3 weeks early- Christmas surprise!
How it started:
On Monday December 21st I lost the remainder of my mucus plug- I had been losing it for a week or so. I had been out finishing my Christmas shopping- about 5 hours of non stop walking and shopping! I came hope and completed my holiday baking- I guess I was nesting! Well that night I went to sleep at about 11 and around 1:45 my water broke. It woke me up as soon as it happened. I felt a pop and then a gush- not a ton of liquid but enough to soak my undies. I ran to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and it kept leaking out. I was shocked since I was only 37 weeks and 2 days! I yelled to my husband that my water broke and began to cry becuase I wasn't sure I was ready! I called my doc and she said to go to L&D. So I got my hospital bag, ate some cereal and put on some makeup and got ready.
At L&D:
I arrived at L&D at 3:30ish. They took me to triage and checked to make sure my water had in fact broke- it did. Then they took me to the actual L&D room. They started an IV, put the heartrate monitor and contraction monitor belts on my belly and began to give me pitocin since I was not contracting on my own.
Problems:
After 8 minutes of being on pitocin a nurse came in and checked my HR monitor. She looked worried and called for help and said some code. Then 4 nurses came running in. I had no idea what was going on- they had no time to explain because they were frantically working on me. One nurse ripped of my undies, stuch her hand inside me and placed an internal fetal heartrate monitor on the babies head- they attach it to her scalp using a little wire. They put an oxygen mask on me. Then they began moving me from side to side and pressing and pulling on my belly. They instruced me to get on all fours and arch my back. They were rocking me back and forth and pushing my belly. It was really scary cause one nurse was talking to my baby as ahe was working on me as if she was pleading with her. I asked if I had to have a c-section and she said yes. Everything was so frantic and fast paced- they brought scrubs to my hubby and said the OR was ready and were about to wheel me out of my room when suddenly yhey stopped and said she was ok now. I guess her HR went from normal (155) to very low (50) but after a couple of minutes it went back up. This all happened within about 2 minutes- like I said it was very frantic and I was very scared. I had not yet had an epidural and I could feel everything they were doing and I would have had to be knocked out completely if I needed a c/s. So they took me off the pitocin until my OB arrived. About an hour later they decided to start it again- about an hour later her HR went to 85 and they had to give me oxygen again and had me lay on my side- they took me off the pitocin again. It turns out that my body is really sensitive to pitocin and the contractions were getting too strong and possibly compressing her cord.
Epidural:
After a couple more hours they decided to start the pitocin again but this time on the lowest level possible. After a couple hours of intense contractions I got my epidural. The epi was so easy- I delayed getting it because I was scared of the pain but it did not hurt at all. I felt a pinch from the shot of numbing stuff but did not feel the epi. I felt great!
The delivery:
My labor was long and slow moving becuase of the pitocin issue. I had spiked a fever of 101 because my water had broke so many hours ago so I required IV antibiotics and they have me tylenol to try to bring it down. I was almost 100% effaced but stuck at 4cm dialated due to a tiny bit of scar tissue on my cervix from a biopsy from a prior abnormal pap years ago. I had to get a internal contraction monitor also because of the pitocin issue but this time I did not feel it because of the epi. At about 830pm they checked me and said I was 10cm and it was time to push! I was no scared and nervous but I had an awesome nurse and support team (my hubby, mom, sis and MIL). I pushed for 40 minutes and then she was out! It was somewhat hard to push due being numb. My legs were so numb and felt so heavy when I was pulling them up during pushing. I felt nothing! No pain, no pressure- nothing! It was great! I had a 2nd degree tear and my OB said I broke my hymenal ring so she stiched it back up- still felt nothing! My placenta came out easily and with no problems. It was quite small like my baby! The one thing that did hurt was when they were pressing on my belly after the placenta came out- they continue to do this while you are in recovery to check to make sure you are not bleeding too heavily.
My baby:
She weighed 5lbs and 4oz. She was 17 1/2 inches long. She has a full head of brown hair and is absoutly beautiful. She is perfectly healthy. She had a slight fever becuase I did. As soon as she came out she grabbed the OBs shirt and would not let go! It was so cute! She is amazing and I love her so much. I cried like a baby when she came out. I cant begin to describe the love that you feel when you see your child. She is so worth all the pregnancy uncomfortableness and labor and delivery stress and pain. I never knew my heart could love so much!
Recovery:
Not too bad. My legs were numb from the epi for about 8 hours and I needed help getting up and down to go to the bathroom. My stiches were sore and so was my vag but I felt good. They gave me Vicodin and IBprofin and that helped a lot. My fever broke and so did hers. We were released from the hospital 2 days later on Christmas Eve.
Breastfeeding:
It was tough at first- especially before my milk came in about 3 days after delivery. It hurt in the begining but it was not terrible. I reccomend talking to a lactation specialist in the hospital- they are so helpful! It is hard to get used to BFing for both my baby and me. The lactation specialist gave me techniques and tips that made it easier. I feed her every 2 hours or so and I think we have the hang of it! She still sometimes has trouble latching or staying awake during a feeding but I am learning how to deal with that. I rented a pump from the hospital and pump a couple times a day so can have a few bottles frozen for when my hubby wakes up and feeds her when I am too tired.
I love her so much and could not imagine my life without her. She is beautiful and a great baby. She is going great- she lost 7oz and was down to 4lbs 13oz but is now back up to her birth weight.I find myself staring at her all the time and I cant stop kissing her. Being a mom is amazing and everything just came naturally to me- I had zero experience with babies! I was never an emotional person but I am now! I cry sometimes when I look at her bacuse I am so happy and in love with her. My husband is amazing with her and is a wonderful dad! I love watching him with her. She is my world and I would give anything to make her happy!
Re: 3 weeks early- Christmas surprise!
Yes that sounds like a frantic 2 minutes.
That is so posh of you to put makeup on for the delivery, I love it.
Congrats!!! I would love to see a pic.