Early Arrival
I usually don't post, but I always loved reading the birth stories so I decided to post.
So, our birth story started at my 36 week appointment. Due to chronic hypertension I was scheduled for induction at 38w6d (May 28). They were happy that I had made it to 36 weeks without any major issues, so they were ready to call it. I was barely dilated and the baby was still high.
So, I went for my weekly NST on May 19th and DS's heart rate was dropping consistently, so they were a little concerned and sent me for another ultrasound - they had thought I might be leaking amniotic fluid, but I wasn't. They sent to me triage to be observed for 24 hours. We arrived there around 6pm and we got settled into the room. We ate dinner and were just hanging out watching movies and then decided to get some sleep at around 9:30 - by 9:32 the doctors had come back in and said that the baby's heart rate dipped again and they didn't want to take any chances. It was time to break my water.
They broke my water around 9:45 and slowly started giving me iv fluids and pitocin. They were going very slowly with the pit to determine if the baby would be okay while using it. I started having contractions around 10:30ish and they were pretty intense from the beginning. At around 6am they came in to check my progress and I was barely 2 cm - which is what I was dilated when I came in. Around 8am they checked again and I was 4 cm. The baby still hadn't moved at all. At that time I decided to get the epi.
From that point on, my labor was fantastic! I really wasn't feeling the contractions - so we watched movies and I talked with my parents. I was shocked at how quickly and how effective the epi worked. At around 4:30 the doctor came in to check my progress and I was at about 6 and the baby still hadn't moved. At that point they decided to do a c-section. The baby's head was swelling and he wasn't able to fit through my pelvis.
The c-section lasted maybe 40 minutes and I really didn't feel much - just some pushing and moving, but other than that it wasn't what I thought it would be. My husband got to see the baby right away and they brought him to me. It was amazing! He was so swollen and puffy, but oh so cute! We were moved to recovery and I tried feeding Preston. We had a little bit of trouble with the breastfeeding at first. They then took him to get measured and stuff in the nursery.
Preston ended up weighing 6lbs 2 ounces and was 19 1/4 inches long. He ended up being 2 weeks 2 days early.
He's changed our life so completely, but in a great way. I get pretty much no sleep, but he's getting much better at sleeping during the night. He's gained back his birth weight and then some and he's actually rolled over from his tummy to his back at 3w1d! We are so looking forward to watching him grow and learn new things!
Re: Early Arrival