't really matter. By noon, we decided to get some lunch. My parents had driven in and met us. My water had gushed a couple more times that morning, and I got another big gush at the restaurant. I had to get my hospital bag and change into my spare outfit. Then we went to the mall so I could try walking around. But it was the week before Christmas, so it was crazy crowded. We gave up and decided it was time to go to the hospital.
They checked me in and checked that it really was my water that broke (it was), and did a quick ultrasound to make sure he was head down (he was). By the time I got into my labor and delivery room, it had been almost 14 hours since my water broke and labor still hadn't started. They decided they couldn't wait any longer for labor to start and they needed to induce. But then they suggested I get some dinner first and they'd be back in a few hours. I got frustrated and asked how it could be both too urgent to wait and see, but not too urgent to have a leisurely dinner. They said that I just shouldn't take the pill on an empty stomach, so I found a fig bar in my purse and they put in the order for the misoprostol. My parents had stopped by after we checked in, but left to go check into a hotel.
They hooked me up to an iv and mobile monitor and I took the pill. My hospital had gotten nitrous oxide the month before, so that's what I requested when they asked about pain. But they had run out of tubing, so it wasn't available.
I tried to get some rest, but then I started getting real contractions. I found I needed to get up and walk with the contractions, which was hard with the iv and monitor. I tried sitting on a ball, but it made the monitor screw up, so I was told to stop. Around midnight, they decided I wasn't advancing enough, so they added pitocin to the iv. I texted my mom about 2am and asked her to come back. They upped the pitocin when she got there. I spent the next few hours having really intense contractions every couple of minutes. I found I was getting dizzy with all of the pacing and breathing, so I stopped pacing and found it helped to sit in the tall desk chair and hold someone's hands behind me while I pushed back against them. My mom was really good at it, and was a really calming comforting presence for me, so I was really glad she was there. DH was there, too, but he was really exhausted, so he wasn't able to help as much.
By about 5am, I was really exhausted and considering an epidural. No one had checked my cervix at all, since my water had broken and they were concerned about introducing infection, so I had no idea how dilated I was. I asked them to check so I could get an idea of how close I was to the end. The midwife checked, and I was 100% effaced, but only 1 cm dilated. I definitely asked for the epidural. Luckily, there was an anesthesiologist available, so I got the epidural about 30 minutes later. It initially only took on one side, which was a really bizarre feeling. They adjusted it, and it took on the other side, too.
I fell asleep and slept until 10 or so. I woke up and DH and my mom and I hung out until the midwife checked on us. I was then 10 cm and DS was +1. They said to hang out and let them know when I felt an urge to push. My mom and I did some knitting. They helped me brush my teeth and found me some juice. They offered me jello, which I was really excited for, but then they were out, so they decided I could have a fruit cup. About 11am, I started feeling the need to push. We let them know, but another woman was giving birth at the same time, so a nurse helped us through it until almost the end. I was pretty useless with the epidural, so my mom held one leg, and DH had the other. I had a little feeling in my left side, and none on the right, so after every contraction we'd have to carefully lean my right leg against something or it would fall off the bed. I also kept getting my right hand stuck behind my knee because I'd grab on to push, but then couldn't open my leg to let it go. We all thought it was pretty funny, so there was a lot of laughing while I was pushing.
DS was born after an hour of pushing at 12:25 pm. The cord was around his neck a couple of times and he was purple, which really freaked me out, but no one else seemed concerned. They lay him on my chest, and we tried to nurse, but he was too tired.
We didn't have a name for him until the next day. We had gotten stuck on boy names and only had one maybe that didnt feel right. We talked about a name when we went to bed, then slept on it and decided we liked it the next day.
They kept us in the hospital for three nights to make sure he was eating enough and not jaundiced, and then we got to go home on my birthday! Luckily, they had room for all of us to sleep there, and DS stayed with us the whole time.
I was terrified of taking on full responsibility for my tiny baby, but I hated being in the hospital. I'm glad they were so cautious, and they had lactation consultants on call 24 hours, which really helped, but it was stressful and exhausting being in the hospital.
@Secretstapler I was induced because I had my Fallopian tube and a hemorrhagic cyst removed three months before I got pregnant so there was still scar tissue on my ovaries and possibly other areas and by the time my uterus was 39 weeks in size they were practically all just sticking to my uterus and it was so painful I couldn’t function like a normal human. Plus it was the week of thanksgiving and I think my OB wanted to make sure she didn’t get called in on the holiday. I’m only kind of kidding on the second part.
@Secretstapler that’s pretty funny about your hand getting stuck under your knee there were other women giving birth at the same time as me too so we had a nurse with us up until right at the end!!! Another reason I want a Doula this time!!
@Secretstapler girl you were walking around the mall and went to a restaurant AFTER your water was breaking?? You are insane lol and I don’t mean that in a crazy way. I just can’t imagine! I literally sat on a trash bag with my pads after my water broke. I couldn’t imagine doing any of those things!
Baby Girl born Saturday 10/15/16 ( Sweetest Day) 10:52 pm 7 lbs. 9 oz. 18.5 inches long
Disclaimer: this is lengthy, detailed and semi graphic. Thursday 10/13 I woke up at 3:30 a.m with my first painful contractions. I had a cervix check that Wednesday which I believe jump started my labor. I called in to work and started timing my contractions until they were every 3-5 minutes apart and went to the hospital around 10:30 am. They checked me and I was 2 cm and 80%. I had no progression over the next hour and even though my contractions felt painful and strong they weren't even registering on the monitors. The Dr. told me that I was experiencing prodromal labor and when it is the real thing I will know and sent me back home. I was devastated and discouraged because the "fake" contractions were so painful I couldn't imagine them getting any worse. I went home afraid but expecting the contractions to let up a bit. They never did. I had the same "prodromal"painful contractions every 3-5 minutes from the second I left the hospital. I couldn't get any sleep and was just suffering and waiting until they got worse. I was so embarrassed the painful contractions I was feeling didn't even register on the monitor in the hospital so I thought I must have zero pain tolerance. I found slight relief from sitting on the toilet, laying in the bathtub or showering so spent all day Friday 10/14 going from one to the other. Now its Saturday 10/15, I have slept very little and still am having painful contractions every 3-5 minutes. They are not much worse then when I went in the first time so I stayed home, going from tub to toilet to bed until I started feeling the urge to push. Newbie me was still focused on how they told me it was going to get SO much worse according to the on call OB I saw when I went in the first time. so I stayed home a bit longer waiting for it to get worse. I was told I would be in so much pain I would't be able to talk normally. At this point though, I was looking for any excuse to get back to the hospital since I was miserable and I saw a yellow spot under me on the bed and found that excuse to go in..My water broke! I get to the hospital and the nurse checks me and I tell her as she is examining me "if you tell me I'm 2cm and 80% I will flip" she looks at me and says " you're 9 cm and completely effaced. My water was still intact (what I thought was my water was actually urine, I pissed the bed apparently) She paged the Dr. who checked me and said no, shes not 9 I'm feeling just a lip. She broke my water and told me to let her know when I had the urge to push. I was elated. It was almost over, It was push time. The painful "fake" contractions were real all along. They never got worse. I was able to talk through it normally the whole time. It was too late for any pain meds and I suffered that long without them so I was ready to get her out. My husband and I were both born on the 16th, with it being a little over an hour away until midnight the nurse asked if I wanted to hold her in until the 16th. I said absolutely not! 20 minutes off pushing, pooping on the table (Dr. kept saying "Push like your pooping", so I listened) and a 3rd degree tear later my sweetest day present was here. Baby had jaundice and a heart murmur and needed treatment for a few days in the hospital but those few days were packed full of helpful nurses and breastfeeding education. In the end I almost had an elevator baby and I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe for the sweaty nervous security guard on his second day on the job escorting me to L&D. He was pushing me in the wheelchair with the breaks on the whole time, banging my legs against things and couldn't find the button to open the elevator. Poor guy thought he was going to have to deliver the baby! The truth is, If I waited thirty minutes longer to get there he might have had too!
Note: My arms were SO sore and even bruised the next day after pushing. I think I tensed up every muscle in my body to push so I felt like I was in an accident or something the next day. Also, the pushing/crowning pain level was nothing compared the contractions I had for over 2.5 days. It was the light at the end of the tunnel in my eyes. Getting sewn up was pretty painful though.
@Secretstapler girl you were walking around the mall and went to a restaurant AFTER your water was breaking?? You are insane lol and I don’t mean that in a crazy way. I just can’t imagine! I literally sat on a trash bag with my pads after my water broke. I couldn’t imagine doing any of those things!
Lol ditto!!! Ugh I hate water breaking ahead - I just felt so gross and wet and blech.
DS1 9 days late. Water broke as first sign of labor. I was GBS + so I had to go to the hospital right away. Had bad back labor cause dude wanted to be delivered sunny side up. Got an epi even thought I wanted to wait till I was a 6. But the stupid nurse (now I know I can ask for a new one!) wouldn’t check me. So I got one...I was only a 4! So pissed. This was at 1am, by 8am I wasn’t progressing so they gave me some pitocin. He was delivered at 2:56pm. Pushed for 60mins and I tore. My epi didn’t quite work so I felt a lot of the pain and felt me being stiched up. He was 8lbs 1oz.
DS2started laboring early morning of his due date. They were consistent enough that it was a 511, so I called my mid wife like I was told to. They asked if I had felt him move. I couldn’t remember because I was trying to time contractions while going out to lunch and wrangling a toddler! They sent me to the hospital and I was only a 3 so they told me to go walk for 2hrs. I was so freaking tired and when walking my contractions were 311/211. I was in pain but not dying yet. Go back and I was still a 3 so they sent me home and told me to take Tylenol pm to get some sleep. I cried and told them that’s ridiculous cause Tylenol sucks and there’s no way I was sleeping through these contractions. So DH and I go shopping and I’m laboring through Nordstrom Rack Lol. Then we go to the mall to get a bath bomb from lush and then go have dinner at Chang’s Mongolian grill. I made my meal spicy as f*ck cause there was no way I wasn’t gonna get this baby to come that night. Go home and take a bath. I was in full on labor. DH got the bag ready and got to the hospital. I was an 8, got an epi, got some rest and he was delivered in 13min. 9lbs even. No tearing.
@calimom2524 That sounds awful! I'm really glad they didn't force you to wait until you went into labor naturally. And I totally believe that they were trying to avoid Thanksgiving. I made a comment on the GTKY thread that I have the 11th most common birthday. The first ten dates are all in September (conceived at Christmas). My birthday is 5 days before Christmas, so I'm pretty sure it's all the doctors trying to get the babies out before the holiday.
@scottishlass1213@pghctwife No one told me that the amniotic fluid regenerates, so your water breaks over and over again! So every time, I'd think that had to be it, and I should be good. Plus, I was told not to go in until labor started, and labor never started on its own, so I was trying to figure out what to do with myself. Looking back, it seems a little insane. At least I wasn't actually having contractions in the mall (like @hfooter!). That seems even crazier to me.
Also, I think I'll get some Depends next time, they seem more designed to handle a big gush than menstrual pads.
@Secretstapler I was so mad lol. And I couldn’t imagine just going home so since we had the grandmas with DS1 we decided to make it a date night lol. So glad I’m not going back to that hospital. It was a baby factory.
@hfooter I actually totally get it. It's super frustrating to feel like it's happening, but they don't want to see you at the hospital. How do they expect you to just sit around at home? I'm glad you have a new hospital this time! I hope they take you more seriously.
@Secretstapler ha! Yeah the amniotic fluid never.stops. Blech. Plus there’s a ton - what feels like a lot coming out in little bursts probably isn’t as much as it seems.
The good iOS news is it doesn’t happen that often, I think only like 10%? Something like that. My waters broke ahead of labor with my first but the other two is was at the end
@Secretstapler yes to the depends! I don’t know what the chances are of my water breaking first again, but I want to be prepared! It’s interesting though the different hospital policies because I wasn’t having contractions at all and they still had me come in right after my water broke. I got there maybe like an hour later after I showered and packed a bag (since I hadn’t done that yet either)
@scottishlass1213 my hospital was the same way Once my water broke I was told to come in even though I hadn’t had any contractions. I wished I would have thought to shower first and eat more then just a banana though
Recovered from my last BMB (also, note, DS2 was actually not the final puzzle piece to our family. Oops. ):
On Wednesday morning, I went to my OB appointment 40 weeks, 5 days pregnant. My OB recommended I be induced Thursday or Friday. She then gave me another membrane sweep.
I'd been having contractions since the Thursday prior, but they never increased in intensity. On my way home from this OB appointment, they suddenly felt painful.
That evening, I labored at home while we watched the Cubs/Indians World Series game. I kept waiting for the contractions to get less intense or disappear. They did slow down at one point in the night, but that didn't last for long.
At 2-ish a.m., we headed to the hospital. I was 4 cm dilated (I'd been 2 at my OB appointment that morning, so I wasn't encouraged that a full day/night of painful contractions had only dilated me 2 cm). But, at least I was admitted!
I labored epi-free from check in until early afternoon. I wanted to give this big baby the best chance at moving down into my pelvis, and doc thought being up and walking around would be most helpful. I knew I'd be getting an epi for pushing. The shoulder dystocia concern had been raised, and if Baby needed cut out (from below OR c section) I wanted to be prepared.
Transition was NO JOKE. I went from 6 cm to 10 in an hour and a half or so (after 20+ hours of labor). I've never felt intense pain like that, and my hubby and sister did a great job of helping me through while they prepped my epidural.
Got the drugs, spent an hour and a half trying to rest, then it was push time.
With my first, I pushed an hour and 45 minutes. With DS2, I pushed 11 minutes (about 3 contractions & 7 pushes).
I couldn't believe it! His arrival was so calm. He cried then as soon as he was placed on my chest, he got quiet and just looked at me. So aware and alert.
He's having a hard time with coughing/gagging up some amniotic fluid - and he's been pretty fussy today. But, he's just the sweetest. And my first is an adorable and excited big brother in the world.
Looking forward to being discharged tomorrow and spending our first night together as a family.
Baby #2: 9lbs, 2 oz, 20.5 inches long. And, the final puzzle piece to our little family. ❤️
My oldest is my only long birth my 2nd and 3rd were just repeat c sections.
The whole time with ds1 i was told that i was due 10 days later than orignally dated(by last period) i always felt this huge ball what felt like right on top of my cervix i walked and had sex like crazy the month leading up to his birth. Finally at 41+3 after begging at my previous appointment my doctor induced me(not only was i miserable from the pelvic pain but i wasnt showing any signs of getting ready for labor, i was not soft or dialated or efaced at all!), was supposed to start at 7pm but the hospital called and said i wouldn't be able to be started till 11pm. So we get there at 11pm, folley ball and catheter in place spent hours trying to sleep finally fell asleep. When i woke at 7am during sift change my doctor came in with the nurse and checked the folley to find it had fell out and did it's job and was just sitting inside me. So that was taken out and so was thw catheter. So i was finally at 5cm. They start the poticin and iv i was so hungry and thirsty but only ice chips with veru little juice was allowed, i must have sent my husband every 10 minutes for more. I spent hours just getting my poticin upped and refusing and epi till i was more progressed. My spent most of my time feeling like i had to go to the bathroom so that is where i labored for quite a while then lay down when i realized nothing was left. Around 12 ish my water was broken and i felt like i was dying. So much pressure! Less than an hour later i had an epi. Getting an epi was horrible the contraction on top of contraction with my large stomach and being told to stay still and a fear of needles. The epi took a long time to get in but when done i was in heaven. I was checked. Nothing. So i was like f this im going to sleep. 3Pm wake up to being so thirsty. Was checked again, nothing. I felt nothing but the nurses said they didnt even know why i didnt because they were intense and often on the moniter. My doctor cave in and said mighr be a c section time since my water was almost green from ds bathroom. I was like ok whatever get him out. They put me on the schedule for around 5pm well ds had another idea at 4pm ds heart rate dropped emergency c it was. At 4:33pm ds was born crying. 9Lbs 5oz and 21 inches full head of hair, his head was in the 97%(dont remember the exact number) the reason for his difficult delivery, he had curled into a ball sometime in the last week and got his feet stuck over his head. There was no way he would have traveled down to be vaginally delivered. No wonder i felt that huge ball. Ds did spend some time on our 2nd day at the hospital for abnormal breathing put on some antibotics by night 3 he was back with me. He is now a huge healthy 5 year old. But thanks to him and getting pregnant with his brother only 3 months later we are c sections all day baby.
This is fun! I finally tracked my DS's birth story down:
Birth story: tl;dr After psyching myself up for a possible induction
due to gestational hypertension I had a spontaneous rupture of membranes
followed by rapidly progressive labor and delivery in about 4 hours on
one of the busiest nights of the year on the L&D floor. I almost
ended up with an unintended "natural" delivery, had last-minute spinal
anesthesia, and the OB barely made it to the bedside in time.
Background:
The last 2-3 weeks of the pregnancy I had been diagnosed with
gestational hypertension, and three days before delivery had an
ultrasound that was concerning for growth restriction, with baby's
estimated weight at about the 10th percentile. Everything else was
looking good though, and all the tests for pre-eclampsia were negative.
All that being said, my OB and I had started a conversation considering
induction the following week, when I hit 38 weeks. I was incredibly
upset but had started to come around to the idea of a potential
induction. DH and I spent the weekend preparing everything we could. But
this baby had his own plans. He did not wait for an induction, and
arrived spontaneously at 37w3d (official GA based on LMP), or 37w6d (the
GA I like based on O date).
Whirlwind delivery: At about
10pm on Sunday night just after I climbed into bed I had a single, mild
contraction and felt a "pop". I went to the bathroom and there was a
small amount of bright red blood. I waited for a bit, not making too
much of it, thinking maybe it was mucous plug, but kept going back to
the bathroom to check. The bleeding continued, so eventually I called
the OB on-call line. The answering service took a message, paged the
on-call, and said to call back if I didn't hear from them in 30 min. I
didn't hear anything for an hour but I waited because the bleeding had
slowed. Then I had a second contraction, so I called back. Again, I
didn't hear back for half an hour. The third time I called the answering
service forwarded me directly to the on-call OB (who happened to be my
own! Amazing coincidence considering that there are over 30 MDs in the
practice). I described what was going on and she said "it doesn't sound
like you're in labor but we should try to understand the source of the
bleeding so why don't you come into L&D".
We arrived in
L&D at about 1am. En route I had two or three more contractions, one
associated with a gush of fluid. In L&D I was triaged as "rule out
rupture of membranes" - low priority, in other words. It was a very busy
night. The L&D floor was full. I lost track of time but I know it
was a while before anyone saw me in triage. Meanwhile, I started having
contractions and they built very rapidly, both in frequency and
intensity. By the time I was assessed I was having them every 1-2 min,
and was doubled over in pain. The test for fluid was positive, and I was
4cm dilated and 100% effaced. I would be admitted. I asked for an
epidural at this time. When I was walking to my room I heard them call
for the anesthesiologist in the room a few doors down from me. I was
told I would be next in line. In the room the contractions built even
more rapidly. They were back-to-back. I could feel an enormous amount of
pelvic pressure and had an overwhelming urge to push. They told me not
to push, but I knew this baby was coming - FAST. Sure enough, on
re-check I was 10cm dilated. The anesthesiologist was still not
available. I was terrified of having an unmedicated birth and started
screaming bloody murder, cursing everyone out. Someone said "put some
more pressure on them" but still no one came. So they called the back-up
anesthesiologist. She arrived and attempted the epidural twice but my
contractions were nearly continuous at this time and she could not
position me appropriately, so she ended up doing a spinal anesthesia.
Spinal
anesthesia was beautiful and VERY strange. Instantaneously I went from
the worst pain in my life to being totally numb and paralyzed. My legs
were dead weights. I couldn't even feel my breasts. Even my fingers were
tingly. I could not push because I felt nothing. The problem was that
we were now battling the clock. We had to wait for it to wear off enough
so I could push but knowing that it would completely wear off in 1-2
hours. Timing was critical. So I waited until I regained awareness of my
contractions and then started pushing. I pushed for about 40 min and
they called in the doctor. There was a bit of a delay because the OB was
finishing another delivery but wanted to be there for mine (it's very
unusual to be able to deliver your own patients!). At some point I was
told "DON'T PUSH!" and there was a frantic call out to get my OB in the
room. I tried not to push but baby delivered himself at 5:21am with the
next contraction, just as my OB entered the room. She didn't have time
to put on gloves, but caught him. He cried right away and was placed on
my chest. I had two small tears that required repair, and she finished
these up just as the spinal anesthesia started to wear off completely.
Really, the timing was perfect. As was my tiny baby boy, who weighed in
at a mere 2505g (5lb 8oz).
I later found out that there had been
an unprecedented number of deliveries happening that night and the few
days prior. This explains why no one got back to me after I called the
answering service earlier in the evening, why there was a wait in
triage, and why there was a delay in anesthesia. Due to lack of rooms,
they had to double up patients on the post-partum floor too, so my poor
DH had to sleep in an upright chair the first night.
Also, I
never learned my GBS status. The swab had been taken that Friday prior
to delivery. I was either labelled GBS positive or GBS unknown and they
started running antibiotics, but there was not enough time for the 4
hours of intrapartum coverage.
Me: 40 DH: 43 Married 5/30/15 TTC #1 June 2015 BFP #1 9/28/15, EDD 6/10/16. DS born 5/23/16! TTC #2 May 2017 BFP #2 m/c 11/18/17 5w5d BFP #3 12/17/17 EDD 8/25/18. It's a boy!
Re: Old School Birth Stories
Looking forward to reading everyone else's!
DS1: Water broke at 9 PM on my due date. Midwife told me to get some sleep, it could be another day, but at 11 PM when we went to bed my contractions started. It was so intense right from the beginning - I knew I was supposed to wait till 4-1-1 (4 min apart, 1 min in duration, and I always forget the last one) but I was having so much trouble figuring out when one would end and the next would start because they were just on top of each other. By 1 AM we were at the hospital but I didn't get my epidural until around 3 AM. In the meantime being in the tub helped a lot. After my epidural things slowed down a lot. DH went to park the car and of course while he was gone DS1's heart rate dropped and they had to call an OB in. Luckily it picked back up. I also asked for a mirror, which really helped to see things since I couldn't feel much with the epidural. When we first saw the top of his bald little head (hours before he was born) DH teared up. They were going to start me on pitocin because the epidural had really slowed things down - as soon as they gave me a test amount to see how I would react, it all started back up and it was time to push. I barely had to push at all because he had been so low for so long - I pushed for 6 minutes and only a few pushes altogether. He was born at 6:18 AM or so I believe, 8 lbs 4 oz.
DS2 (from BMB written that day): 40w5d: woke up at 4:15 on Boxing Day and had contractions but wasn't sure if this was it. By 5:15 I woke up DH and from there we called midwife and my parents pretty quick, both were here by 6. Contractions were very different from with Adam because I could actually walk through them and had breaks in between. Midwife said because I was at 8 cm at home I didn't have option of epidural anyway. By 6:30 we were at the birth centre, maybe a bit earlier, and he was born at 7:19. It was a bit insane, there were some moments that were so surreal and scary because of the pain. I pushed for 11 minutes, active labour for 1 hour 20 minutes. The pushing part without the epidural was hard but I was in the tub with DH behind me and that helped so much, I do find once I got into pushing that part was less painful than the contraction part in a way. At one point I had pushed his head out but had to wait for the next contraction to push his body which was weird. I didn't tear
He is 8 lbs 12 oz
membrane sweeps: it all depends on your provider again and how aggressive they are being. I’ve had 2 different mw do swerpsvand one is more gentle. I also did sweeps in the weeks leading up that were not intended to put me in labor just to get things started - as a dystocia mom the goal was to not go 10 days past. And with my third I was sooooo done.
The sweep that sent me into labor with number 2 wasn’t bad, uncomfortable but ok. The one that sent me to labor with my 3rd omg. Soooooo painful. I basically started cramping right away though which lead straight to contractions and a fast birth. It hurt but it was short lived and it achieved what I wanted.
If you are trying to avoid induction it’s a great option!
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
Okay, here's mine. It's pretty long, I started writing it down and so many details came rushing back.
DH and I took a childbirth class that lasted six weeks and ended when I was 37+5. The last class was about newborn care, so DH and I joked that the baby just had to wait until after that class, then he was welcome to come anytime. We made it to the class, then went to bed early.
I woke up a few hours later (at 2:53 am), and felt a gush of water. I ran to the bathroom to check it out, and brought a whole puddle with me. I woke up DH, and we carefully examined it as instructed to make sure it was amniotic fluid, and to make sure there was no sign of meconium in it. Then he called the number for OB triage and they asked a bunch of questions that freaked me out, like is the baby moving. He wasn't right then, so I couldn't say yes, but he'd been moving just fine when I'd gone to sleep. They also asked if contractions had started, which they hadn't. We were told exactly what we had been told to expect, which was to wait for labor to start, and to come in in 12 hours if it hadn't started yet.
I tried to go back to sleep, but as soon as I lay back down, I got another gush of water and had to change again. I had put in a pad, but it was nowhere near enough. And then I tried again to sleep, but I started getting tiny contractions. They didn't hurt much, but were enough to keep me up when I was so excited. Eventually we just got up for real. I took a shower and made sure my bag was packed.
I was supposed to be working from home that week, but we had a meeting I'd been planning on going in for. I sat down and wrote an email to my boss with my news and all the things I thought needed to be said at the meeting. Then DH made me pancakes. Then we put together the side table in the nursery.
We kept trying to time the contractions, but they were so small that it didn't really matter. By noon, we decided to get some lunch. My parents had driven in and met us. My water had gushed a couple more times that morning, and I got another big gush at the restaurant. I had to get my hospital bag and change into my spare outfit. Then we went to the mall so I could try walking around. But it was the week before Christmas, so it was crazy crowded. We gave up and decided it was time to go to the hospital.
They checked me in and checked that it really was my water that broke (it was), and did a quick ultrasound to make sure he was head down (he was). By the time I got into my labor and delivery room, it had been almost 14 hours since my water broke and labor still hadn't started. They decided they couldn't wait any longer for labor to start and they needed to induce. But then they suggested I get some dinner first and they'd be back in a few hours. I got frustrated and asked how it could be both too urgent to wait and see, but not too urgent to have a leisurely dinner. They said that I just shouldn't take the pill on an empty stomach, so I found a fig bar in my purse and they put in the order for the misoprostol. My parents had stopped by after we checked in, but left to go check into a hotel.
They hooked me up to an iv and mobile monitor and I took the pill. My hospital had gotten nitrous oxide the month before, so that's what I requested when they asked about pain. But they had run out of tubing, so it wasn't available.
I tried to get some rest, but then I started getting real contractions. I found I needed to get up and walk with the contractions, which was hard with the iv and monitor. I tried sitting on a ball, but it made the monitor screw up, so I was told to stop. Around midnight, they decided I wasn't advancing enough, so they added pitocin to the iv. I texted my mom about 2am and asked her to come back. They upped the pitocin when she got there. I spent the next few hours having really intense contractions every couple of minutes. I found I was getting dizzy with all of the pacing and breathing, so I stopped pacing and found it helped to sit in the tall desk chair and hold someone's hands behind me while I pushed back against them. My mom was really good at it, and was a really calming comforting presence for me, so I was really glad she was there. DH was there, too, but he was really exhausted, so he wasn't able to help as much.
By about 5am, I was really exhausted and considering an epidural. No one had checked my cervix at all, since my water had broken and they were concerned about introducing infection, so I had no idea how dilated I was. I asked them to check so I could get an idea of how close I was to the end. The midwife checked, and I was 100% effaced, but only 1 cm dilated. I definitely asked for the epidural. Luckily, there was an anesthesiologist available, so I got the epidural about 30 minutes later. It initially only took on one side, which was a really bizarre feeling. They adjusted it, and it took on the other side, too.
I fell asleep and slept until 10 or so. I woke up and DH and my mom and I hung out until the midwife checked on us. I was then 10 cm and DS was +1. They said to hang out and let them know when I felt an urge to push. My mom and I did some knitting. They helped me brush my teeth and found me some juice. They offered me jello, which I was really excited for, but then they were out, so they decided I could have a fruit cup.
About 11am, I started feeling the need to push. We let them know, but another woman was giving birth at the same time, so a nurse helped us through it until almost the end. I was pretty useless with the epidural, so my mom held one leg, and DH had the other. I had a little feeling in my left side, and none on the right, so after every contraction we'd have to carefully lean my right leg against something or it would fall off the bed. I also kept getting my right hand stuck behind my knee because I'd grab on to push, but then couldn't open my leg to let it go. We all thought it was pretty funny, so there was a lot of laughing while I was pushing.
DS was born after an hour of pushing at 12:25 pm. The cord was around his neck a couple of times and he was purple, which really freaked me out, but no one else seemed concerned. They lay him on my chest, and we tried to nurse, but he was too tired.
We didn't have a name for him until the next day. We had gotten stuck on boy names and only had one maybe that didnt feel right. We talked about a name when we went to bed, then slept on it and decided we liked it the next day.
They kept us in the hospital for three nights to make sure he was eating enough and not jaundiced, and then we got to go home on my birthday! Luckily, they had room for all of us to sleep there, and DS stayed with us the whole time.
I was terrified of taking on full responsibility for my tiny baby, but I hated being in the hospital. I'm glad they were so cautious, and they had lactation consultants on call 24 hours, which really helped, but it was stressful and exhausting being in the hospital.
August 18 Siggy Challenge: April Showers
there were other women giving birth at the same
time as me too so we had a nurse with us up until right at the end!!! Another reason I want a Doula this time!!
Disclaimer: this is lengthy, detailed and semi graphic.
Thursday 10/13 I woke up at 3:30 a.m with my first painful contractions. I had a cervix check that Wednesday which I believe jump started my labor. I called in to work and started timing my contractions until they were every 3-5 minutes apart and went to the hospital around 10:30 am. They checked me and I was 2 cm and 80%. I had no progression over the next hour and even though my contractions felt painful and strong they weren't even registering on the monitors. The Dr. told me that I was experiencing prodromal labor and when it is the real thing I will know and sent me back home. I was devastated and discouraged because the "fake" contractions were so painful I couldn't imagine them getting any worse. I went home afraid but expecting the contractions to let up a bit. They never did. I had the same "prodromal"painful contractions every 3-5 minutes from the second I left the hospital. I couldn't get any sleep and was just suffering and waiting until they got worse. I was so embarrassed the painful contractions I was feeling didn't even register on the monitor in the hospital so I thought I must have zero pain tolerance. I found slight relief from sitting on the toilet, laying in the bathtub or showering so spent all day Friday 10/14 going from one to the other. Now its Saturday 10/15, I have slept very little and still am having painful contractions every 3-5 minutes. They are not much worse then when I went in the first time so I stayed home, going from tub to toilet to bed until I started feeling the urge to push. Newbie me was still focused on how they told me it was going to get SO much worse according to the on call OB I saw when I went in the first time. so I stayed home a bit longer waiting for it to get worse. I was told I would be in so much pain I would't be able to talk normally. At this point though, I was looking for any excuse to get back to the hospital since I was miserable and I saw a yellow spot under me on the bed and found that excuse to go in..My water broke!
I get to the hospital and the nurse checks me and I tell her as she is examining me "if you tell me I'm 2cm and 80% I will flip" she looks at me and says " you're 9 cm and completely effaced. My water was still intact (what I thought was my water was actually urine, I pissed the bed apparently) She paged the Dr. who checked me and said no, shes not 9 I'm feeling just a lip. She broke my water and told me to let her know when I had the urge to push. I was elated. It was almost over, It was push time. The painful "fake" contractions were real all along. They never got worse. I was able to talk through it normally the whole time. It was too late for any pain meds and I suffered that long without them so I was ready to get her out. My husband and I were both born on the 16th, with it being a little over an hour away until midnight the nurse asked if I wanted to hold her in until the 16th. I said absolutely not! 20 minutes off pushing, pooping on the table (Dr. kept saying "Push like your pooping", so I listened) and a 3rd degree tear later my sweetest day present was here.
Baby had jaundice and a heart murmur and needed treatment for a few days in the hospital but those few days were packed full of helpful nurses and breastfeeding education. In the end I almost had an elevator baby and I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe for the sweaty nervous security guard on his second day on the job escorting me to L&D. He was pushing me in the wheelchair with the breaks on the whole time, banging my legs against things and couldn't find the button to open the elevator. Poor guy thought he was going to have to deliver the baby! The truth is, If I waited thirty minutes longer to get there he might have had too!
Note: My arms were SO sore and even bruised the next day after pushing. I think I tensed up every muscle in my body to push so I felt like I was in an accident or something the next day. Also, the pushing/crowning pain level was nothing compared the contractions I had for over 2.5 days. It was the light at the end of the tunnel in my eyes. Getting sewn up was pretty painful though.
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
I was also always soooo sore after birth. My back, shoulders, legs.., soooo sore!!!!
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
Water broke as first sign of labor. I was GBS + so I had to go to the hospital right away. Had bad back labor cause dude wanted to be delivered sunny side up. Got an epi even thought I wanted to wait till I was a 6. But the stupid nurse (now I know I can ask for a new one!) wouldn’t check me. So I got one...I was only a 4! So pissed. This was at 1am, by 8am I wasn’t progressing so they gave me some pitocin. He was delivered at 2:56pm. Pushed for 60mins and I tore. My epi didn’t quite work so I felt a lot of the pain and felt me being stiched up. He was 8lbs 1oz.
DS2started laboring early morning of his due date. They were consistent enough that it was a 511, so I called my mid wife like I was told to. They asked if I had felt him move. I couldn’t remember because I was trying to time contractions while going out to lunch and wrangling a toddler! They sent me to the hospital and I was only a 3 so they told me to go walk for 2hrs. I was so freaking tired and when walking my contractions were 311/211. I was in pain but not dying yet. Go back and I was still a 3 so they sent me home and told me to take Tylenol pm to get some sleep. I cried and told them that’s ridiculous cause Tylenol sucks and there’s no way I was sleeping through these contractions. So DH and I go shopping and I’m laboring through Nordstrom Rack Lol. Then we go to the mall to get a bath bomb from lush and then go have dinner at Chang’s Mongolian grill. I made my meal spicy as f*ck cause there was no way I wasn’t gonna get this baby to come that night. Go home and take a bath. I was in full on labor. DH got the bag ready and got to the hospital. I was an 8, got an epi, got some rest and he was delivered in 13min. 9lbs even. No tearing.
@scottishlass1213 @pghctwife No one told me that the amniotic fluid regenerates, so your water breaks over and over again! So every time, I'd think that had to be it, and I should be good. Plus, I was told not to go in until labor started, and labor never started on its own, so I was trying to figure out what to do with myself. Looking back, it seems a little insane. At least I wasn't actually having contractions in the mall (like @hfooter!). That seems even crazier to me.
Also, I think I'll get some Depends next time, they seem more designed to handle a big gush than menstrual pads.
The good iOS news is it doesn’t happen that often, I think only like 10%? Something like that. My waters broke ahead of labor with my first but the other two is was at the end
11/18/16 missed m/c 9w1
08/03/17 no hb 8w
My oldest is my only long birth my 2nd and 3rd were just repeat c sections.
The whole time with ds1 i was told that i was due 10 days later than orignally dated(by last period) i always felt this huge ball what felt like right on top of my cervix i walked and had sex like crazy the month leading up to his birth. Finally at 41+3 after begging at my previous appointment my doctor induced me(not only was i miserable from the pelvic pain but i wasnt showing any signs of getting ready for labor, i was not soft or dialated or efaced at all!), was supposed to start at 7pm but the hospital called and said i wouldn't be able to be started till 11pm. So we get there at 11pm, folley ball and catheter in place spent hours trying to sleep finally fell asleep. When i woke at 7am during sift change my doctor came in with the nurse and checked the folley to find it had fell out and did it's job and was just sitting inside me. So that was taken out and so was thw catheter. So i was finally at 5cm. They start the poticin and iv i was so hungry and thirsty but only ice chips with veru little juice was allowed, i must have sent my husband every 10 minutes for more. I spent hours just getting my poticin upped and refusing and epi till i was more progressed. My spent most of my time feeling like i had to go to the bathroom so that is where i labored for quite a while then lay down when i realized nothing was left. Around 12 ish my water was broken and i felt like i was dying. So much pressure! Less than an hour later i had an epi. Getting an epi was horrible the contraction on top of contraction with my large stomach and being told to stay still and a fear of needles. The epi took a long time to get in but when done i was in heaven. I was checked. Nothing. So i was like f this im going to sleep. 3Pm wake up to being so thirsty. Was checked again, nothing. I felt nothing but the nurses said they didnt even know why i didnt because they were intense and often on the moniter. My doctor cave in and said mighr be a c section time since my water was almost green from ds bathroom. I was like ok whatever get him out. They put me on the schedule for around 5pm well ds had another idea at 4pm ds heart rate dropped emergency c it was. At 4:33pm ds was born crying. 9Lbs 5oz and 21 inches full head of hair, his head was in the 97%(dont remember the exact number) the reason for his difficult delivery, he had curled into a ball sometime in the last week and got his feet stuck over his head. There was no way he would have traveled down to be vaginally delivered. No wonder i felt that huge ball. Ds did spend some time on our 2nd day at the hospital for abnormal breathing put on some antibotics by night 3 he was back with me. He is now a huge healthy 5 year old. But thanks to him and getting pregnant with his brother only 3 months later we are c sections all day baby.
Birth story:
tl;dr After psyching myself up for a possible induction due to gestational hypertension I had a spontaneous rupture of membranes followed by rapidly progressive labor and delivery in about 4 hours on one of the busiest nights of the year on the L&D floor. I almost ended up with an unintended "natural" delivery, had last-minute spinal anesthesia, and the OB barely made it to the bedside in time.
Background: The last 2-3 weeks of the pregnancy I had been diagnosed with gestational hypertension, and three days before delivery had an ultrasound that was concerning for growth restriction, with baby's estimated weight at about the 10th percentile. Everything else was looking good though, and all the tests for pre-eclampsia were negative. All that being said, my OB and I had started a conversation considering induction the following week, when I hit 38 weeks. I was incredibly upset but had started to come around to the idea of a potential induction. DH and I spent the weekend preparing everything we could. But this baby had his own plans. He did not wait for an induction, and arrived spontaneously at 37w3d (official GA based on LMP), or 37w6d (the GA I like based on O date).
Whirlwind delivery:
At about 10pm on Sunday night just after I climbed into bed I had a single, mild contraction and felt a "pop". I went to the bathroom and there was a small amount of bright red blood. I waited for a bit, not making too much of it, thinking maybe it was mucous plug, but kept going back to the bathroom to check. The bleeding continued, so eventually I called the OB on-call line. The answering service took a message, paged the on-call, and said to call back if I didn't hear from them in 30 min. I didn't hear anything for an hour but I waited because the bleeding had slowed. Then I had a second contraction, so I called back. Again, I didn't hear back for half an hour. The third time I called the answering service forwarded me directly to the on-call OB (who happened to be my own! Amazing coincidence considering that there are over 30 MDs in the practice). I described what was going on and she said "it doesn't sound like you're in labor but we should try to understand the source of the bleeding so why don't you come into L&D".
We arrived in L&D at about 1am. En route I had two or three more contractions, one associated with a gush of fluid. In L&D I was triaged as "rule out rupture of membranes" - low priority, in other words. It was a very busy night. The L&D floor was full. I lost track of time but I know it was a while before anyone saw me in triage. Meanwhile, I started having contractions and they built very rapidly, both in frequency and intensity. By the time I was assessed I was having them every 1-2 min, and was doubled over in pain. The test for fluid was positive, and I was 4cm dilated and 100% effaced. I would be admitted. I asked for an epidural at this time. When I was walking to my room I heard them call for the anesthesiologist in the room a few doors down from me. I was told I would be next in line. In the room the contractions built even more rapidly. They were back-to-back. I could feel an enormous amount of pelvic pressure and had an overwhelming urge to push. They told me not to push, but I knew this baby was coming - FAST. Sure enough, on re-check I was 10cm dilated. The anesthesiologist was still not available. I was terrified of having an unmedicated birth and started screaming bloody murder, cursing everyone out. Someone said "put some more pressure on them" but still no one came. So they called the back-up anesthesiologist. She arrived and attempted the epidural twice but my contractions were nearly continuous at this time and she could not position me appropriately, so she ended up doing a spinal anesthesia.
Spinal anesthesia was beautiful and VERY strange. Instantaneously I went from the worst pain in my life to being totally numb and paralyzed. My legs were dead weights. I couldn't even feel my breasts. Even my fingers were tingly. I could not push because I felt nothing. The problem was that we were now battling the clock. We had to wait for it to wear off enough so I could push but knowing that it would completely wear off in 1-2 hours. Timing was critical. So I waited until I regained awareness of my contractions and then started pushing. I pushed for about 40 min and they called in the doctor. There was a bit of a delay because the OB was finishing another delivery but wanted to be there for mine (it's very unusual to be able to deliver your own patients!). At some point I was told "DON'T PUSH!" and there was a frantic call out to get my OB in the room. I tried not to push but baby delivered himself at 5:21am with the next contraction, just as my OB entered the room. She didn't have time to put on gloves, but caught him. He cried right away and was placed on my chest. I had two small tears that required repair, and she finished these up just as the spinal anesthesia started to wear off completely. Really, the timing was perfect. As was my tiny baby boy, who weighed in at a mere 2505g (5lb 8oz).
I later found out that there had been an unprecedented number of deliveries happening that night and the few days prior. This explains why no one got back to me after I called the answering service earlier in the evening, why there was a wait in triage, and why there was a delay in anesthesia. Due to lack of rooms, they had to double up patients on the post-partum floor too, so my poor DH had to sleep in an upright chair the first night.
Also, I never learned my GBS status. The swab had been taken that Friday prior to delivery. I was either labelled GBS positive or GBS unknown and they started running antibiotics, but there was not enough time for the 4 hours of intrapartum coverage.
Married 5/30/15
TTC #1 June 2015
BFP #1 9/28/15, EDD 6/10/16. DS born 5/23/16!
TTC #2 May 2017
BFP #2 m/c 11/18/17 5w5d
BFP #3 12/17/17 EDD 8/25/18. It's a boy!